Urban Forestry Commission

Urban Forestry Commission Meeting Minutes Wednesday, June 15, 2022 ❖ 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. Meeting Location: 300 Park Ave, Dogwood Room Attendees UFC members: Amy Crumpton, Stephanie Lamore, Jennifer Anderson, Alison Miller, Tim Roche UFC City Staff Liaison: City Council Liaison: Letty Hardi UFC Student Representative: City Staff: Members of the Public: Other guests: Joe Muffler (Mill Creek) 1) Call to Order - the meeting was called to order at 7:35 p.m. by Amy Crumpton. 2) Reading of Virtual Meeting Notice - Not applicable for in-person meeting. 3) Roll Call 4) Approval of the May Minutes.- May 2022 UFC Meeting Minutes were approved. 5) Public Comments - None received directly to the UFC for this meeting. Amy Crumpton reported a public comment sent to the City Council from Sandy Tarpinian expressing concern over removal of mature trees during redevelopment of a residential lot on Forest Avenue and asking Council to take action to slow such loss of mature trees. Amy will forward the comment along with Letty Hardi’s response to it to Commissioners. This issue prompted an overview from Letty regarding limitations on what the City can enforce on private property. Residents have the right to remove trees to redevelop and must work with the Arborist to ensure a 20% tree canopy coverage in 10 years once development is complete. Arborist does his best to encourage keeping of trees if they will not be affected by construction. A home may cover no more than 25% of a lot and no more than 35% of the lot may be impervious per City stormwater regulations. The City has been looking to the State legislature to make policy changes that could allow for greater authority to restrict tree removal, but none are forthcoming at this time. Letty stated that Council is interested in how Arlington County updated its stormwater regulations to require that redeveloped residential lots retain the first three inches of stormwater. The City Attorney is looking into whether this requirement, which entails using such techniques as soil profile rebuilding and/or cisterns to hold and slow release stormwater, might be applicable to the City’s stormwater regulations and grading plan requirements. 6) Staff Updates and Informational Items: a) City Council Calendar June 27 City Council Meeting - Letty stated that the City Council Work Plan, which provides task guidance for the next two years, is being drafted and will be discussed at their June 27 meeting. She promised that the draft would be sent out to Boards and Commissions for comment. Also, at that meeting, Council will seek to negotiate some changes with Founders Row I (see item 6b below). June 22 office hours - Letty reminded the Commission that office hours held by City Council members are a great way to express concerns and to get to know Council members. Fall 2022 - LIkely in September, the City Council will reconcile any unspent funds from 2022 and apply those monies to other projects. She thought this would be an ideal time for the UFC to submit a proposal/letter to Council asking for the $100,000 needed by Charles to hire a consultant to update the City’s tree inventory. b) Tree Commission Comments on Mason Row (Renamed Founder Row I) i) Tree Commission comments (2015) in Letters and Reports to Council on UFC webpage Amy recapped some of the concerns made by the Tree Commission in 2015 such as development’s adherence to streetscape standards (revised standards were adopted in March 2017), connectivity to the W&OD, and lack of vegetation in the Market Square common area. From the memos, an early draft of the site plan did include vegetation in the Market Square area but subsequent drafts and the final plan did not include any in that area. ii) Founders Row Landscape Plan Sheets L-10 to L-40 The Commission is considering additional landscaping options for Founders Row I. There was also a concern about the success of the planted oak trees along Broad Street. Joe Muffler (Mill Creek) will consult with the project’s landscape architect as to what is feasible on the plan. Voluntary concessions are also an option for consideration. Amy will ask Charles whether he would consider assessing a revised VC for Stormwater/Trees for the project (currently it is $20,000). The Commission members plan to walk the site and will discuss more options with the developer at our next Commission meeting in July.  There is an interest to develop a policy so that green space/canopy requirements are not a point of negotiation and can be increased over time with new developments. Stephanie will take the lead on drafting a policy for the Commission to consider at our July session. We plan on coordinating with several interested Commissions. 7) Current Business: a) UFC Priorities for 2022 – Excerpt for UFC 2021 Report to City Council i) Protect City Tree Canopy We are interested in including tree canopy parity and shade area as a priority. Additionally, we would also like to better understand our tree inventory (understand planting and loss data). Interest in getting funding for tree inventory. We will write a letter to the council to influence the budget amendment. Jennifer Anderson volunteered to draft a letter for the Commission to consider. ii) Integrate Preservation of Mature Trees in Stormwater BMPs Tim Roche will follow-up with the Public Utility Commission and get a readout from their June meeting (held at same time as UFC meeting) as to whether they would be interested in having a joint meeting soon. He noted that the PUC’s June 15 meeting included discussion on public information on stormwater green infrastructure and managing stormwater on private property. iii) Define Landscaped Open Space/Green Space Standard for Commercial to Development Per 6 (b)(ii) above, Stephanie will draft a policy for UFC consideration. b) UFC Volunteer Assignments -Commemorative Trees and Specimen Trees - Tim volunteered to take a look at these program areas to see how we might update them. -Urban Forestry Code Changes - Amy will continue to look into what is happening with changes being made to City’s Code pursuant to amendments to Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act that may affect UFC policy suggestions. -Urban Forestry Management Plan - Charles Prince has indicated that he would like to find a way to move forward developing such a plan. An outline exists. Amy will consider how the UFC could schedule moving on this document. c) Other Items The city turns 75 next year. How does the Commision want to be involved? To be discussed at the next Commission meeting. 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 9) Adjourn - the meeting adjourned at 9:21 p.m. by Amy Crumpton. Urban Forestry Commission Staff liaison: Charles Prince: 571-238-6306, arborist@fallschurchva.gov