Planning board recommends denial of variance to remove western historic tree at Lake Ella site

The Town of Lady Lake Planning & Zoning Board recommended denial of a variance to remove a historic tree on the western property line of the Lake Ella PUD independent-living project, but planning staff recommended approval for removal of a separate tree located in a utility easement.

Planning staff (Rebecca) told the board the application concerns two historic trees on approximately 30 acres in the Lake Ella PUD; staff recommended approval of removing the specimen tree located in the utility area but recommended denial of the tree on the western boundary. Staff described the project as phase one of an independent-living facility and said the site is hilly and will require substantial grading.

Applicant representative Jason Bullard of EXO Limited presented the developer’s site constraints and engineering response options. He identified the western specimen as Tree 572, a split oak with two trunks that together meet the code threshold for a historic tree. “It’s actually a split oak, it has 2 trunks that add up to a larger tree,” Bullard said. He described the entrance grading and the need for retaining structures and tiebacks that would intrude into the protected root zone: “We’re doing a tiered wall at this moment. 3 tiered walls of roughly 8 feet. So 24 feet or so,” he said, adding that tiebacks and grading would likely impact the tree’s life.

Board members probed alternatives and noted past tree-loss experience where tiebacks and walls proved fatal to root systems. The planning staff told the board that removal decisions can be separated—approval for the utility-area tree and denial for the western boundary tree—and that the board’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Town Commission, where the final determination will be made.

After discussion and a restated motion to recommend denial of the variance for the western tree, the board voted to recommend denial; staff and the applicant may present additional material to the Town Commission during hearings scheduled April 6 with final readings April 20.