Urban Forestry Commission

Urban Forestry Commission Meeting Minutes Wednesday, July 21, 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, Amy Crumpton, David DeCoste, Stephanie Hamilton, Mike Nichols UFC City Staff Liaison: Charles Prince City Council Liaison: UFC Student Representative: City Staff: Members of the Public: Dave Gustafson 1) Call to Order - the meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. 2) Reading of Virtual Meeting Notice. Read by Ms. Philpott Costa. 3) Roll Call - Completed. 4) Approval of the May Minutes - Approved. 5) Public Comments - a) Stormwater Task Force Report – Dave Gustafson Dave Gustafson participated in this meeting to provide an update on the work of the City’s Stormwater Task Force. Its original charter called for updating the list of priority projects for stormwater improvements in the adopted Watershed Management Plan. The final report was presented to the City Council in November 2020 with initial recommendations. The City Council brought the Task Force back to do additional work and identified four projects high in watershed and in very public areas, to demonstrate the value to residents. The Task Force's Phase II final memo was presented in March 2021. Mr. Gustafson emphasized the role trees play, noting they are a tremendous help with stormwater management. He suggested legislative changes may be required to help give the City staff and residents more tools to protect trees. Mr. Gustafson added that the Citizens Advisory Council on Transportation has recommended improvements with sidewalks and an accessibility program. While adding sidewalks creates more impervious surfaces, he noted that there may be ways to redesign wide roads which would reduce road width and narrow some intersections. Tree boxes can play a key part of this redevelopment. His final point highlighted that fallen trees after a storm can create dams and cause flooding hazards (e.g., as evidenced in Four Mile Run in Falls Church). Ms. Philpott Costa suggested that within the next several months the City should create a stakeholder group to discuss trees and stormwater management more broadly and that this discussion with Mr. Gustafson is a good start. Ms. Crumpton asked if the Stormwater Task Force discussed staffing needs to accomplish the initiatives that they had identified as priorities. From Mr. Gustafson’s perspective, while there are staffing challenges with more projects than staff, we have a high-functioning City staff and Council. People, funding and plans are required well in advance to make these initiatives a reality. The City has allocated funds to increase the number of staff responsible for stormwater management. As a follow-up question, Ms. Crumpton asked if Mr. Gustafson has identified opportunities to enhance communications regarding stormwater management. He replied that they have identified areas of improvement and added that citizens can help by identifying if there is outdated information on the City’s website and can furthermore help with communications through social media, web boards, etc. Additionally, the City sends bulk mailings to all citizens several times a year and there may be opportunities, with advance planning, to piggyback on those communications. Ms. Hamilton inquired if stormwater initiatives, like rain gardens, include long term plans to fund maintenance and management. When initiated, these programs have contracts in place for maintenance; there has not been clarity about scheduling, how volunteers can be used most efficiently and how the maintenance and management is done, particularly since there are multiple entities involved over the lifecycle of the project. Ms. Hamilton proposed that an assessment might be in order, along with a maintenance and management plan. Mr. Prince clarified that the rain gardens are maintained, initially under warranty and then under a landscape maintenance contract. Generally, no additional funding is provided for these initiatives, so it’s managed through the normal budget process. Ms. Philpott Costa inquired if ten year storms are occurring on a more frequent basis or with greater impact. Mr. Gustafson shared that there are various standards for what is a ten year storm and that depends on a variety of factors. There is discussion about re-setting the ten year storm standard in the Washington, DC region which may result in greater sized pipes, etc., which ultimately need to be balanced with Chesapeake Bay stormwater management standards. Ms. Crumpton inquired about rainwater recapture system designs as well as requirements and opportunities to encourage residents, particularly with new construction, to capture rainwater and whether there is any requirement to use the rainwater (recycle) or simply capture it and time the release. Mr. Gustafson shared his enthusiasm for rainwater recapture systems, adding that it can be for retrofit as well and has been considering opportunities with public visibility (e.g., the community center).  Mr. Gustafson pointed the UFC members to two documents regarding the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) that were reviewed at Monday’s City Council meeting with a focus on improving public spaces and stormwater management. In his concluding comments, Mr. Gustafson noted that at its most recent Stormwater Task Force meeting, the group recommended parameters for a permanent body and submitted a recommendation to the City Council via a memo which will hopefully create a permanent citizens group focused on this work. 6) Staff Updates and Informational Items: a) UFC calendar update. Mr. Prince noted there was nothing immediately urgent on the City’s calendar. Ms. Philpott Costa recommended that we review ARPA opportunities at next month’s UFC meeting, and Ms. Crumpton noted that there should be some clarification soon as to whether public spaces can be included. Ms. Hamilton highlighted the August 2 Social Equity Recommendations from Boards & Commissions and asked if there is anything we needed to contribute. Ms. Philpott Costa replied indicating that while there was no formal request to provide additional information, UFC members should review the opportunities we identified and identify timelines for implementation. b) Planning Commission Items. Ms. Hamilton reported that the Planning Commission also is meeting this evening and will be discussing projects the UFC is monitoring. She highlighted that in the West Falls Church project, an area that may be of concern is the slight drop in canopy coverage from 18% to 17%. A second area she highlighted was the comprehensive plan goals which the developer was required to meet, yet in her review, the plan did not seem to meet the requirements adequately. A final area of concern was a change in the site boundary line change and whether that change will have an impact on canopy cover. She added that the next development project under review is Broad & Washington and she indicated there may be some concerns. Ms. Philpott Costa noted that since the City Council has approved these projects, there likely is not anything the UFC is able to do about these items, yet we can share our concerns with the Planning Commission. The UFC discussed that many of the projects include perimeter trees in their tree canopy calculations vs. trees on the developed site and the city sometimes is responsible for these street trees. The UFC would like to pursue opportunities that would require developers to show the tree canopy and what they are actually contributing in trees vs. counting what already exists or is in the public right of way. It was noted that the UFC student liaison, Dylan Petrillo is looking at green spaces, but we could add the canopy coverage formula to determine what portion of the canopy coverage percentage includes perimeter trees. c) Dan Sze Memorial Tree and Plaque. Mr. Prince reported that the plaque is being produced and he is working to schedule the planting of the memorial tree. d) School grounds maintenance update. Mr. DeCoste noted that this will be started at the beginning of the upcoming school year. e) UFC Staff. Mr. Prince has received some resumes and will set up some interviews for key positions in his department. Ms. Crumpton reported that Arlington is in a similar situation and currently is seeking three senior arborists. f) Neighborhood Tree Program. Ms. Crumpton reported that VPIS paid the bill for the trees planted by Terra Landscaping. Additionally, Claire updated the neighborhood tree program page that is on the Urban Forestry City site and mirrored the content on the VPIS site. On a monthly basis, Claire will include more information about environmental issues, including trees, in her communications. Ms. Crumpton is creating a history of the neighborhood tree program which will help her develop an assessment of what has worked with the program and what has not. The assessment will help highlight successes  as well as aspects of the program that were not successful. Mr. Prince reported that Washington Gas paid over $14,000 for the trees they removed for the West End Gas project. These funds are going into the City’s tree fund. g) Safe Routes to Schools. Mr. DeCoste reported that there is a new initiative being led by Marybeth Connelly to ensure safe routes leading to schools are marked and publicized. Many of the routes will be the same as previous. This ideally will be in place before school starts on August 30. This group also is exploring a plan and recommendation for families and students regarding how to get to schools safely. From an Urban Forestry Commission perspective, we should consider low hanging tree branches, etc. to help ensure that the routes are safe and the pathways are clear. Mr. Prince noted these will be priority maintenance items once he has a crew in place. UFC members volunteered to help walk the routes. Links to the following maps: Oak Street Elementary and Meridian/Mary Ellen Henderson Campus. 7) Current Business a) Stormwater Task Force Report – Ms. Philpott Costa noted that this agenda item was addressed under the Public Comments section of the agenda. b) Insight/Broad & Washington Site Plan. By way of background, Ms. Philpott Costa explained that this is in the site plan review stage and the main design has been approved by City Council. At this stage, this is what the Planning Commission reviews and, potentially, approves. The Planning Commission is tasked with ensuring the details of the plan meet the design and are being implemented (e.g., are the developers doing what the Planning Commission thought the developers should be doing). It is beyond the stage to address issues such as tree canopy cover. Even so, the UFC does have review practices at this site plan review stage and can address items such as specifics of the landscaping. Mr. Prince reported with respect to this site plan, we are losing one tree due to the developer adding a second garage entrance. Ms. Hamilton had highlighted some concerns from the Planning Commission meeting’s review of this project. There was a question about the type of landscaping at Park Place - whether it was adequate and if more attractive planters could be used. A second concern was expressed regarding the Lawton Street trees. Mr. Prince noted that the entire neighborhood wanted to save those trees. c) One City Center Project Page Link & One City Center Conceptual Design. Ms. Philpott Costa noted that at the conceptual design phase, the UFC’s review is more global and has typically tried to address green space, tree canopy, and stormwater management issues. Mr. Prince submitted comments earlier this week. He noted this may be one of the better projects he has seen at this stage and the developer will be planting more trees than removing and the City is getting a park. Mr. Prince will forward his comments to the UFC members. Ms. Philpott Costa asked if the trees in the new park are included in the developer’s green space calculation (16% open space proposed vs. 15%, UFC's typical recommendation). Mr. Prince expects that would be the case. Ms. Crumpton expressed concern that much of the green space on the property site is private space with access limited to building residents/tenants and much of the green space will be elevated. The UFC will submit comments to the City Council, Planning Commission, and Planning Staff, expressing concern about several topics including, but not limited to, the removal of existing mature street trees and trees at the back of the project, the proposed boulevard, pedestrian safety, recommendations for the tree planters, water retention and recycling/stormwater management, better integration of the city park in the overall design, a rain garden at a corner of the park, elimination of the lawn to be replaced by a specimen tree, vertical green wall at the garage and in place of the planned large TV, and the amount of glass for the first three levels of the building. It was noted that modern  green building design philosophy takes into account bird safety and risks associated with glass design. Mr. Prince noted the trees that will be lost along S. Maple and the interior trees are not in good condition and the developer will plant more trees than those removed and make a $20,000 contribution which can be used for tree plantings in the City. Additionally, the developer will contribute $500 per residential unit to the City’s park fund. While the UFC members appreciated their financial contributions, the sense was this might not be adequate because of the loss of mature canopy. Mr. Nichols suggested that rather than requesting additional funds from the developer for trees, the UFC could strongly recommend that the developer invest in other priority items, such as the rainwater recycling. The UFC members agreed with this suggestion. Ms. Philpott Costa will draft a memo with comments and send it to the UFC members for review and comment. d) Sidewalk Grant Project for S. Washington Street. This item was not discussed since the meeting ran long and it did not require immediate attention. 8) Future Business - These items were not discussed since the meeting ran long and the items do not require immediate attention. 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 / Publicity i) Memorial or Commemorative Tree Designation Process j) Stormwater task force coordination 9) Adjourn - the meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. These minutes were prepared by Mike Nichols. Urban Forestry Commission Staff liaison: Charles Prince: 571-238-6306, arborist@fallschurchva.gov. 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