LTC 332-2022 Hazard removal of Canary Island Date Palms on Lincoln Road between Washington Avenue and Drexel AvenueDocuSign Envelope ID: 5BA6ACFC-8298-4922-906C-BB14ADD2EB13
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC # 332-2022 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Honorable Mayor Dan Gelber
FROM: Alina T. Hudak, City Manager
DATE: 8/11/2022
of the City Commission
SUBJECT: Hazard removal of Canary Island Date Palms on Lincoln Road between
Washington Avenue and Drexel Avenue
The purpose of this memorandum is to advise the City Commission of public safety risks
and the necessary removal of failing Canary Island date palms located within the Lincoln
Road Mall. Three Canary Island date palms have failed on the 400 block of Lincoln
Road Mall in the past two and a half years. The palms’ large crowns have fallen to the
ground with little to no wind, with the most recent failure Saturday, August 6th.
When the palms were originally planted, they contained hard pseudo bark (palm bark)
which keeps pests, pathogens, rain, and other harmful conditions from entering the
interior areas of the trunk. The main trunks from the original installation continue to
appear healthy and solid. However, this hard pseudo bark has failed to form in the
palms’ upward growth since
installation. The areas of new
growth are spongy and
generally open to outside
disease pressure, including
larvae and fungi. The juncture
between the old and new
growth appears to be where the
palms are failing. This factor is
compounded by the fact that
the upper crown continues to
get heavier over time.
The cumulative failures and the
potential public safety risks are
concerning. On August 10th,
the Urban Forestry Division
conducted a field inspection to
review all Canary Island date
palms along the 400 block of
Lincoln Road Mall. Seven
remaining palms within this
corridor have the same
concerning risk factor that likely
caused the previous crowns to fall unannounced. In light of the deteriorated tree health
and the public safety concerns, the city will remove the remaining Canary Island date
palms as soon as possible.
and Members
DocuSign Envelope ID: 5BA6ACFC-8298-4922-906C-BB14ADD2EB13
City staff will work toward a solution that allows for safe and successful incorporation of
palms in the Lincoln Road renovation project to replace the hazardous palms. The
Canary Island date palms are a predominant landscape feature of the mall entrance.
For additional information, please contact Amy Knowles, Chief Resilience Officer at
amyknowles@miamibeachfl.gov or Ander Alvarez, Urban Forester at
anderalvarez@miamibeachfl.gov.
LS/AK/LP/MA/AA