Tree Board Meeting 12.15.2023

Detailed briefing

Tree Advisory Board Meeting — December 15, 2023 ATTENDEES: Roll call recorded Dan Mulder, Dale Brown, Theresa Johnson, Kathy Machul, and Talia Svetlana. Lucas attended online to answer questions. • The board approved the November meeting minutes after asking for comments or corrections. The transcript does not state a vote count. • Staff updated the board on a resident request involving possible regulation of tree trimming on private property. Planning Commission had recommended considering a study of soil and bluff stability. City Council was scheduled to review that matter January 15; staff said it could return to the Tree Board if Council takes further action. • On the street-tree plan, the board discussed high-priority planting corridors, donations, and whether to focus donations on individual streets or a broader neighborhood. Ben and Lucas were expected to develop maximum tree counts for priority streets, with information hoped for by the January 19 meeting. A rough estimate discussed for Phase 1 was about 40 trees, pending further work. • Members favored first explaining the street-tree plan publicly through a Tree Canopy/Harbor Light article, potentially in January, before broader donation outreach. The article could describe the plan, upcoming target areas, and how residents can help. A member offered to work on a related PowerPoint for a future City Council presentation. • The board discussed asking City Council to partner in launching Phase 1, including a suggested contribution of 10 trees from the general fund. Staff said prior resident donations may already fund roughly 10 unplanted trees, while some funds remain committed to M-119 plantings. No Council funding decision was made at this meeting. • The board began reviewing Tree Plan goals and priority rankings. It placed emphasis on keeping the existing inventory current, annual health assessments, policies for removals and replacements, protections for city trees, planting and development standards, and tree-related review of city projects. It deferred the remaining new-tree, maintenance, and outreach sections until the next meeting. • Members noted that newly planted cedars near Bay Bluffs appeared to have declined during the fall. Lucas said he would inspect them. The board did not determine the cause or condition of the trees. Worth watching: • Whether City Council acts on the January 15 private-property trimming/bluff-stability discussion. • Whether planting-capacity counts and a Phase 1 corridor recommendation are ready for January 19. • Whether the proposed Council partnership, donation outreach, and grant inquiry advance into a funded planting program. Upcoming: The board expects to continue the Tree Plan priority review at its next meeting and discuss corridor planting information if available. Why it matters: The discussion links tree-canopy goals to practical questions of funding, maintenance, public outreach, development standards, and accountability for public trees.

No open public follow-ups are linked to this meeting yet.