WHAT:
SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Workshop Format
WHEN: Thursday, June 19, 2008 @ 4:30 P.M.
WHERE: Forest Theater
Mountain View Av. & Santa Rita St.
Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA.
MISCELLANEOUS:
The Forest Theater is the “oldest outdoor community theater west of the Rockies,” established in 1910.
The Forest Theater Outdoor Stage, a Theatre under the Stars, is a unique open-air theatre. Framed by towering Monterey Pine trees and Coast Live Oak trees, audience members view dramatic performances under the stars and moonlight.
History of the Forest Theater
COMMENTS:
• Carmelites are encouraged to attend this Workshop to voice your visions for updating the Forest Theater, your concerns about the Forest Theater Foundation/Richard F. McCann Design, et cetera.
• The Forest Theater Project must be consistent with the City’s General Plan/Coastal Land Use Plan, including issues involving “significant trees.”
PHOTOS:
View of Forest Theater Trees in proposed excavation zone from Guadalupe St. near Guadalupe St. Gate along Mountain View Av. to the Mountain View Av. Gate at corner of Santa Rita St.
“Significant” Monterey Pine Trees along Guadalupe St.
View of Monterey Pine Trees along Mt. View Av. near Guadalupe St. Gate
View of Coast Live Oaks Trees
View of Coast Live Oak Trees
View of “Significant” Monterey Pine Tree
View of Cypress Tree
View of Monterey Pine Tree near Mountain View Av. Entrance
View of Site of Proposed Perimeter Parking along Mountain View Av.
View of Site of Proposed Perimeter Parking along Guadalupe St.REFERENCES:
General Plan/Coastal Land Use Plan Coastal Resource Management Element
P5-59 Avoid encroachment within the root protection zone of significant trees. Removal of significant live Monterey pine trees to facilitate residential development is prohibited unless necessary to provide viable economic use or protect public health and safety. (LUP)
O5-42 Recognize the natural resources and scenic quality of Carmel as a coastal community and allow uses in the community that are consistent with local needs and the California Coastal Act. (LUP)
P5-182 Continue to ensure that development, whether commercial or residential, does not diminish the village character by excessively blocking important public views, private views or disturbing natural topography, significant trees, or native growth. (LUP)
P5-209 New development shall be sited and designed on the most suitable portion of the site while ensuring protection and preservation of natural and sensitive site resources by providing for the following:
Minimizing disturbance of natural areas, including significant trees, native vegetation, and root structures;
12 comments:
I heard Mr. McCann at the City Council and he distinctly said that the proposed parking on Mountain View would not be continuous, but would jog around the current trees.
To take advantage of the special council meeting being held at the Forest Theater, the city should mark the trees slated for removal due to parking and construction of new buildings. The city should also show the height and placement of any sound walls. This all should be done for the meeting and left there so others can see it later, especially those unable to attend this meeting.
I watched the YouTube Acclaimed Performing Arts, Carmel-by-the-Sea clip starring Walt deFaria, President of the Forest Theater Foundation. Right off, I was struck by the dissonance between his depiction of Forest Theater as a Theater under the stars and the McCann plan calling for 25 speakers or 1 per 20-30 patrons, hung about 15’ above the heads of audience patrons. I guess some patrons would still be able to see the stars, but others would look up to see a speaker obstructing the twinkling stars. The McCann plan is so unCarmel, unForest Theater.
In addition to these trees on Mountain View and lower Guadalupe, don't forget to photograph all of the trees on Santa Rita St. that will be removed for the handicapped access road and all of the trees inside the fence east and west of the seating area and stage that need to come out for expansion and grading. Oh, and the trees for the emergency access road off Guadalupe, and the trees in the upper reaches for the enclosed control booth platform for spotlights and audio equipment. If all these trees are removed, why would we continue to call it the Forest Theater?
The Forest Theater Foundation has thrown everything they could think of into their pre-design plan, knowing full well that they won't get it all. The Board acquiesced to such things as the excavation under the seating area because a particular driving force twisted their arms to go along and they let it ride. It makes them look weak and stupid to think they could accomplish this grandiose plan that doesn't fit into a rustic site. The city ain't going to carry the financial ball. And the Foundation won't be able to raise enough money to make a dent because Pac Rep is going after all the money for their own renovation of the Golden Bough. It's time for the people of Carmel to stand up the theater users and demand a more sensible approach from the City. It's our money.
At the Special City Council Meeting on May 20, 2008, Richard F. McCann stated that existing trees would stay, trees would be isolated and parking would be configured around trees despite his FOREST THEATER & GROUNDS MASTER PLAN PROGRAM ELEMENTS depiction showing continuous parking along Mountain View Av. and two discontinuous areas along Guadalupe St. (#7) At the meeting though McCann conceded that preserving trees would require the City to hire an arborist.
Internet research:
Monterey Pine’s have a shallow root system. Though most guidelines for tree preservation advise construction and grading outside of the dripline, even that restriction could lead to removal of over half the tree’s roots and effect it’s health and stability. While root systems are often shown as mirror images of the tops, they usually cover a much larger area. Roots can extend far beyond the dripline to as much as two to three times the diameter of the crown. The major portion of the absorbing roots system of a mature tree is within the top three feet of soil and most of the fine roots active in water and nutrient absorption are in the top twelve inches.
Comment: At the Forest Theater then, excavation around trees would likely create health and safety problems. Additionally, excavation that deep, from the existing ground level to street level and between that many trees close together, would encroach within the driplines and beyond damaging root systems. Moreover, if you excavate around the trees in the expectation of preserving them, you will not get the talked about 25-29 parking spaces and you will create safety problems. The solution then is to abandon the perimeter parking concept where McCann has depicted parking spaces on his plan or remove all the trees for the desired parking spaces violating the spirit, if not the letter, of the City’s LCP.
The Comment about photos needed for potential tree removals along Santa Rita St., Josselyn Lane and upper Guadalupe St. is well taken. Photos will be taken at a future date, thank you for your constructive comment.
I wholeheartedly agree with the comment about all the trees being removed if all the components of the McCann plan are realized. Tree removal for perimeter parking along Mt. View Av. and Guadalupe, handicapped access on Santa Rita St., emergency access on Guadalupe and enlarged buildings for restrooms and control booth represent significant tree removal. And as the commenter wrote, with all those trees gone, it would no longer be appropriate to call it "Forest Theater;" more like McCann Theater or Meadow Theater or Park Theater.
The McCann design plan supporters, or at least one supporter on this blog, first denied tree removals were a significant issue. Now, the supporter writes Richard McCann would have discontinuous parking with parking slots jogging around trees. Richard McCannn is an architect, not an arborist. That said, it is important to distinguish between a non-professional's opinion, in this instance Richard McCann, and a professional arborist's judgment. Opinions are not the same as facts based on years of experience in the field.
I wonder what the McCann supporter will think up next for a third and fourth and fifth reason to discredit the facts of the matter, the story keeps changing with each specious reason given.
The timing of the McCann plan is bizarre. Ken Talmage has said the city can't afford to write a check for McCann's design, but he says the Forest Theater renovation is the #1 priority of the City Council. PacRep, one of the three Foundation members, is focused on their capital campaign for the Golden Bough. Donors have not yet paid all the Sunset Center debt. Why all of a sudden is the Forest Theater an obsession with the city? In 8 years, the only significant development on the Forest Theater grounds has been the planting of native plants. Other than that, the city has treated the Forest Theater with an out-of-sight out-of-mind attitude.
McCann fan here! Yes - first I said that tree removal was not significant, then I added that the Mt. View parking would jog around the trees. These two statments are in complete agreement with each other. What exactly about standard english do you not understand? But the point is mute - that option (never a "must-do" according to Defaria) is not being recommended. After hearing from the community, the council and the foundation both responded appropriately - as they should have, and as they promised. Good for them.
Please draw a distinction between two incompatible ideas and two false ideas. The intended usage was two false statements are incompatible with reality. An insignificant number of trees will be removed and parking along Mt. View Avenue jogging around trees are both false statements incompatible with reality. With the McCann plan, there would be significant tree removal for parking, emergency access, and so on. There would be no excavation around trees for parking because it is infeasible economically and safety wise. Again, two false statements are incompatible with reality, not necessarily with each other. I hope that clears things up in a polite and civil manner.
Praise heaped onto the council for heeding public comment at a belatedly held workshop on the Forest Theater Renovation Plan is premature. If the council cares first and foremost about public input for the design, then the council will have another workshop tout de suite prior to sending comments onto Richard McCann. Whether intentional or not, placing lights and sound towards the end of the agenda guaranteed at best cursory comment and at worst no comment on lights and sound, arguably the most important items under design consideration. Ditto for the stage design having only brief and superficial attention, another important item, albeit from the actors’ perspective.
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