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Home My WebLink AboutAgenda Packet - BC - 1995.03.02NOTICE BURLINGAME BEAUTIFICATION COMMISSION MARCH 2, 1995 5.30 P.M. CITY HALL CONFERENCE ROOM "A" A G E N D A I. ROLL CALL II. MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 2, 1995 III. CORRESPONDENCE IV. OLD BUSINESS A. P.G.&E. LINE CLEARANCE STUDY B. REQUEST FOR REMOVAL OF MAGNOLIA @ 1359 COLUMBUS AVE. C. ARBOR DAY - MARCH 7, 1995 - FRANKLIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL D. SPRING GARDEN SEMINAR - MARCH 18, 1995 V. NEW BUSINESS VI. REPORTS A. Park Director B. Chairman C. Commissioners VII. FROM THE FLOOR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT (415) 696-7230 Mrs. Janice Scattini 1359 Columbus Avenue Burlingame, CA 94010 The City of Burlingame CITY HALL - 501 PRIMROSE ROAD BURLINGAME, CALIFORNIA 94010-3997 December 19, 1994 Re: 1359 Columbus Avenue - Sidewalk Dear Mrs. Scattini: CORPORATION YARD (415) 696-7260 I have discussed with Ed Chung of my office regarding your meeting with him on the above site. This was in response to your phone call on December 13, 1994, concerning the sidewalk problem caused by City tree roots next to the curb in front of your house. Mr. Chung mentioned to me that a friend of yours recently fell on this sidewalk. To fix this problem temporarily, the Street Department will remove the uneven portion of the sidewalk in front of the tree and replace it with a black asphalt material. This asphalt material may be placed by City crews away from the tree and curve into your lawn area in the public right-of-way. City Council authorizes $300,000 to $400,000 yearly for a sidewalk repair program which does one or two contracts per year but takes about 10 years or more to cover the whole City. When the City has this sidewalk repair program which covers your area, the asphalt will be removed and replaced with standard concrete. However, if the tree remains there, the new sidewalk will be encroaching into your lawn area in the public right-of-way. The City will repair the sidewalk with concrete now if orle of the following conditions is met: 1. The tree is removed. 2. The property owner hires a licensed contractor to repair a significant amount of concrete walks and driveway on the private property side adjacent to the uneven sidewalk created by City tree roots. The City may pay for the cost of repairing the sidewalk. All work would be done by your contractor, including removal of the tree roots. Root removal work must be performed under the supervision of the Park Department. A• pn~ on roq-Wd peps L Y Page 2.. . Mrs. Janice Scattini December 19, 1994 An Encroachment Permit is required by your contractor from the Public Works Department. Permit fee and bond are waived. A request to the Park Department must be made for the removal of tree roots in. your front lawn or removal of the City tree. If you have any questions regarding the above, please contact me at (415) 696-7230. Sincerely yours, CITY OF BURLINGAME 0000 Frank C. Erbacher City Engineer pa c: City Attorney , - 7 V J�� . Q ✓� �� -LtAC1 Y J Park Department - Brain w 6 7 S Karnacki January 18, 1995 The Beautification Committee City Hall 501 Primrose Road Burlingame, CA 94010 To Whom It May Concern: I am writing on behalf of my family in regard to the City tree which is causing a Public Nuisance on our property at 1359 Columbus Avenue in Burlingame. Among other things this letter is a request for your attention to the dangerous hazard occurring and the enormous liability the city of Burlingame in exposed to. My husband and I are new homeowners in Burlingame, we have lived in our home for 10 months. Initially upon occupying the property I made many phone calls to the city and the Parks and Rec. Department in regard to the large root and buckled sidewalk situation in front of our home. Everyone who inspected the problem told us how horrible it was - but - their hands were tied and we would have to wait a few years for the sidewalk to be fixed. We were told that nothing could be done about the roots without killing the tree. In frustration we let it go. In these past 10 months I have watched my children receive bloody knees and my neighbors and visitors �.. trip & fall. I have seen many pedestrians stumble in front of my home. People are not only tripping on the buckled sidewalk they are tripping on the enormous roots that completely fill the area between the sidewalk and the street. These roots are preventing anyone (including the Mailman) to park in front of our home and Ingress and Egress safely. This problem is magnified at night as unsuspecting visitors park in front of our home and promptly fall. The lighting on the street is so poor that visitors are totally vulnerable. (Pictures enclosed) In addition to the above damage please be advised that the tree roots have totally destroyed our front lawn and we can not plant a new one until they are removed. They are also lifting the brick walkway that leads to our front door. We feel very strongly that this is affecting our property value and is also a hazard to anyone on our property. We are a family with very young children and many of our visitors have young children as well. With all of the rain we have been receiving, the slippery sidewalk and roots are even more hazardous. In December a friend was leaving our home and slipped and fell on the roots trying to get into her car. Thankfully she had just placed her two toddlers safely in the car. This woman received a slight sprain to her ankle. This incident has prompted my second round of phone calls to the City and the Parks and Rec. Dept. A few more inspections have been made. We recently received a letter from Frank Erbacher, City Engineer (enclosed) after his 2nd inspection of our situation. We were told by Steve Porter that we would also receive a letter but it never came. It is at this time that we are requesting this tree to be removed and the sidewalk repaired as soon as possible by the city. We sincerely feel there is no other alternative that adequately rectifies the situation. We do not want the sidewalk repaired and the hazardous roots ignored until a more severe accident occurs. We would like you to know that we love Burlingame and understand that part of its beauty comes from the �-- trees that are protected. We would be happy to have another tree planted by the city that is adequate for the space. We thought property ownership guaranteed the right to unencumbered enjoyment and use - we feel we are being denied this right by the city - who really should be there to protect and enhance our rights. If we can not reach an agreement on the repairs of this matter by February 28, 1995 we will then be seeking legal aid. Please feel free to contact either of us at 344-9949 with any questions. We look forward to a response at your earliest convenience. Sincerely, l� Janice & Peter Scattini P.S. Since I began this letter, my mother, while exiting her car, fell over a tree root and injured her left lower leg and hip. See enclosed pictures. How many more of these incidents do we need to document to receive some action? cc: Marti Knight, Mayor of Burlingame City Council Frank Erbacher, City Engineer Parks Department 'a4r Citg of �urfingam PARK DEPARTMENT 850 BURLINGAME AVENUE TES: (415) 696-7245 BURLINGAME. CALIFORNIA 94010 FAX: (415) 696-7216 February 3, 1995 Janice & Peter Scattini 1359 Columbus Avenue Burlingame, CA 94010 RE: REQUEST FOR REMOVAL OF MAGNOLIA TREE AT 1359 COLUMBUS AVENUE At its regular meeting of February 2, 1995, the Burlingame Beautification Commission received your request concerning removal of a magnolia tree at the above address. The Commission will review. this matter and render a decision at their March 2, meeting. The Commission meets at 5:30 p.m. in Conference Room "All at City Hall should you wish to attend. Sincerely,, /,Z:::: 4 , Richard P. Quadri Director of Parks RPQ/kh a~«nWW&dPAW tJ --N + 1359 .. 1359 i CRACKED DRIVEVAY + + + + + + + - - - + + + + + + + + + • + 4 + + � + 11 11 1357 PROPERTY LINE I ` ROOTS VISIBLE _ + + + _ v _ + + _ + __ 0 - __- _ 1361 PROPERTY LINE ...; SIDEWALK ........... .. .. �' %,% .��`.. :•• ii SIDEWALK PLANTER AREA W(4' )0]1� E.P. PLANTER AREA CONCRETE APRON CONCRETE APRON BROKEN CURB A.C. CURB COLUMBUS AVE. NOTES 5' WIDE CONCRETE APRON 4' WIDE PLANTER AREA 4' WIDE SIDEWALK PROPERTY LINE 3.8' FROM BACK OF SIDEWALK SURVEYED 2/7/95 SCOTT & TONY