Tree Commission January 2, 2018 Minutes Attending: Paul Josey, Rosanne Simon, Roxanne White, Mark Rylander, Peggy Van Yahres, Peter Russell, Jody Lahendro, Lynn Rush Staff: Brian Daly, Mike Ronayne, Missy Creasy Guests: Zach Beard Approve December minutes: •Peter, Rosanne and Laura will work on reports for tree protection nominations Proposed FY 2019 CIP and Operating Budget – Mike, Jody, Brian Peggy spoke at the Planning Commission previous work session on tree budgeting issues on behalf of the Tree Commission. No recommendations were made by the Planning Commission at this time. Next week the Planning Commission will meet January 8th at 5:15pm at the NDS conference room and Public Comment will be included on agenda. There was discussion regarding the cultural study in relation to the tree study on the downtown Mall. While these items are both important and correlated they should be separate for budget requesting purposes. Peggy will plan to attend and speak at the Planning Commission again on January 8th. Annual Calendar – Paul, Roxanne The Committee Reports and Goals will be moved to correspond with fiscal year and will be done in July. By-laws will need to be done in January and elections held. Paul is nominated and voted to remain Chair and Roxanne is nominated and voted to remain Vice Chair. There is discussion to move the Tree Commission Annual State of the Forest Report to council to correspond with fiscal year also. This report has historically coincided near Arbor Day in April. It is decided to put the Annual State of the Forest Report in September before the CIP process. It is decided to put Grants Coordination with CATS in November and add to January to Finalize/Submit Grants to CATS. The IPM Annual Report will be changed to an unbolded item and will be reoccurring in March. Peggy will speak with Missy about having the engineers who are responsible for site plan compliance come to a Tree Commission meeting as part of an information sharing exercise. Standing bullet for current site plan review projects will remain on agenda. The Annual Update will be removed from April. Emancipation and Justice Parks Redesign RFP- Brian Brian reviews the substance of the redesign request. All comments from the Tree Commission and others are requested to be to Brian by close of business Friday, January 5th. Design award will be based on experience, approval and quality of the team. The Commission asks if the selected firm will provide construction drawings with statues. The RFP in its first phase will be an interim master plan, some parts will move forward with construction documents and other parts will not. It is suggested to combine some of these input groups and other interests together in order to speed up process. The input portion of the project is estimated to be nine months or longer. There is concern about the language, “severely deteriorated landscapes in parks.” This was something that came from Council’s resolution. It is suggested that a cultural/historic report should have come first. Part of the Parks Master Plan Process, which will need to be followed, incorporates historical and cultural review. Standing Committee Goals Tree Planting Committee – Roxanne Next fall the committee is expecting $50,000 to plant approximately 200 trees. Some new planting areas to be explored are Michie Dr, the 10th & Page neighborhood and the Route 250 median. The Commission asked about planting and replanting trees in cemeteries. Part of the issue with planting trees in cemeteries is locating grave sites in older cemeteries, maintaining access for mowers and maintenance and many of the plots are family owned. Code Committee – Mark 1) Establish a Tree Commission protocol by July 1st for public and private construction oversight. 2) Create a document to issue to developers at City site plan review to create awareness of BMP’s and city oversight process. 3) Draft Comprehensive Plan comments on behalf of Tree Commission to include advocacy for street frontage sections that allow larger trees and coordination of utilities. 4) Represent Tree Commission in establishment of SIA Form-Based code street sections. May also include assistance to staff with regards to Streets That Work implementation with respect to trees. 5) Represent Tree Commission on certain SUP/PUD City submissions. Create an internal go/no-go decision tool to help the Commission decide which submissions to comment on. Create recommendation for standardized submission graphic standards/requirements for tree cover- related drawings and calculations. Data Committee – Roxanne The Committee is looking forward to having two years of data and what this will mean for trends and metrics. The Committee would like to identify “critical trees” to make a priority for preservation. Virginia Trees for Clean Water Grant – Mike Parks does not have a project well suited to this grant at this time and may sit out the grant cycle this year. It is suggested that Azalea Park may be appropriate application for grant. Parks will look into Azalea Park and other possibilities. Master Tree List Update - Paul River birch will be moved from large tree designation to medium tree. Tree Protection Ordinance Nominations – Peggy, Rosanne, Peter Parks has received the narratives and nominations forms and is moving forward with nominations process. 2018 Comprehensive Plan – Mark There is discussion to change language surrounding ‘increase canopy’ needs to be more supported, maintained or increased. Mark would like to change from “monitor” in regards to urban forest canopy. Mark will draft and forward comments for comp. plan. Mulching of oak at Library – Brian The mulching of the oak is the responsibility of the library staff. Timmon’s Urban Tree Guide – Mike The different City departments are currently working together to create some type of proposal to take to Timmons for collaboration. Other items Paul will be stepping down as the commission’s representative for PLACE and Mark Rylander was nominated to take his place. Ineke Dickman’s term expires in April and since she will not be able to make the next two meetings, has decided to step down creating a vacancy. Peter has created the Tree Commission Facebook page. Next meeting: Review Tree Commission Membership, Six month dashboard review, USFS Grant Due Adjourn 7:03