Urban Forestry Commission

Urban Forestry Commission Meeting Minutes Wednesday, March 17, 2021 ❖ 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting NOTICE: This meeting 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 will be present at this meeting through electronic means. All members of the public may view this electronic meeting via the meeting link listed above and in the City’s website calendar. Attendees UFC members: Kathy Philpott Costa, David DeCoste, Mike Nichols UFC City Staff Liaison: Charles Prince City Council Liaison: UFC Student Representative: City Staff: Members of the Public: Stephanie Hamilton 1) Call to Order - the meeting began at 7:07 p.m. 2) Reading of Virtual Meeting Notice - read by Kathy Philpott Costa. 3) Roll Call - completed. 4) Approval of the February 2021 Minutes - approved. 5) Public Comments - No comments. 6) Staff Updates/Informational Items: a) UFC calendar update - Charles Prince reviewed the staff calendar. He noted no objections to his initial presentation to City Council regarding specimen tree recommendations; he expects the trees will be designated at the March 22 meeting. Charles also flagged the following events to be of interest to the Urban Forestry Commission (UFC): the Environmental Sustainability Council (ESC) Annual Report on April 12; the Budget Town Hall on April 15. Items to be scheduled that may be of interest to the UFC included: Property Yard Rezoning; Allowable Uses Zoning Amendment; 7/1/21 State Code Changes implementation. A question was raised regarding the UFC operating budget. Charles replied that it is expected to be flat year over the next year.  b) School grounds maintenance update - Charles met with Jeremy Edwards (City of Falls Church Green Space Manager), Seve Padilla (Facilities Director) and the nearby homeowner regarding the invasive bamboo at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School near Tripps Run. The city/school district agreed to remove the bamboo on both City and school property and spray the area to prevent regrowth. The home owner will install a fence and add some foliage. It is still TBD who will actually complete the work on the school grounds, but it appears as if the initiative will move forward. c) New UFC members - Mike Nichols has officially become a member of the UFC. Stephanie Hamilton’s term will begin in April 2021. c1) Kathy Philpott Costa provided an update to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) - Once normal business practices resume, the state of Virginia recently approved a provision that city council and committee members can virtually attend up to 2 meetings per, or a maximum of 25% of the meetings. d) Wayfinding project update - Charles stated that the project's earliest estimate for kick-off is in 2-3 months, but it will likely begin after that time. After some recent discussions, Charles does not have concerns about the project impeding UFC ideals. Charles believes that DPW will supervise any pole removal and most of the new signage will be added to existing infrastructure (e.g. poles). Charles will have the opportunity to oppose the installation of new signs if it disrupts green space and also noted that VDOT may have some edits to the proposal. All signs will be located within city limits. Members of UFC generally liked the project proposal and felt it would deliver a consistent look for the City’s signage. e) Arbor Day update - Charles is working on the plan and will record the presenters in a manner to create a cohesive video. The plan is to produce the video with Dylan Petrillo (UFC student representative), but he will secure FCCTV as a back-up. f) Memorial trees - Lisa V asked for a memorial tree to be planted because an existing memorial tree had to be removed. Charles believes there is a location in Cherry Hill Park near the playground where this replacement memorial tree could be located. It was noted that if a stone with a placard was used, then clearance from the Director of Recreation and Parks would need to sign off on it. There is another memorial tree request for a Sugar Maple tree to be planted. If a location in Cherry Hill Park isn’t identified, David DeCoste suggested using Big Chimney’s Park as there is available space there, particularly near the playground. Charles believes there may be a location close to city hall for a Dan Sze memorial tree - assuming that his wife is comfortable with a memorial tree being planted in his honor. Tim Stevens (Planning Commission Liaison to the UFC) will be reaching out to Dan Sze’s wife for confirmation. Assistant City Manager, Cindy Mester forwarded updates on Virginia bills: - A joint house and senate bill would allow cities and municipalities to exceed general requirements in its tree replacement and conservation ordinances in certain situations, including for comprehensive plan compliance and stormwater best management practices to take place. Prior to this bill passing, a stakeholder group will investigate this initiative. As a result, we may not receive any news until the Fall. On a related note, Charles noted that the FCC Planning Director has indicated openness to case-by-case flexibility in residential zoning requirements for purposes of tree preservation. 7) Current Business  a) Stormwater Code proposed changes - a study related to state requirements began in 2015, and Charles recently received a copy of the drafted stormwater code changes proposed by a consultant. Charles will provide feedback by Monday, March 22, 2021. Both he and Kathy have seen the document and noted that the organization was poor, making it extremely difficult to discern. For instance, codes may impact several different areas. Changes were made to some codes, but they weren’t transferred to other areas with the same code, thus creating conflicting codes. One takeaway from the study was the recommendation for an increase of 100’ for resource protection areas. The UFC expressed the need to be included in any stormwater code changes as many can impact UFC related codes. Charles is hopeful that this initiative will provide an opportunity for the UFC to get some desired updates to the code. b) Work Plan and Equity Review Work Plan - It was noted that the work plan document does not have one action item being led by the UFC. Very few of the 47 items have anything related to UFC. In the few areas that do impact UFC concerns, Kathy has/will reach out to those commissions (ESC, Stormwater Task Force) for a unified effort. Equity Review - UFC members have an opportunity to provide comments (document linked); The UFC should be prepared to finalize the document at the next meeting and indicate “how” these items can be implemented. Kathy has shared our initial ideas with the ESC for their input. Streetscape note: Charles noted that the Arborist and UFC won’t get the multi-tree planters requested in recent development projects, but noted that the Streetscape Guidelines support UFC requests for raised edge planters. The UFC will address this issue by adding the recommendation of a multi-tree planters to a more encompassing proposal that the UFC is developing. c) One City Center - Charles shared the plan for informational purposes as it is in the very early stages. While not pressing, Charles wanted the UFC to be aware of this development. 8) Future Business a) Counting Tree Plantings (My Tree Counts) b) Green Infrastructure Plan/Standards c) Biophilic Cities d) UF Management Plan e) UFC Standard Maintenance Agreements f) TOTY Revision g) UF Code Changes h) Outreach / Education / Publicity i) Memorial or Commemorative Tree Designation Process j) Stormwater task force coordination 9) Adjourn - The 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. The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. 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