Pittsburg hearing set on removing three protected trees on Railroad Avenue

Pittsburg's Zoning Administrator holds a public hearing at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5, on a permit to remove three protected trees at 2100 Railroad Ave.

The application, AP-26-0029, is a tree removal permit under section 18.84.830(F) of the Pittsburg Municipal Code, the section that defines a protected tree. The site sits inside the Railroad Avenue Specific Plan, the long-range document governing development along that corridor, on assessor's parcel 087-030-068.

This one does not go to the Planning Commission. Under municipal code section 18.84.850(C), the decision is delegated to the Zoning Administrator. That is also why the hearing is in First Floor Conference Room 4B at City Hall rather than the council chamber.

The city has determined the project is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under Class 4, section 15304, the exemption for minor alterations to land. A categorical exemption means no environmental study is prepared for the removal itself.

The notice does not say what the trees are being removed for, what species they are, or whether replacement planting is proposed. Anyone who wants those answers before Aug. 5 can ask the project planner, Ariana Ruiz, at (925) 252-4029 or aruiz@pittsburgca.gov.

The hearing is open to the public, and the project planner is the city's stated contact for the file.