Urban Forestry Commission

Tree Commission Meeting Minutes Wednesday, February 15, 2017  7:30 - 9:30 pm Dogwood Room, City Hall Present: Kathy Philpott Costa, Dennis Szymanski, John Tesner, Barbara Tesner, Kate Reich, Brian Goggin 1. Approval of January Minutes: The minutes from the meeting on January 18, 2017 were approved. 2. Public Comments: None 3. Old Business: None 4. Current Business  Tree Labeling joint project with VPIS: Kate and Dennis met with Seth Heminway of VPIS to discuss a project to label trees, using a small VPIS budget. The goal is public education on different species that are visible around the City.  Tree of the Year: The Commission voted to name the Flowering Dogwood Tree of the Year for 2017. Christian to provide research on Dogwood cultivars.  Vision Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan: The Commission’s suggestion for a streetscape sustainability measure of improvement was not accepted in the Vision Chapter draft. City staff’s reasoning was that there was not an intrinsic way to measure such improvement and that the public streetscape was not widespread enough to be a general measure of City progress.  Joint meeting with Environmental Sustainability Council: The ESC has suggested a meeting with the Commission on mutual areas of interest. Dennis will coordinate possible specific items for an agenda.  Cottage Housing update: Kate, Karen and Kathy walked the site with developer Bob Young and some members of the ESC. The draft code was approved by Council this week and included changes suggested by the Commission. The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability call (703) 248-5350, option 5. TTY 711.   Voluntary Concessions: The Commission is continuing to work on language for proposed Voluntary Concessions (tree canopy fund and tree improvements) that could help compensate for inadequate tree planting in Special Exception projects.  Private maintenance agreements for streetscapes: If the owner is maintaining the ground around the trees, they will impact tree health. The Commission will work to develop consistent language for agreements for private landscape maintenance.  Annual report: Dennis has drafted the annual report and will seek comments from the Tree Commission members. 5. Plan Reviews: The Commission reviewed a plan for subdivision development on the Columbia Baptist Church property. The project is for additional parking lot space. Kate noted in her staff comments that approval of an additional parking lot with perimeter and interior landscaping should be conditioned on better maintenance of landscaping in the interior strips of the current parking lot. In addition, Kate’s comments included the request for more street trees along the proposed sidewalk on Maple Avenue. 6. Informational Items: None 7. Future Business  Code updates/modifications relating to urban forestry  Tree canopy goals and strategies  Enforcement of site plan landscape violations  Urban Forest Management Plan The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Staff liaison: Kate Reich, 703-248-5183 kreich@fallschurchva.gov The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability call (703) 248-5350, option 5. TTY 711.