Urban Forestry Commission

Urban Forestry Commission Meeting Minutes Wednesday, November 18, 2020 ❖ 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. Virtual Meeting NOTICE: This virtual meeting of the Urban Forestry Commission was held pursuant to and in compliance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Section 2.2-3708.2 and state and local legislation adopted to allow for continued government operation during the COVID-19 declared emergency. All participating members of the Urban Forestry Commission were present at this meeting through electronic means. All members of the public may view this video of this meeting on the City’s website at www.fallschurchva.gov/UFC Attendees UFC members: Kathy Philpott Costa, Amy Crumpton, David DeCoste, David Braun UFC City Staff Liaisons: Charles Prince City Council Liaison: Ross Litkenhous UFC Student Representative: City Staff: Akida Rouzi (City Planner) Members of the Public: Kate Reich, Rick Balsano, Stacey Evers (Environmental Sustainability Council) Developer: Scott Adams, Matthew Tauscher (Bowman) 1. Call to Order 2. Reading of Virtual Meeting Notice 3. Roll Call 4. Approval of the October Urban Forestry Commission Minutes - approved 5. Public Comments 6. Staff Updates/Informational Items ○ FCCPS School Maintenance - no updates ○ UFC Meeting Time Changes - Will plan to move the meetings to 7 p.m. 7. Current Business ○ Insight Project at Broad and Washington: Akida Rouzi stated that all comments from boards and commissions are due by Nov. 20, 2020.  i. Scott Adams delivered the Broad and Washington presentation. He described the overall project benefits: fiscal impact, permanent home for Creative Cauldron, open space and public parks, environmental commitments (green building, stormwater management, solar, tree contribution), public parking, affordable housing, transportation (robust TDM plan, full funding for bike share, public and private bike parking) ii. Scott described in detail the public and private usable open spaces. The plantings will be in accordance with city-approved trees and plants. iii. The public plaza area named Unity and Justice Plaza will receive input from the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation and Creative Cauldron partnership. iv. The Lawton Park public space was also discussed. It was noted that the existing trees along Lawton Street will be kept. v. After the presentation, the floor was opened for questions by the UFC. vi. David Braun asked about the location of the loading docks. Scott indicated that they are all inside the building. vii. David Braun then inquired about water runoff at the plaza. Scott stated that the area will use natural grass. The inclusion of permeable pavers was raised and it noted that the development team has not discussed its inclusion. viii. Kathy Philpott Costa asked if the project is instituting more stormwater management than the existing development. Scott stated that they are meeting the city’s requirement and are going 20% beyond the requirement for detention for 10-year storms so excess water can be released later. The grading will send water runoff toward Tripps Run and not 4 Mile Run. ix. Kathy questioned whether they will be able to maintain real grass in the Plaza space due to the small footprint. The property owner and developer have committed to maintain all the public park spaces and believe it will not be an issue. Scott added that the plaza area is a 50/50 split between greenscape and hardscape. x. The UFC asked if they can provide a percentage of treescape on the property. Matthew Tauscher provided the following calculations: 6000 sq. ft (based on the 10 year canopy growth) in street trees. 2000 canopy on plaza, 2000 sq. feet on Lawton park; 2500 existing street tree canopy on Lawton; 1500 buffer in the rear area. A follow-up email was sent to Matthew Tauscher on Nov. 20, 2020 to confirm these numbers. xi. Kate Reich asked about the soil depth in the plaza. The developer wasn’t sure and would get back to the UFC. This was asked because a parking area under the plaza may compromise soil depth and weight, and, as a result, the soil and plants used may need to utilize lighter weight selections. xii. Kate pointed out that the presentation made references to voluntary concessions regarding native plantings, but that those notations are not concessions because they are part of the City Code. xiii. Amy Crumpton asked if any stormwater will be retained and reused to water the greenspace. The developer stated that the project has not been designed to use collected water to irrigate the property. Water runoff will be captured and maintained during a storm and slowly released once the storm has subsided to reduce the amount of water runoff during storms. He also noted  that stormwater recycling was not considered a priority because there is no state of Virginia incentive credit for developers to create such systems. The developer stated that property owner / hired maintenance will care for the greenspace and replace any plants/trees. xiv. Amy asked for a count of the number of trees removed, retained and planted? Matthew Tauscher provided the numbers. 5 large trees on Lawton; series of Evergreens on the backside of a neighbor. All others on site will be removed. New plantings in the streetscape and the two parks. Proposed 4 on Washington and 12 on East Broad 5 on Park Place - the rest will be plazas and streetscape (an email was sent to the developer to confirm these numbers. As of 12/16/2020 a reply has not been received). xv. Amy asked if any greenspace existed near the edge of the building parallel to the parking lot behind Thompson's Italian and Clare and Don's restaurants. A planting buffer between the parking lot and the new development would add storm water and heat island management techniques to the space.. The developer stated that there aren’t any plantings in that area. Amy suggested a green wall in that space. xvi. Amy inquired as to the roof composition. Will it be a green roof or use solar panels? Scott noted that the roof will include both. xvii. Dave DeCoste asked if they have started identifying the trees and plants to be used. Scott noted they have not and it will occur during the site plan stage. They will work with the city arborist on specimen selection and optimal planting dates. xviii. David Braun asked about the size of the trees being planted. Matthew stated that it will depend on the area where it is being planted. xix. Amy Crumpton questioned how pet needs will be addressed in the area. Scott stated that a dog run will be implemented on one of the elevated areas and a dog washing room will be installed. The public area will include dog waste stations. xx. Kathy asked about the setback distance along the street. Scott indicated 20’. xxi. Kathy asked if shadow studies had been done on the trees in the back area. The developer said that it had been done and they didn’t foresee any issues with tree growth potential. ○ UFC Chair and Vice Chair: Because Dennis Syzmanski moved out of Falls Church City, he can no longer be a member of the UFC. The UFC is grateful to Dennis for his years of service to the City and wishes him a rewarding retirement. He will be missed. Kathy Philpott Costa was voted to replace Dennis as the UFC Chair. Amy Crumpton was then voted to fill Kathy’s vacated seat of Vice Chair. ○ Stormwater Task Force: The question was raised regarding the status of their recommendations. Kathy will follow-up with Ross. The expectation is that as the Stormwater Task Force moves forward, there will be more involvement with the UFC. Their initial recommendations for stormwater mitigation had little mention of utilizing trees and other natural habitats to help the situation. Amy pointed out that the Planning Commission issued an Oct. 26 memo to the City  Council stating their reservations with funding projects prioritized by the Stormwater Task Force because the City does not yet have a Green Infrastructure Plan. She will investigate this issue and report back with suggestions as to how the UFC might offer input on developing a green infrastructure plan to Council. ○ Legislative priorities for 2021: this will be added to the calendar. ○ Calendar and Rules of Procedure: The team reviewed the calendar. Kathy asked each UFC member to identify their top 2 or 3 priorities for the UFC. The Rules of Procedure were last updated in 2014 and only needs minor updates including a nomenclature change to reflect the recent name change to “Urban Forestry Commission.” 8. Recurring Business ○ Fellows Property: i. Ross Litkenhous stated that the Urban Agriculture suggestion is not in conflict with any other efforts of preservation. It would go in the areas that have already been cleared for stormwater (and where trees cannot be grown successfully) or along the edge where grass currently exists. The main idea is to update the space so it can be used as an educational and natural resource for the schools and community. The intent is not to remove or replace existing trees. ii. Stacey Evers noted that the City of Falls Church is one of the only cities in NOVA that does not have a community garden and that urban agriculture includes the concept of native edible bushes and understory trees. iii. The water / irrigation issue on the property will need to be addressed (there’s a big well cap) in the center of the property. iv. Amy will provide the site plan to the UFC team. ○ Insight Project at Broad and Washington: recapped above. ○ Memorial Planting for Councilmember Sze - No update at this time. 9. Future Business ○ City Code Changes ○ Urban Forestry Master Planning ○ Urban Forestry Department Staffing Needs Meeting adjourned at 9:38. These minutes were prepared by David DeCoste, UFC Secretary.