Tree Commission March, 2018 Minutes Attending: Paul Josey, Rosanne Simon, Roxanne White, Mark Rylander, Brian Menard, Lynn Rush, Matt Brickman, Jody Lahendro, Laura Knott, Peggy Van Yahres Staff: Brian Daly, Mike Ronayne, Heather Newmyer Guests: Lawson Lebow Approve February minutes: No corrections Welcome new member Matt Brinckman. Matt was approved by City council for Tree Commission membership last month. Arbor Day Coordination It was suggested by CATS to have Arbor Day this year Venable School at the large southern red oak in the front. Mike will confirm details with others. The Tree Commission voted to nominate the large southern red oak here as a Heritage Tree under ordinance protection. IPM Annual Report – Paul, Mike This is a meeting once a year for an hour as part of IPM policy that council adopted prescribes at least one member from the Tree Commission. The IPM report reviews how the Parks Dept. utilizes pesticides and why and looks at other options to reduce pesticide usage. Rosanne volunteers to be on the IPM Committee. FY ’19 CIP Update - Brian There are two items of interest in the CIP budget that was proposed to City Council by the City Manager last week. Those items were the $100k request for Tree Preservation and Planning on the downtown Mall and $50k for strictly tree planting. Somewhat related there was proposed $50k Cultural Landscape Study proposed for the downtown Mall. There was another proposed $50k to the Parks Dept. operating budget to cover preventative maintenance that was paid for out of the CIP carry over in the past. There will be a public work session tomorrow night at City Space from 5-7pm and there will be another budget work session from 5-7pm on the 15th. Code Committee Review - Mark The Code Committee met with NDS staff and City engineers just prior to today’s Tree Commission meeting to review staff roles in the entire development process. City staff will be implementing Best Management Practices to reflect in the Standards and Design Manual update. This will make these items enforceable, although developers usually will accommodate City staff requests regarding these items. Missy will be forward an outline of a preconstruction meeting to show process. The commission will draft a summary after NDS presentation. Staff hopes to have a Standard and Design Manual draft prepared for the commission at the April meeting. EAB Notification - Paul After discussing the best way to reach out to the public and remind them of emerald ash borer, it is decided that a press release will be put together by Parks about EAB and how to identify it. This is also something that can be shared on Facebook. Bamboo at Greenleaf Park - Paul The Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards have recently reached out to commission members regarding concerns about invasive plant species in our parks, particularly the bamboo problem in Greenleaf Park. It is decided that Parks will provide pictures and an progress update to CATS. Tree Planting Committee - Roxanne The Committee reports on the latest Westhaven meeting from two weeks ago with members of PHAR, CHRA staff, Parks staff and tree commissioners. There were some resulting concerns of security, tree shade facilitating unwanted outside visitors and damaging HUD scores from future limbs overhanging buildings. Parks staff may need to pull trees from property. The Tree Commission will get signatures from residents of Michie Dr. before proceeding with another planting effort at CHRA property. The Tree Planting Committee met on the 8th and discussed the when, who, how and where to plant trees on private property in Belmont. It was decided best to open dialogue with the neighborhood as early as Jan-Feb for tree planting that may occur in October. The Committee is looking at planting 15- 20’ from the curb in the front yards of peoples’ residences. These locations would be flagged in advance with contact info and five canopy tree species to choose from. CATS will not plant trees on private property but would be willing to help in another capacity to support project. CATS suggested hosting a tree planting demonstration at a public, central location and then send people home with trees to plant themselves. It is suggested that Belmont has small lot sizes and the public perception issue that trees are viewed as dangerous. Perhaps Belmont Bash might be a good way to reach out to people and inform them about the benefits of trees in the neighborhood. Peter will be taking over the Tree Planting Committee. Matt and Laura will be joining the Planting Committee. Data Committee Report - Roxanne The committee met with Brian Ray (Data Analyst for P&R) and Mike about the dashboard development process. The goal is to show live data of trees being removed and trees being planted. The next meeting with the Data Committee will show how this dashboard works. Staff expects to have a demo available by the April meeting. There is discussion as to what should the overall canopy goal be for Charlottesville and how should it be reflected in Comprehensive Plan. It is suggested that the Urban Forestry Management Plan be revisited. Annual Calendar – Roxanne Move City Council report to July meeting. Other Items NDS Projects that impact trees – No update Emancipation and Justice Parks Redesign RFP goes out March 7th. There is a new survey available online for renaming both of these downtown parks. E. High St. Streetscape Project – Brian Menard has met with steering committee to begin process. CATS is sponsoring the Virginia Festival of the Book Author Presentations at VDOF in Charlottesville March 22nd from 2-4pm and it is a free event. Next meeting: Arbor Day coordination, Dashboard preview Adjourn 6:42