Urban Forestry Commission

Urban Forestry Commission Meeting Minutes [DRAFT] Wednesday, October 18, 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, Jennifer Anderson UFC City Staff Liaison: Charles Prince (Arborist) City Council Liaison: Letty Hardi UFC Student Representative: Katharine Hall Guests: Cameron Gahres (Urban Planner, Falls Church 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 September Minutes. September 2022 UFC Meeting Minutes were approved. 4) Public Comments a) Charlie Lord regarding City Hall Plaza: Comment received from Charlie Lord regarding conceptual plans for a City Hall Plaza at corner of Little Falls and Park Streets that might remove trees. Letty Hardi noted that the Economic Development Authority at their September 6 meeting (Item 6) removed this idea from consideration from list of potential Parklet Projects using ARPA funds. Three other locales have been given priority: corner of Annandale and South Washington (where white info kiosk sits); alley area next to Vision Consultants (410 S Washington); and pavement area next to La Tingeria (626 S Washington). Amy Crumpton will make sure that Mr. Lord is aware of the EDA decision and minutes. 5) Staff Updates and Informational Items a) East End Small Area Plan: Cameron Gahres (Planning Dept) presented the aspirational plan for future development in the East End area that includes the Eden Center. The area  is 15 acres, 125 retailers and 700 jobs make up the economic commerce. Currently there are only 110 trees in the area and 78% is covered in impervious surface, mostly parking lots. The City would like to improve the environmental sustainability of the area while ensuring that the Eden Center remains an important cultural hub. Of direct interest to the UFC is how new planning could incorporate small parks and plazas and create space for more street trees. Connecting pathways to Oakwood Cemetery might allow valuable recreational park-like walking space for residents in the area. Gahres indicated that updating the streetscape standard to create deeper setbacks of new construction would be a goal for planners. Also, VDOT studies suggest that Wilson Boulevard is an underutilized road which could allow the City to pursue narrowing it with enhanced streetscaping and bike lanes. UFC questions to Mr. Gahres: How will planners create public parks and plazas as development occurs given designs that they may be presented with? Could park or plaza planning include more vegetated connectivity between those spaces to allow for greater pollinator/insect corridors? Could the City work with Fairfax County to make sure that any bike lanes on Wilson Boulevard connect north through Fairfax County to meet up with the bike lanes in Arlington that intersect with the W&OD Trail? How will the City assure that this won’t just be a gentrification project and we lose the cultural value because current tenants are displaced? Amy will submit a memo to Planning detailing UFC comments. Letty Hardi asked Charles Prince if there are places for more trees in the area now. Charles indicated that there are not good spots along adjacent streets because soil is heavily mixed with road construction debris. Soil would need to be removed and replaced to create suitable medium before planting which is beyond his budget capability. In terms of planting on any private property, Charles would need to have private money and volunteers to install trees. He noted that the NTP provided two street trees to one business in the area some years ago, but the trees were not cared for and died. Getting a firm commitment to care for the trees would be necessary. b) City Council Calendar Letty reported that Council got a commitment out of Founders Row I developer to include two more planter trees in the interior open space of the site. She explained Council approved a deal with the incoming theater to return tax revenue levied on tickets and food back for the next 30 years to assist them in establishing a viable business. Letty asked if City staff would be presenting to UFC on the T-Zone rezoning issue which will affect between 2-3% of City commercial land and rezone it to accommodate more townhouses or small apartment complexes. Charles will ask Paul Stoddard if a presentation can be made to the UFC at the November 16 meeting. c) Fellows Property Amy reported that the Advisory Board for Recreation and Parks discussed the final version of the Fellows Park Master Plan at their October meeting. The document should  be heading to Council for approval to release funds to begin the site inventory and conceptual plan that will be subject to further public comment. d) Staff Update Charles reported that a new pollinator garden will be installed on October 28 at City Hall near the entrance for the Public Safety Department. The two-person Urban Forestry Crew is working well. They will remove diseased Ash trees in Crossman Park in the near future. The job announcement for a Maintenance Worker III for Urban Forestry to fill out the crew is on the City’s website. 6) Current Business a) AMENDED ITEM - DRAFT Recommendations for Landscaped Open Space and Tree Canopy Coverage Requirements in Commercial Developments Stephanie Lamore tweaked the draft to include more clarifying language and Amy edited the format. Charles agreed to take this latest draft to Paul Stoddard to seek his comment and report back at the November 19 meeting. The plan is for the next resulting draft to be presented to the ESC and the PUC to get their feedback. b) Urban Forestry Master Plan – References to the need for an UFMP can be found back to 2009 city documents but calls likely go back much further in the Tree Commission minutes. Amy noted that an Urban Forestry Strategic Plan, 2014-2019 was submitted to Council circa 2013 but no link to the document is available via the City’s public website. She will ask the City Clerk to provide a link so that the document can be shared among UFC members. A new UFMP will explain the mission and goals for Urban Forestry in the City and serve as a clarification of the Arborist’s role and authority. The appendix of the new plan will be an ideal place for a bibliography of other UF documents and City code that inform the work of the Arborist and crew. UFC members agreed that the plan needs to provide short-term and long-term goals, some of which have been previously stated in other City documents, such as the 2020 Comprehensive Plan. Amy will pull together a list of Urban Forestry related priorities that have been suggested historically to use as a reference. Commissioners thought it important that the plan clearly describe what the Urban Forestry division might need in terms of staff, funding, or policy changes to achieve priority goals. Additional issues raised were how to develop incentives for private property owners to save mature trees and how to train a new generation of volunteer leaders to manage volunteer events and opportunities. The 2020 outline is comprehensive, and Charles believes he can begin turning it into a readable draft by early spring 2023. The next stage after that would be to engage public comment and the UFC will discuss possibilities for that at a future 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 9:42 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