Tree Commission September 2019 Minutes Date: September 3, 2019 Time: 5:00PM – 7:00PM Location: Recreation Office Conference Room at 501 East Main Street (under City Space) Attending: Paul Josey, Brian Menard, Lynn Rush, Rosanne Simon, Jody Lahendro, Mark Rylander, Anson Parker Absent: Matt Brinckman, Peggy Van Yahres, Peter Russell, Roxanne White, Staff: Mike Ronayne, Jeff Werner Guests: Bill Emory August Minutes Corrections – Mark motions to approve the August 2019 minutes without corrections. Lynn seconds. Paul, Brian M., Jody, Rosanne and Anson abstain. Matters from the Public – Bill Emory Bill shares some concerns regarding the Farmers Market at Meade Park damaging trees and exposing roots through pedestrian traffic as a result of the Farmers Market. After sharing some ideas staff will look into solutions and follow up. Welcome Anson Parker Anson is our newest member of the Tree Commission. He is a UVA grad and now works for UVA doing software and business design but has a passion for wood working and is eager to help the commission. CIP Requests 2020 - Mike Mike reviews CIP requests moving forward in regards to trees. The only new request is the Forest Health Improvement Initiative which primary goal is to offset costs with emerald ash borer removal with CIP dollars. After some discussion Mike will incorporate comments into CIP request. Gateway City Tree List – Paul After sharing some of the background of this list it is decided some narrative will be added at the beginning to stress the benefits. The goal being, after revision, to have it added to the Charlottesville Master Tree List. Data Committee Update – Brian M. Brian discusses some of the changes coming to the Annual State of the Forest Report that were discussed in the most recent Data Committee meeting. Mike will meet with Brian Ray to work on new requests. The Annual State of the Forest Report is going to City Council November 4th. There was also discussion of transitioning the Data Committee to focus on education. Friendship Ct. - Jody Jody expressed concerns with the Tree Commission’s inability to receive new site plans for review without a formal process siting repeated requests to NDS for Friendship Court site plans [First site plan request: 10/02/18 to Brian Haluska, 2nd request: 02/05/19, 3rd request: 03/05/19, plans received: July, 2019]. This leads to the commission being unable fulfill their by-laws/responsibilities [confirming “tree protection guidelines are adhered to” and being “informed about local changes and intentions involving trees and plans for public lands and infrastructure in the City”] without being included in the review process. Commission agreed that, assuming it would not lead to any approval delays, being more formally involved in the review process could be helpful and should be considered. Urban Forester Position NDS – Paul After some discussion Paul will work towards setting up a meeting with Dr. Richardson or Alex to advocate for an Urban Forester position in NDS. PLACE Update - Mark There will be an open house at Crescent Halls Wednesday and at PLACE on Thursday regarding the Form Based Code of the SIA. Mark will forward link and page. Some members will look at what’s being proposed and what is of concern and draft a letter. Tree Commission Website update – Mike Mike has compiled comments and has Mark’s revisions. As time permits Mike will review and polish them for publishing to website. Belmont Bridge – Mike/Paul There was not sweeping changes to the Belmont Bridge design in the latest site plan. There are concerns about planter widths and species selection. Paul will forward comments to Mike. Friendship Ct. – Mike Immediately prior to the Tree Commission meeting Mike received a comment letter regarding Friendship Ct. which seems to reflect Tree Commission comments. Mike will forward letter to commission. Barracks – Emmet Streetscape project– Brian Menard There will be an online survey coming out October 2nd that Brian will share. Also Brian will send out an email regarding time and place of the next meeting. UVA Tree Planting Initiative - Anson There is a tree planting initiative called “Carbon Offsets for Travel” being implemented at UVA and the first meeting is September 12th at 11AM at Caruthers Hall. Meeting Action Items: • Staff will look into solutions for Meade Park trees • Brian M. will send out information for Barracks-Emmet meeting and survey • Mike will forward Friendship Ct. comment letter • Paul will forward Belmont Bridge comments to Mike • Mark will forward link to SIA form based code • Group will look at form based code in SIA for what is being proposed • Paul will schedule a meeting to discuss Urban Forester position with NDS • Brian M. will draft narrative for City Gateway Tree List • Mike will incorporate changes suggested to new CIP request Next meeting: Review bylaws, Meade Park farmers market follow up, Annual Report, Trees to be incorporated into ordinance, CIP Review, Review Requested Operating Budget from Parks and Rec Adjourn 7:00