Urban Forestry Commission

Urban Forestry Commission Meeting Minutes Wednesday, November 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 Lamore, Mike Nichols UFC City Staff Liaison: Kate Walker (filling in for Charles Prince) City Council Liaison: UFC Student Representative: Dylan Petrillo City Staff: Wyatt Shields Members of the Public: Caroline Crawford, Carly 1) Call to Order - the meeting was called to order at 7:09 p.m. by Kate Walker. 2) Reading of Virtual Meeting Notice - read by Kate Walker. 3) Roll Call - meeting participants identified themselves. 4) Approval of the October Minutes - the October meeting minutes were approved. 5) Public Comments 6) Staff Updates and Informational Items: a) UFC calendar update - Legislative program update: bills were proposed last year for legislation that may provide more flexibility for urban forestry codes as part of stormwater  management best practices. One bill commissioned a DEQ study on the role of trees in stormwater management. Those proposals are still pending and may have a new course of direction, based on the election results. Kate brought up the bill that addressed gas powered leaf blowers. The UFC will discuss this topic once it has a chance to review it. b) UFC Staff update - There hasn’t been any progress since last month on filing open positions. c) Dan Sze Memorial Tree and Plaque - The plaque has not been installed and there aren’t any updates on the ceremony date. d) Yates Appeal Decision - Wyatt Shields has decided to reduce the fine to $700 and the money will be used toward tree improvements in the Seaton Lane area. Amy asked if the UFC should review any documents that Charles uses / can provide to home owners so they are aware of what rules need to be followed. Kathy mentioned that Charles has been reviewing it. e) Tree City USA - Every year at this time the UFC submits the application for this designation. Charles has stated that the application is on schedule to be submitted in December. f) Fall Neighborhood Tree Program Plantings - Amy provided an update: Amy and Charles have been working with neighbors on tree selection. The trees in Phase 1 will be funded by the city. Phase 2 trees will be funded by VPIS since they are located deeper into the property. Amy detailed the time/challenge this process takes with homeowners. Kate is drafting a proposal that shows the reduction of climate change, which includes a recommendation that the city should fund all tree plantings. Amy stated that we should consider a seedling tree program since it is more cost effective. FCC is planting more trees in the parks than homeowner yards. Amy went on to say that diversity is good for trees in the neighborhood. Kate suggested the UFC could reach out to VA Tech as students are often looking for projects and they could help the UFC complete an Urban Forest Management plan and prioritize other programs like tree planting. Stephanie proposed that we add topics like this to a future agenda. 7) Current Business a) One City Center Comments - Stephanie has reviewed the One City Center documents. Last summer, the UFC put together an early memo on One City Center but it was not submitted because timelines to comment were unclear. New comments from this meeting will be added to that memo and submitted next month. Comments include: consider adding trees in the interior of the park as it will help eliminate the need for large maintenance equipment. Questions posed will include: canopy coverages since the developer document was not clear, e.g. does it include the park? Where are the pet stations located? Kathy will add the new UFC comments to the memorandum. The trees on W. Broad street will be removed and new trees will be planted. Recycling water to be used for the trees / grasses. Kathy will draft the notes and share it with the UFC. Project timing is still unclear. b) Founders II Stephanie inquired about the amount of sidewalk space setbacks. She added that it would be nicer if the greenspace was on the exterior of the property versus the interior space. Amy commented that she was okay with the greenspace being in the  interior because our city code allows for it. Kathy noted that given the two choices of the greenspace that she would prefer it to be in public spaces as opposed to private spaces. Amy noted that the green coloring on the outside of the map is deceiving since it does not represent grass and or trees. Prioritizing the uniformity of the streetscape with the existing trees should be maintained. Additionally, trees in the median are not being shown. Kathy noted the data that Charles provided regarding the value of trees could be included in a UFC memo. Kathy will add the step back height idea to UFC memo. Amy and Stephanie will work on a UFC memo representing comments made during this discussion. c) West Falls Church Street Names Caroline Crawford from the developer discussed the thinking behind the street name proposals. They considered the native trees in VA but were a bit limited as many streets in FCC already use tree names. The UFC members were in favor of the proposed names. The UFC agreed that the tree names should be native to Northern Virginia and agreed that Magnolia is a good replacement for Meridian Street in the current map. Meridian needs to be replaced since FCC already has a Meridian Street. d) UFC Officers - Kathy will be stepping down from the UFC in the next couple months. The UFC members' recommendation is for Amy to move into the chair role and Stephanie to move into the vice chair role. New officers will be voted in at the next meeting. e) Greenspace Standards - Kathy met with Paul Stoddard (Planning Director) to discuss this topic. The Planning Commission would like to have an in-depth discussion. The completion of the data analysis that Dylan is working on can help facilitate this talk. Kathy is looking at the standards that Arlington and Alexandria follow as a benchmark for FCC. The Greenspace and Tree Canopy Standards file includes a document that is under development. Arlington has strict requirements on tree replacement and canopy requirements, and Kathy believes that FCC should take a similar approach. Amy noted that the data that comes from the developer doesn’t always align with the data that we believe to be factual. It would be helpful for the UFC to validate the data that the developers are providing. Thus, the UFC needs to verify the data the developer is suggesting. The UFC needs to define all the data and what greenspace means. It would be good to include the idata that shows what is being lost. 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 9:02 p.m. Urban Forestry Commission Staff liaison: Charles Prince: 571-238-6306, arborist@fallschurchva.gov.