Urban Forestry Commission

Urban Forestry Commission Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 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, 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: Tim Stevens (planning commission liaison) 1) Call to Order - the meeting was called to order at 7:14 p.m. by Kathy Philpott Costa. 2) Reading of Virtual Meeting Notice - read by Kathy Philpott Costa. 3) Roll Call - meeting participants identified themselves. 4) Approval of the August Minutes - the August meeting minutes were approved. 5) Public Comments - there were no public comments. 6) Staff Updates and Informational Items: a) UFC Calendar Update - Charles Prince identified the following items that are of note to the UFC.  - Social Equity Recommendations from Board’s & Commission’s (B’s & C’s) Sept. 20 - Founders Row II referral to B’s and C’s - Sept 27 - Work Session - One City Center Update and Review - Sept. 27 b) Virginia Village Tree Plantings - Charles Princes noted that there shouldn’t be any concerns regarding planting in this space since it is city property. There is the possibility that the property could be fully acquired by the City and redeveloped in the next 5-10 years, but this does not mean canopy trees cannot be planted. Establishing healthy trees there now gives current residents the many benefits of growing trees and creates canopy that will be factored into replacement requirements if redevelopment does occur. c) Dan SZE memorial - the trees should be planted next week. The memorial plaque still needs a stone. The ceremony still needs to be scheduled. d) UFC Staff Update - Charles has been conducting interviews to fill the job openings, but has not made any job offers. The process has been arduous due to recent retirements and staff attrition as Charles has been forced to cover responsibilities of several positions. The UFC discussed supporting a recommendation for reestablishing the Urban Forester position which previously existed under arborist Kate Reich. e) Stormwater Code and Task Force - Kathy Philpott Costa contacted Tony Dudley, who is the leading storm water staff member, to ask about proposed changes to the Stormwater CodeAt this point, discussions among staff are still ongoing,, but we will be informed as the process evolves. Kathy also reached out to Rolf Anderson from the Storm Water Task Force, who recently presented their report to the City Council. Several points were addressed. First, Council was interested in Code Changes to clarify or improve stormwater management, but the City attorney indicated that we may not have a lot of legal flexibility due to the Virginia state laws. Second, there may be a permanent committee put in place to stay abreast of storm water issues. Third, Rolf reported that some members of Council were not in favor of increasing the stormwater utility fee (a.k.a. the stormwater assessment or the Stormwater Enterprise Fund) to cover increasing management costs. Tim Stevens noted that stormwater staff salaries are included in the resident assessments for stormwater, which can make comparisons to other jurisdictions difficult and can complicate the discussion about raising the fee. Amy Crumpton mentioned that city council member Letty Hardi is interested in expanding programs like the rain barrel initiative to allow residents the opportunity for credits. Stephanie Hamilton attended a Planning Commission meeting during which an Arlington County stormwater specialist spoke about Arlington County's stormwater management. Arlington has identified flood-prone areas that are not in the flood program, and Stephanie Hamilton confirmed the city has also created a report that identifies the areas that incurred the most stormwater damage in 2019. Arlington County is also imposing additional requirements on single family home redevelopments, including requirements for stormwater retention and decreasing the impervious soil (soil profile rebuilding) that is created when new homes are built. Arlington is also going to implement a stormwater utility fee. Amy Crumpton asked why the City of Falls Church does not have a MOU with Fairfax County's Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District to receive grants for (gardens, pavers, greenscape, etc.). We’re unsure why since Arlington and Fairfax residents are able to apply for the grants. Kathy suggested that we could develop an MOU in cooperation with the ESC, who may already be working on it. In addition, all of the topics in this discussion can go on a list of topics to discuss in the meeting that the UFC eventually has with the City Stormwater team. f) Sidewalk Grant Project for S. Washington Street - There is no update, so this item will move to the October agenda. g) Fellows Property Master Plan (Rec and Parks Meeting) - Amy attended the meeting and noted the Rec and Parks committee put together a draft and eliminated some suggestions for the space like a dog park and pond. The committee will have the document available for its November meeting which is when this topic will be revisited. By the end of 2021, the commission will have a solid draft of items that could be included in this space. The Rec and Parks commission did note that the park recommendation will include a strong management plan. Current Business a) Equity Action Items. The UFC reviewed its current list of action items to discuss status. i) Consider funding & distribution of trees to families that can’t afford to purchase them. Is there demand for this? Amy will look into this. ii) Continue to emphasize and educate on the need for environmental equity, including equitable access to trees and the urban forest in mixed-used and other denser housing. Promote greenway connections to underserved parts of the City. In addition to our engagement on these issues in new development projects, what more can we do as a UFC based on time availability? iii) Identify apartment complexes or commercial properties with sub-standard streetscape and public right-of-way landscaping and prioritize improvement of these areas by city UF staff. Virginia Village is a good example of this effort. UFC members should keep this item in mind while walking the city and identify areas that could use maintenance. What can the UFC do to properly maintain their commercial property? Charles Prince can be a resource for commercial properties to provide arborist recommendations. If a property is identified for possible improvements, Charles can sometimes check records to see if there is a public ROW for planting. Sometimes properties lack plants to clarify the ROW. Identify subsidized housing, or residential or commercial locations with substandard landscaping and work with owners and the City to encourage improvements, explore possible volunteer improvements, and educate on the need for all residents to have access to trees. Sometimes there is lack of staffing to enforce substandard landscaping, but in general Charles works to create positive relationships so that requests for improvements are willingly accepted. He noted that Winter Hill is a good example of an established relationship that is working. iv) Consider developing a grant program to improve the green space around any commercial or residential properties that can’t afford to maintain robust landscaping. Consider developing a program that would offer credits to residents for maintaining trees and greenspace. Publish and  promote information on existing grant programs. We would need to know which commercial businesses are truly in need or have the property owners chosen not to spend the money. We can make progress by promoting the Rain Smart program and pursuing an MOU with NOVA Soil and Water Conservation District. v) Encourage volunteer groups - such as ones through FCCPS whereas students can become involved. It was noted that this project is on the habitat restoration team as a volunteer opportunity. The adult team could remove the trees, so the students can plant trees. Regarding the grounds at Oak Street Elementary, there are a number of honeysuckles that need to be removed. Dave and Charles will coordinate. Develop an outreach program -. vi) Develop an outreach program that builds dialogue with minority interest organizations (e.g. Tinner Hill Assoc., Black Birders, FCCPS Family Resource Centers, Alpha Kappa Alpha, churches) to gain insight on their members' environmental interests and needs. Dave DeCoste can work with his contacts at FCCPS and AKA to gather interest levels. Kathy will talk with Stacy Evers to follow up on the idea of a speaker that can educate us on this underserved groups and needs in the area. vii) Use technological tools to illustrate equity issues with regard to tree canopy. The NVRC Climate Resilience Dashboard illustrates the effect of urban heat island temperature disparities throughout the City. iTree Eco (via Tree Keeper data) illustrates the gains in ecological services afforded to sections of the City with denser tree canopy. Use technology for education on urban forest issues and solutions. The city arborist and the UFC has been using iTree - the tree keeper data. The next step would be to inform residents of the tech that is available. We need to educate the residents and City Council what the heat island data shows up. viii) Consider creating rest spots (e.g., benches) under specimen trees allowing those who are unable to walk long distances to rest while still taking advantage of the city’s walkability. Link to wayfinding. Include plaque about the specimen tree. Focus rest areas in otherwise underserved parts of the city. Additionally, create a list with this and other possible urban forestry Scout projects (and ideas for such projects' sustainability). The UFC can create Boy/Girl Scout type projects (such as Berman Park) to address this topic. Berman Park by the Scout House is the only area in the city designated as a Northern Virginia Conservation space. Tim Stevens, noted that the Planning Commission is involved with the Berman Park improvements for pedestrians. ix) Promote greenway connections to underserved parts of the City. The UFC can address this subject at Founders II (connection to West End Park and Berman Park). b) Green Space Data on City Projects - Dylan Petrillo completed the Green Space data on recent projects.  i) There are two sections to the document - Kate’s calculations - which address the buffer setback (primarily perimeter/street tree space) and the overall percentage of greenspace on projects through 2016. Dylan completed a second section with the same data on projects from 2016 to the present. ii) The newer projects look like they are trending in the right direction from a UFC viewpoint, although the % of greespace that comes from buffer space is very high from Insight. There is not a lot of interior green space. Kathy asked the UCF to review the document and pose questions prior to the next meeting. A Council member stated that the new projects are improving stormwater. Amy said it's difficult to make that statement because we don't have comparable data to see how previous canopy contributed to stormwater management. Charles clarified that stormwater improvements now consist of structures that are retaining the water then releasing it. iii) Kathy will talk with Dylan about adding more detail to the projects and adding green space to it. It was noted that the old data has some bad numbers because when Dylan added it to a formula, the numbers were obviously incorrect - so the data needs to be revisited. Kathy and Charles commented on what a great job Dylan has done while serving the UFC. 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 / Publicity i) Memorial or Commemorative Tree Designation Process j) Stormwater task force coordination 9) Adjourn - the meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Urban Forestry Commission Staff liaison: Charles Prince: 571-238-6306, arborist@fallschurchva.gov.