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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTR_Arborist Report ISA Certified Consulting Arborists Page 1 of 7 19712 147th Ave SE, Renton, WA 98058 Office: 425-867-2307 Cell: 425-260-4293 Lic# MTREEMT870DO March 5, 2024 Client: Phyllis LaRue c/o Melanie Jordan Location: 2447 Maple Valley Hwy Renton, WA 98055 Parcel # 172305-9101 Project Arborist: Anne M Morey ISA Certified Arborist PN-9302A ISA Qualified Tree Risk Assessor Scope of Work: To complete a Level 2 hazard assessment to comply with City of Renton Municipal Codes for hazard tree removal. Personal qualifications and levels of assessment: I have worked in the tree industry for over 20 years and have obtained my ISA Certifications for Arborist and Tree Risk Assessor. I used my experience in the field and preparing reports for municipalities throughout King, Snohomish and Pierce Counties to create this report/letter. There are three (3) levels of tree risk assessment Level 1: Visual Assessment; distant assessment of 1 or a group of trees to determine any obvious hazards and determine if other levels of assessment are necessary. Level 2: Basic Assessment; detailed visual inspection of a tree and its surrounding site using simple tools to acquire more information about the tree and any potential defects. Level 3: Advanced Assessment; these assessments are used to provide more detailed I information about specific tree parts, defects, targets, or site conditions. ISA Certified Consulting Arborists Page 2 of 7 19712 147th Ave SE, Renton, WA 98058 Office: 425-867-2307 Cell: 425-260-4293 Lic# MTREEMT870DO Site Observations: This is a 39750 SQFT lot located on the east side of the cedar river near the Renton Community Center. The house was originally built in 1944 and has been kept in average condition over the years. The property is surrounded by vegetation including but not limited to black cottonwood, bigleaf maples and red alders. The trees are approximately 300 feet from cedar river located on the northwest corner of the lot indicated with the red dots on the map below. Tree #1 Tree #2 ISA Certified Consulting Arborists Page 3 of 7 19712 147th Ave SE, Renton, WA 98058 Office: 425-867-2307 Cell: 425-260-4293 Lic# MTREEMT870DO Discussion: I’ve monitored this property for several years and have watched these two cottonwood trees decline over that time. Upon further inspection this year I discovered that tree #2 now has several fruiting bodies on the lower 15 feet of the trunk along with severe sap sucker damage in this area. Last summer the canopy was completely dead and bare. It appears that tree #1 may share part of the root crown and system of Tree #2 and leans considerably towards Hwy 169. The trees sit in a vegetative buffer covered in blackberry vines and ivy and tree 2 actually leans towards tree 1 so if failure were to occur chances are good that there would be a domino type effect with both trees falling towards Hwy 169. This area has been maintained as natural as possible which helps with privacy and noise for the current resident. There are other large cottonwood trees and bigleaf maples throughout this area, most are in decline and are often left to naturally fail as targets are minimal to none. These particular cottonwood trees have been trimmed in the past to help with end weight and removal of dead and hazardous limbs/scaffolds due to the lean and targets over Hwy 169 and the storefront parking and access. To comply with RMC 4-9-195 Routine Vegetation Management Permit Process, I completed the ISA Basic Tree Risk Assessment form for both trees resulting in high-risk ratings. I’ve also completed the Tree Retention and Credit Worksheet showing that for this property a total of 20 tree credits are required based off 39,750 sqft loss less approximately 11,195 sqft designated as a hazard erosion zone. Not all trees were inventoried, all trees 12” in DBH and above were noted with 4 of those trees located within the erosion hazard area near cedar river. There are more trees between 6 & 11 inches on the property, mostly alders and maples that border property lines and some new growth which was inaccessible due to blackberry and other restricting vegetation. After completing this worksheet and based off the inventory of trees 12” DBH and larger there are currently a total of 122 tree credits and no replacement trees required. The Trees: Tree 1 Tree 2 ISA Certified Consulting Arborists Page 4 of 7 19712 147th Ave SE, Renton, WA 98058 Office: 425-867-2307 Cell: 425-260-4293 Lic# MTREEMT870DO Tree #2, on the west facing side of the tree there are obvious older fungi and some newer conks growing. Without testing there is no way to state if these are fungi associated with a root disease, they appear to be saprotrophic but again, testing would need to be done to correctly identify the fungi. This tree leans directly into tree #1 which already has a lean over the main entrance to these homes and store as well as Hwy 169. Reducing these trees to shorter habitat snags, preferably just above the area compromised on tree 2 in hopes to retain the habitat utilizing it currently and eliminate the hazards to targets. ISA Certified Consulting Arborists Page 5 of 7 19712 147th Ave SE, Renton, WA 98058 Office: 425-867-2307 Cell: 425-260-4293 Lic# MTREEMT870DO Recommendation: Due to the targets described in this report and the declining health, it is my professional opinion that these 2 cottonwood trees should be reduced to a safe height and left as environmental habitat snags. These snags shall include a nesting box on tree 1 and cuts above the area of sap sucker activity on tree 2. Material smaller than 12” in diameter should be put back into the buffer to help with saturation and the base of tree 1 should be girdled to eliminate further sprout growth in the canopy. Thank you for the opportunity to help with your trees, please contact me if you have any further questions on this letter. Anne Marie Morey A & M Tree Service NW, Inc. President/Owner ISA Certified Arborist #PN-9302A ISA Qualified Tree Risk Assessor Office Voice Mail: 425-867-2307 Cell: 425-260-4293 Member of PNW and Western Chapters ISA It was hard to determine if these trees are sharing the same root crown due to the overgrown blackberry and ivy. Therefore, these trees were assessed individually. If either tree is removed there would be negative impact to the other. I also believe that if one of them failed it would cause the other to fail as well, likely at the same time. As we have been doing some structural reduction and end weight removal to help alleviate the chance of failure, it now appears time to snag each tree to a safe height and allow some new understory to gain sunlight and grow. ISA Certified Consulting Arborists Page 6 of 7 19712 147th Ave SE, Renton, WA 98058 Office: 425-867-2307 Cell: 425-260-4293 Lic# MTREEMT870DO Assumptions and Limiting Conditions 1) Any legal description provided to the A & M Tree Service NW, Inc. is assumed to be correct. Any titles and ownerships to any property are assumed to be good and marketable. No responsibility is assumed for matters legal in character. Any and all property is appraised or evaluated as though free and clear, under responsible ownership and competent management. 2) It is assumed that any property is not in violation of any applicable codes, ordinances, statutes, or other governmental regulations, unless otherwise stated. 3) Care has been taken to obtain all information from reliable sources. All data has been verified insofar as possible; however, A & M Tree Service NW, Inc. can neither guarantee nor be responsible for the accuracy of information. 4) A & M Tree Service NW, Inc. shall not be required to give testimony or to attend court by reason of this report unless subsequent contractual arrangements are made, including payment of an additional fee for such services as described in the fee schedule and contract of engagement. 5) Loss or alteration of any part of this report invalidated the entire report. 6) Possession of this report or a copy thereof does not imply right of publication or use for any purpose by any other than the person to whom it is addressed, without the prior expressed written or verbal consent of A & M Tree Service NW, Inc. 7) Neither all or any part of the contents of this report, nor copy thereof, shall be conveyed by anyone, including the client, to the public through advertising, public relations, news, sales or other media, without the prior expressed written or verbal consent of A & M Tree Service NW, Inc. -- particularly as to value conclusions, identity of A & M Tree Service NW, Inc., or any reference to any professional society or to any initialed designation conferred upon A & M Tree Service NW, Inc. as stated in its qualifications. 8) This report and any values expressed herein represent the opinion of A & M Tree Service NW, Inc., and the fee is in no way contingent upon the reporting of a specified value, a stipulated result, the occurrence neither of a subsequent event, nor upon any finding in to reported. 9) Sketches, diagrams, graphs, and photographs in this report, being intended as visual aids, are not necessarily to scale and should not be construed as engineering or architectural reports or surveys. 10) Unless expressed otherwise: 1) information contained in this report covers only those items that were examined and reflects the condition of those items at the time of inspection; and 2) the inspection is limited to visual examination of accessible items without dissection, excavation, probing, or coring. There is no warranty or guarantee, expressed or implied, that problems or deficiencies of the tree or other plant or property in question may not arise in the future. Note: Even healthy trees can fail under normal or storm conditions. The only way to eliminate all risk is to remove all trees within reach of all targets. Annual monitoring by an ISA Certified Arborist or Certified Forester will reduce the potential of tree failures. It is impossible to predict with certainty that a tree will stand or fail, or the timing of the failure. It is considered an ‘Act of God’ when a tree fails, unless it is directly felled or pushed over by man’s actions. ISA Certified Consulting Arborists Page 7 of 7 19712 147th Ave SE, Renton, WA 98058 Office: 425-867-2307 Cell: 425-260-4293 Lic# MTREEMT870DO Methods Measuring We measured the diameter of each tree at 54 inches above grade, diameter at standard height (DSH). If a tree had multiple stems. We measured each stem individually at standard height and determined a single‐stem equivalent diameter by using the method outlined in the city of Seattle Director’s Rule 16‐ 2008 or the Guide for Plant Appraisal, 10th Edition Second Printing published by the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers. A tree is regulated based on this single‐stem equivalent diameter value. Evaluating We evaluated tree health and structure utilizing visual tree assessment (VTA) methods. The basis behind VTA is the identification of symptoms, which the tree produces in reaction to a weak spot or area of mechanical stress. A tree reacts to mechanical and physiological stresses by growing more vigorously to re‐enforce weak areas, while depriving less stressed parts. An understanding of the uniform stress allows the arborist to make informed judgments about the condition of a tree. Rating When rating tree health, we took into consideration crown indicators such as foliar density, size, color, stem and shoot extensions. When rating tree structure, we evaluated the tree for form and structural defects, including past damage and decay. A & M Tree Service NW, Inc. has adapted our ratings based on the Purdue University Extension formula values for health condition (Purdue University Extension bulletin FNR‐ 473‐W ‐ Tree Appraisal). These values are a general representation used to assist arborists in assigning ratings. Excellent ‐ Perfect specimen with excellent form and vigor, well‐balanced crown. Normal to exceeding shoot length on new growth. Leaf size and color normal. Trunk is sound and solid. Root zone undisturbed. No apparent pest problems. Long safe useful life expectancy for the species. Good ‐ Imperfect canopy density in few parts of the tree, up to 10% of the canopy. Normal to less than ¾ typical growth rate of shoots and minor deficiency in typical leaf development. Few pest issues or damage, and if they exist, they are controllable, or tree is reacting appropriately. Normal branch and stem development with healthy growth. Safe useful life expectancy typical for the species. Fair ‐ Crown decline and dieback up to 30% of the canopy. Leaf color is somewhat chlorotic/necrotic with smaller leaves and “off” coloration. Shoot extensions indicate some stunting and stressed growing conditions. Stress cone crop clearly visible. Obvious signs of pest problems contributing to lesser condition, control might be possible. Some decay areas found in main stem and branches. Below average safe useful life expectancy Poor ‐ Lacking full crown, more than 50% decline and dieback, especially affecting larger branches. Stunting of shoots is obvious with little evidence of growth on smaller stems. Leaf size and color reveals overall stress in the plant. Insect or disease infestation may be severe and uncontrollable. Extensive decay or hollows in branches and trunk. Short safe useful life expectancy