City wants to change church plan to avoid suit

Deirdre Newman

The city does not want to be liable for any damages, claims or legal

actions involving the ficus trees planted by the Prince of Peace

church along Baker Street or Mesa Verde Drive.

Therefore, the Planning Commission will consider adding conditions

to the church’s master plan that would hold the city blameless for

any damage caused by the trees.

Tonight, the commission will consider this and two other changes

to the church’s master plan, in the number of students and in the use

of the walkway next to the Baker Street driveway.

Church officials did not return calls for comment on the

condition, but some nearby residents say it doesn’t go far enough.

They want to see the ficus trees removed.

“If I trip and fall on their property, and I break my hip, and I’m

in the hospital or I’m incapacitated, I don’t want money,” Gordon

Pate said. “I want the quality of life that I have today.”

The Planning Commission first considered these changes to the

church’s master plan on Oct. 27. Commissioners opted to continue the

item to allow church and school officials to have more time to work

with the city attorney’s office on the language of the condition. The

condition has been changed so it is amenable to both parties,

according to planning staff members.

The condition is the result of a lengthy effort by the city to

deal with the ficus trees, which were planted without city approval.

City officials first made an effort to get the trees removed

voluntarily and then sent a formal letter to Pastor Mark Rogers on

July 25, 2002, asking the church to remove them and replace them with

other trees. The letter, sent by Assistant Development Services

Director Perry Valantine, stated that ficus trees can have shallow or

surface rooting and pose a danger to city sidewalks.

As a matter of public safety, Valantine required that all ficus

trees within eight feet of the public sidewalk along Mesa Verde Drive

East and Baker Street should be removed and that new city-approved

trees should be planted on Baker Street. The letter threatened that

failure to comply would mean a public hearing to consider revoking

the permit for the modular buildings.

But subsequent conversations with the planning staff and the city

attorney’s office resulted in softer rhetoric and a rescinding of the

ultimatum. City officials found that the planting of the trees was

done without criminal intent, the trees weren’t causing any damage to

public property and the planning staff had the authority to approve

the ficus trees, even though they’re not on the recommended list.

Root barriers have since been implemented.

The other two changes to the master plan the commission will

consider are allowing a maximum number of 315 students on site at any

one time, without limiting the number of preschool versus elementary

school students, and allowing use of the walkway next to the Baker

Street driveway. Some neighbors are concerned that the walkway is too

dangerous because the street is a main thoroughfare and doesn’t

contain any pedestrian markings to connect the school to the off-site

parking.