The property management company at Lake Arrowhead Village bypassed a key part of the regulation process for what it said would be makeover of key portion of its visually prominent span from the village’s Center Stage to the end of the peninsula, and uprooted nearly a dozen century old trees without first obtaining a permit to do so.
The San Bernardino County Land Use Services Department, which includes the county’s code enforcement division, confirmed that JLL, which manages Lake Arrowhead Village, did not obtain nor apply for tree removal permits before it removed several trees preparatory to grading of the property.
While there had been some degree of publicity with regard to the renovations that JLL is to pursue along Lake Arrowhead Village’s lakefront peninsula, that trees and other vegetation would be substituted out for concrete, steel and other inanimate objects was not made clear prior to the work beginning this week, angering some local residents who said they would have brought their protests to bear in timely manner if they had been informed ahead of time.
Lake Arrowhead Village is a separate from the Arrowhead Lake Association, which manages and maintains Lake Arrowhead and its docking facilities and looks after the interests of the property owners of Arrowhead Woods, the exclusive neighborhood bordering the lake
While the Arrowhead Lake Association owns Lake Arrowhead, the Village is a privately owned tourist attraction, which features a range of shops, restaurants, and activities open to the public.
On Friday, April 25, Rochelle Smotherman, JLL’s resident property manager at the lake, sent business owners in the village an email in which she announced that “improvements” were about to commence between Center Stage and the end of the peninsula, and that the first order of business was to have the contractor on the project, Youngren, put “fencing… in place,” after which, she said, “tree demolition will commence, lasting several days. Following this, common area demolition and earthwork will begin, continuing for approximately three weeks.”
By Sunday night, local residents had learned from one of the business owners of what was in the offing.
The following day, April 28, word reached Hugh Bialecki, president of the Save Our Forest Association. Bialecki dashed an email off to Smotherman, which was electronically carbon copied to San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe and Rowe’s office’s representative to the county’s mountain communities, Robin Bull.
“The Save Our Forest Association, Inc., has been contacted by several Lake Arrowhead Village tenants expressing their concern over the tree demolition. I would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you on Tuesday morning regarding the renovation area and the associated plans.”
Bialecki wrote, “Looking at the San Bernardino County website, Land Use Services, Mountain Region Environmental Documents there was no current project listing for the Lake Arrowhead Village renovation.” He then obliquely referenced the California Environmental Quality Act, essentially implying that JLL had neglected to abide by its provisions, which included adhering to an environmental certification process that should have been processed by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors as the unincorporated county areas’ ultimate land use authority.
“Is there a notice of availability and initial study you could refer me to that outlines the project and the considerations for significant impacts such as noise, biological resources, aesthetic, geology and soils, hydrology, etc.?”
Bialecki then cut to the heart of the issue that had animated him and others.
“In San Bernardino County tree cutting is regulated under County Code Chapter 88.01 which aims to protect native trees and plants,” Bialecki propounded. “A tree or plan removal permit is generally required for any removal of regulated trees or plants, particularly those in conjunction with land use applications or development permits.” Bialecki quoted from Code Section 88.01.050, which covers the subject of native tree or plant removal permits, which spells out that a removal permit for each tree to be removed is required, which extends to “expert certification” that removing the trees in question will not result in ecological harm. That quote reads, “The applicable review authority may require certification from an appropriate arborist, registered professional forester or a desert native plant expert that the proposed tree removal, replacement, or revegetation activities are appropriate, supportive of a healthy environment, and in compliance with this chapter.”
Bialecki then noted that San Bernardino County has extended especial protections for naturally occurring trees and plants in the mountain communities. He quoted a passage from the County Code which states “In the mountain region only, the applicable review authority shall also make all of the following findings:
(A) Where improvements are proposed, the design of the improvements ensures that at least the following minimum percentage of the subject parcel will be maintained or established in a natural undeveloped vegetation or revegetated condition sufficient to ensure vegetative coverage for a forest environment, as determined by the applicable Review Authority. (1) Twenty percent of commercial, industrial, and administrative/professional uses.”
Bialecki then wrote, “Please provide the tree survey which identifies the subject parcel for renovation and that given the proposed tree removal, that the parcel meets the criteria for the minimum twenty percent of natural undeveloped vegetation. Please provide by return email the notice of availability/initial study (if conducted), development permit, grading permit, the tree removal permit as approved by the director, and the expert certification.”
Bialecki directly addressed Smotherman, implying without directly stating that JLL was potentially harming its own interests by callously removing the trees. “You likely appreciate that a major attraction to the Lake Arrowhead Village is the spectacular setting in the San Bernardino Mountains with Lake Arrowhead as its centerpiece,” Bialecki wrote. “Preservation of our natural habitat, to the greatest degree possible, creates a unique impression in the local community and for our out-of-town visitors that is not easily matched in Southern California.”