Urban Forestry Commission

Urban Forestry Commission Meeting Minutes Wednesday, December 16, 2020 ❖ 7:00 - 9:00 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 Liaison: Charles Prince City Council Liaison: Not available UFC Student Representative: Dylan Petrillo City Staff: Members of the Public: Kate Reich, Luanne Lukes 1. Call to Order - the meeting began at 7:04 p.m. 2. Reading of Virtual Meeting Notice 3. Roll Call 4. Approval of the November UFC Minutes - minutes were approved. 5. Public Comments - no public comments. ○ Mr. Byers submitted an email which was sent to all UFC members prior to the meeting. The email noted (1) his agreement with listing the three proposed specimen trees (Magnolia, Liriodendron, Oxydendrum) on the Fellows Property on the City Registar and (2) and suggested planting American Chestnuts on the property. 6. Staff Updates/Informational Items: ○ W&OD project - Charles Prince addressed several items related to the project, which includes two separate projects: the NOVA Parks dual trail initiative and the City of Falls Church's potential crosswalk improvements. i. Dominion Energy is pruning areas within 25’ of transmission lines. ii. There will be a minimal amount of tree plantings near transmission lines (near the Little Falls Street), with most plantings consisting of shrubs and native plant meadows. iii. There may be an opportunity for tree plantings near crosswalks. iv. Charles has been involved in conversations with the NOVA Parks regarding  plantings and is confident that NOVA Parks will keep the areas well maintained as it will be the exemplary model to secure additional projects. ○ TJ/FCCPS grounds maintenance - No updates. This will be a focus in 2021. ○ Specimen Trees, Fellows - Charles supports the initiative to place the three specimen trees (Magnolia, Sourwood, Tulip) on the City Registrar. He will start the nomination process. Amy Crumpton noted that the most recent list of the City’s Specimen Trees is missing the Southern Red Oak (#38) which is on the Fellows Property. This list should be updated before being submitted to Council as an informational item attached to the request for certification of the three new trees on the property. ○ Dan Sze Memorial planting - Charles does not think the timing for this will work with the Fellows Property, but he has some ideas that he will present during the January meeting. ○ Tree City USA application - Charles stated that the hosting website for the application hasn’t been working for over a month. He discussed the issue with the site owner who is addressing the issue. If the website doesn’t get fixed soon, the City of Falls Church will get an extension if it is not able to submit the application by the December 31, 2020 deadline. ○ IN MEETING ADDITION: Excel Worksheet of City related documents - Charles suggests adding this to the monthly agenda under “Staff Updates.” When the document gets created, it will be made available in the UFC Google Drive. ○ IN MEETING ADDITION: Charles will attend the December 17 Town Hall meeting regarding the West Falls Church Project and will provide a summary. ○ IN MEETING ADDITION: The deadline for submitting public comments to the arborist will change to 6 p.m. on the evening of the meeting in order to give the arborist and Commissioners time to review any comments ahead of the meeting. 7. Current Business ○ Rules of Procedure - A suggestion was made to add the line, “The UFC members shall propose items to the agenda to the arborist at least seven working days in advance of the meeting.” This will allow the arborist time to upload it 5 business days in advance of the meeting. UFC members should review the document for final suggestions one last time. Once that has happened, the UFC can vote to approve them. ○ Tree of the Year - Dave D suggested a tree from the Oak family; or obtain former UFC member Dennis Syzmanski’s input as a gesture for his years of service to the UFC. Amy Crumpton and Kathy Philpott Costa suggested a Sweet Gum Tree; David B asked for recommendations on the location of the Tree of the Year as it will influence his suggestion. Charles stated that it would ideally be included as part of the neighborhood tree program since city parks are fairly full. David Braun suggested: a black willow for the TJ property, a pussy willow, or a black cherry. David DeCoste will create a document that captures UFC member suggestions so it can be compiled and voted on at the January meeting. ○ Annual Report and 2021 UFC Priorities - UFC members and the city arborist should review the document and add their comments to it. Kathy cited some examples of our involvement in 2020, noting that efforts were significantly reduced due to COVID-19. Project reviews included the UFC influence in the West Falls Church Project, Big Chimney’s Park, George Mason greenspace and the Fellows Property. Other accomplishments include the updated urban forestry goals and strategies in Chapter 5 of the Comprehensive Plan and urban forestry guidelines in the West End Small Area Plan. She noted that the UFC should push the City to develop clear green space and tree canopy guidelines (as the new Comp Plan states) when reviewing developer  proposals. Amy Crumpton suggested working on clear green space definitions that could be recommended to City Council as a change to City Code. It was also recommended adding clarification of the process around voluntary concessions that provide funds for tree planting and identifying priorities for use of such funds when they are received. Founders Row was the first commercial project where the City received an urban forest concession ($10k). The Insight Project currently has a $20k concession in the proposal to compensate for tree removal on the site. ○ Legislative priorities - Assistant City Manager Cindy Mester informs Kathy of legislative updates. Kathy suggested the City of Falls Church UFC support a proposal for an increase in flexibility as it relates to stormwater management. This has become a major issue for the City and could provide new opportunities for incentives from greenspace and stormwater management. Additionally, the UFC will support efforts to give local municipalities more flexibility when developing mature tree preservation programs. 8. Recurring Business ○ West Falls Church Project Update - The city has added a Dec. 17 town hall meeting to discuss some updates. It was also noted that the developer has not responded to our comments from their presentation. Specifically, they haven’t indicated how they achieved their 18% canopy coverage and what made up that percentage. ○ Broad and Washington Update - The Insight developer has not responded to our questions. Kathy is following up with the City regarding answers from both developers. 9. Future Business ○ Counting Tree Plantings (My Tree Counts) - The VA Department of Forestry (DoF) has not achieved their water quality levels for the Chesapeake Bay area. They’ve asked local municipalities to record the quantity of trees being planted to help them achieve their goal. Amy will investigate whether the DoF needs data on trees already documented by the City that is supplied to the National Arbor Foundation as part of the yearly Tree City USA certification or whether data entry is mostly meant for capturing community volunteer events. She is checking in with Jeremy Edwards as well to properly document the tree plantings done by the FC Habitat Restoration Team ○ Green Infrastructure Plan/Standards ○ Biophilic Cities - Amy suggested inviting the chair of the Arlington UFC to speak to us on how Arlington County's new membership in the Biophilic Cities Network affects their thinking on urban forestry and natural resource management. ○ UF Management Plan ○ UF Code Changes ○ Add Founder Row II to “Future Business” to the January 2021 meeting agenda. ○ Fellows Park Master Planning - Charles, along with Green Space Manager Jeremy Edwards, have been asked to provide their expertise on the state of the Fellows Property at the January 6, 2021 Recreation and Parks Advisory Board meeting. 10. Adjourn - Meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. These minutes were prepared by David DeCoste, UFC Secretary. Urban Forestry Commission Staff liaison: Charles Prince: 571-238-6306, arborist@fallschurchva.gov.