Urban Forestry Commission

Urban Forestry Commission Meeting Minutes Wednesday, August 17, 2022 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. Meeting Location: 300 Park Ave, Dogwood Room Attendees UFC members: Amy Crumpton (Chair), Stephanie Lamore (Vice Chair), Tim Roche UFC City Staff Liaison: Charles Prince (Arborist) City Council Liaison: Letty Hardi UFC Student Representative: Katharine Hall Guests: Veronica Prince (City staff), Sophie (City staff), Eli (City staff) 1) Call to Order – Amy Crumpton called the meeting to order at 7:33 p.m. 2) Roll Call 3) Approval of the July Minutes. July 2022 UFC Meeting Minutes were approved. 4) Public Comments - None received directly to the UFC for this meeting. Amy noted that she and Katharine Hall have been invited to the September 14 meeting of the Citizens for a Better City invited to discuss the loss of mature trees in the Broadmont neighborhood due to development. Amy invited CBC leaders to submit their concerns in writing to the UFC. 5) Staff Updates and Informational Items a) City Council Calendar Letty noted that the City Council is in recess until September 12. All Commissioners and volunteers are invited to a City volunteer appreciation picnic on September 19. b) Staff Update Charles introduced Eli, the new Senior Urban Forester, who has just started. UFC members expressed their enthusiasm at having him on board to work with Charles.  c) Reapprove UFC Minutes – March 2021 to May 2022 to post online UFC Minutes from March 2021 to May 2022 meetings were approved. Charles promised to post these on the UFC webpage to bring us up to date. d) Neighborhood Tree Program Amy reestablished a NTP Steering Committee to work on updating the street tree request form, other public outreach materials, and general direction for the program. NTP volunteers will be giving away rescued native tree saplings on September 24 at the VPIS table at the Farmer’s Market in support of the Plant NOVA Trees “Celebrate Native Trees” campaign (September 25 – October 1). The NTP is a partner with Plant NOVA Trees. Charles has received only a few requests from homeowners for street trees to be planted this fall. e) Public Outreach Initiative Katherine is creating a public flyer on spotted lantern fly that uses information from the Falls Church Urban Forestry website. The flyer will provide clear description on SLF life stages and “signs of infestation.” It will recommend that the insect should be killed if seen and reports of it from around the City should be sent to arborist@fallschurchva.gov. 6) Current Business a) Fellows Park Master Plan Comments (deadline August 25) Comments for the latest draft of the Fellows Park Master Plan are due by August 25 to the Recreation and Parks Advisory Board. Amy will draft comments and submit them on behalf of the UFC by that deadline. b) DRAFT Recommendations for Landscaped Open Space/Green Space Standards Among these recommendations is for the City to adopt a 12% canopy coverage in 20 years on commercial developments, slightly above the 10% in 20 years recommended by the state. Echoing Arlington County’s requirements, Stephanie will add a recommendation that would exclude counting street trees (in the City’s right of way) toward a new commercial development’s 12% requirement. To keep this issue moving, Stephanie will 1) send the revised set of recommendations to Charles and cc Amy. 2) Charles will share the recommendations with Paul Stoddard, Director of Planning, to get his feedback as they work to assess greenspace requirements in commercial developments more generally. 3) Integrating Paul’s feedback, the UFC will send a revised set of recommendations to the city lawyer to review. 4) Letty also suggested that the UFC consider a tiered requirement, based on the size of the project possibly using the Small Area Plan as guide. c) DRAFT 2 - Request for funds to update public tree inventory The draft memo, prepared by Jennifer Anderson, in support of the Arborist’s need for one- time funds to hire a consultant to conduct a tree count is ready. Amy will submit the request to the City Clerk in time for consideration by the City Council at their September 12 meeting. d) Planning for joint meeting with the Public Utilities Commission  Amy and Tim Roche met with Daniel Kirk, Chair of the Public Utilities Commission, to plan a joint meeting for September 21. The idea is for both Commissions to be familiar with each other’s mission and to explore specific issues of mutual interest such as green infrastructure and preservation of mature trees. The plan is that UFC and PUC will meet in the Dogwood Room for the first hour of the regular UFC meeting. To prepare, Amy will draft 6-8 slides for a presentation and send to Charles and UFC for feedback. Amy and Charles will make sure that an agenda and any relevant materials are coordinated with the PUC and Tony Dudley. e) New business – Public outreach on residential tree canopy As part of the earlier discussion regarding the CBC concerns in the Broadmont neighborhood and a separate resident’s Letter-to-the-Editor in the Falls Church New Press admonishing the City for not supporting trees or the volunteers to plant trees, Letty Hardi recommended that the UFC reiterate what Charles Prince can/can’t do given Virginia law on trees. She suggested that the UFC submit a letter to the FCNP. Stephanie offered to generate a first draft if Charles would provide her with the talking points he uses when addressing concerns by residents on this issue. f) New business – Urban Forestry Management Plan Stephanie suggested that the UFC proceed with scoping out the process to develop an Urban Forestry Management Plan for the City. This document is long overdue and would be valuable to Charles. Commissioners agreed to make this the priority item of business for the October UFC meeting. 7) Future Business a) Green Infrastructure Standards b) Urban Forestry Management Plan c) Urban Forestry Code Changes 8) Adjourn – Amy adjourned the meeting at 9:30 pm. Urban Forestry Commission Staff liaison for this meeting: Charles Prince, cprince@fallschurchva.gov The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 571- 296-6306 TTY711