[00:00:03]
REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING OF THE TREE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
AND, UM, I'LL CALL TO ORDER AND WE'LL START WITH ROLL CALL.
[GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT]
UH, UH, WE'LL START WITH GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT, BUT BEFORE, SO WE DID RECEIVE A COUPLE OF ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENTS, BUT JUST WERE JUST POSTED ON ONTO THE CITY'S WEBSITE.AND, UM, WITH THAT, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME FORWARD? SURE.
HI, MY NAME IS CHARLES LITTLE.
AND, UM, BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS, UH, THREE OF US MET WITH HEATHER AND GOT A LOOK AND ASKED HER SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DRAFT OF THE REVISED, UH, TREE PROTECTION ORDINANCE.
AND WE'VE PUT TOGETHER SOME COMMENTS AND I'D LIKE TO READ THEM TO YOU.
I THINK YOU HAVE COPIES OF THESE, BUT I'LL READ THEM ANYWAY AND THEN I DON'T KNOWM I'LL GO AHEAD.
I'M GONNA GO, I I'M GONNA INTERRUPT YOU IF YOU CAN HOLD YOUR COMMENTS UNTIL THE ITEM IS PRESENTED, AND THEN YOU CAN COMMENT AT THAT POINT.
SAY THAT AGAIN? IF YOU CAN WAIT UNTIL THE ITEM IS PRESENTED AND THEN YOU CAN COMMENT AT THAT POINT.
OH, SO THIS IS NOT APPROPRIATE NOW, RIGHT.
SO IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS ON ANYTHING OTHER THAN ANYTHING THAT'S AGENDIZED, YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME TO GIVE A GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT.
BUT FOR ANYTHING ELSE, WAIT TILL THE ITEM IS OKAY.
I DON'T HAVE THE AGENDA IN FRONT OF ME.
I SAW MY NAME ON THE AGENDA NEAR THE BEGINNING, SO THAT'S WHY I JUMPED UP HERE.
SO AFTER THE, THE PRESERVATION ORDINANCE IS PRESENTED, THEN YOU CAN COMMENT THEN.
[PRESENTATIONS]
UH, WELL WITH THAT, UH, LET'S SEE.UH, WE'LL MOVE ON TO PRESENTATIONS.
UM, AND WE'RE ABOUT TO RECEIVE A PRESENTATION AND DISCUSS, UM, AND FEEDBACK COMPONENTS OF THE DRAFT UPDATE TO IMPLEMENTING OUR ZONING ORDINANCE, CHAPTER 17, TREE PRESERVATION.
AND, UM, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO HEATHER.
UM, I AM HERE TODAY, UM, TO PRESENT, UH, THE INITIAL DRAFT OF THE TREE PRESERVATION ORDINANCE.
UM, THAT WOULD BE, UH, ZONING ORDINANCE CHAPTER 17 TO REPLACE THE EXISTING ORDINANCE.
SO I HAVE A BRIEF, UM, PRESENTATION THAT REALLY TRACKS WITH THE STAFF REPORT THAT YOU ALL RECEIVED.
UM, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO A CONVERSATION TODAY ABOUT, UM, FEEDBACK ON WHAT WE HAVE DRAFTED THUS FAR.
SO I JUST WANNA START KIND OF, UH, YOU KNOW, RAISE OURSELVES UP TO THINK ABOUT THE EXISTING PRIORITIES THAT WE HAVE IN OUR DIFFERENT DOCUMENTS.
UM, AND SO MANY OF THESE PRIORITIES, UM, REALLY PLAY INTO WHAT WE'RE HERE TO DISCUSS TODAY.
SO FROM OUR CITYWIDE GOALS, OUR CLIMATE EMERGENCY FRAMEWORK, THE DRAFT BLUEPRINT, UH, FOR CARBON NEUTRALITY GENERAL PLAN POLICY, AND OUR ZONING CODE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS THAT DISCUSS TREE ORDINANCES, SUSTAINING A HEALTHY, UM, URBAN FOREST, UM, AND ESTABLISHING REGULATIONS TO HELP US PRESERVE THAT.
AND THEN DROPPING DOWN A LITTLE, AS MOST OF YOU ARE AWARE, UM, UPDATING OUR TREE PRESERVATION APPROACH WAS, UH, ONE OF THE CITY COUNCIL'S TOP 10, UM, PRIORITIES.
SO, UH, THE DIRECTION WAS REALLY TO RECOGNIZE THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS OF TREES TO OUR COMMUNITY AND HOW BROAD THOSE ARE.
UM, THEY REALLY TOUCH ON A VARIETY OF, OF THINGS TO UPDATE THE TREE PRESERVATION ORDINANCE, AS WELL AS UPDATING OUR INTERNAL PROCESSING AND PERMITTING, UM, TO MAKE SURE WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THAT DIRECTION.
SO AGAIN, THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY.
UM, SO, AND THEN LOOKING AT WHAT WE ARE PLANNING TO DISCUSS TODAY.
SO I WANTED TO INTRODUCE OUR TEAM THAT'S BEEN WORKING ON THIS.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE TO BE WORKING WITH BEN ANDERSON WITH URBAN FORESTRY, UM, AND HE HAS BEEN A GREAT RESOURCE AS A CONSULTING
[00:05:01]
ARBORIST TO, UM, LOOK AT OTHER JURISDICTIONS, WHAT THEY ARE DOING, WHAT WORKS, WHAT DOESN'T, UM, AND HAS REALLY BEEN, UM, AN INSTRUMENTAL PART OF THIS EFFORT.UM, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT STAFF, UM, UM, INCLUDING MYSELF AND ELENA LIP, HAVE BEEN, UM, AN ASSOCIATE PLANNER WITH THE DEPARTMENT, HAVE BEEN, UM, PLAYING A LEAD ROLE ON THIS.
AND WE'RE BEEN WORKING IN CONSULTATION WITH THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS, UM, IN THE CITY FROM PARKS PUBLIC WORKS, UH, CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE BUILDING DIVISION.
SO I'M REALLY LOOKING AT IT AS A CITYWIDE EFFORT.
UM, SO TODAY YOU HAVE, BEFORE YOU, UH, CURRENT DRAFT, UM, OF THE IEO UPDATE, IEO BEING THE IMPLEMENTING ZONING ORDINANCE.
UM, AND I, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE ALL KIND OF WORKING FROM THE SAME PLACE.
AND THAT THIS TREE, IT REALLY TALKS ABOUT TREE PRESERVATION ON PRIVATE PROPERTY.
IT'S DOES NOT TALK ABOUT, UM, TREES WITHIN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY, WHICH IS DEALT WITH IN THE MUNICIPAL CODE, UM, BECAUSE IT'S DIFFERENT JURISDICTION, UM, AS OUR CODES ARE SET UP.
SO THAT'S NOT TO SAY WE WON'T TALK ABOUT STREET TREES, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE KICKING OFF AN UPDATE OF THE SECTION OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE AS WELL.
AND WE'LL BE BRINGING THAT TO THIS GROUP FOR FEEDBACK ON THAT ASPECT.
UM, BUT FOR TODAY'S CONVERSATION, IT'S DEALING WITH TREE PRESERVATION ON PRIVATE PROPERTY.
UM, YOU WILL ALSO NOTICE THAT THE ENFORCEMENT AND FINES SECTIONS, UM, IN THE DRAFT THAT YOU HAVE ARE INCOMPLETE.
WE ARE WORKING CLOSELY WITH CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO FIT THAT INTO THE EXISTING, UM, FRAMEWORK OF WHAT WE HAVE AT OUR DISPOSAL FOR ENFORCEMENT.
UM, THERE'S A LOT IN THE MUNICIPAL CODE ABOUT ENFORCEMENT OPTIONS AND REMEDIES.
UM, SO LOOKING AT THAT AND THEN, UM, TAILORING IT TO WHAT WE NEED FOR THIS ORDINANCE SECTION SPECIFICALLY.
SO THAT, AGAIN, WILL BE PART OF AN UPDATED DRAFT THAT WE WILL BRING BEFORE YOU.
UM, AND WE ARE WORKING ON THAT.
SO TODAY WE'RE SEEKING, UM, THE COMMITTEE'S INPUT.
UM, REALLY IS THE DRAFT IN LINE WITH THE DESIRED DIRECTION.
UM, ARE THERE AREAS THAT WE'VE SWUNG THE PENDULUM TOO FAR? WE'VE GOTTEN TOO RESTRICTIVE FROM A KIND OF LESS RESTRICTIVE IN OUR CURRENT ORDINANCE.
UM, ARE THERE THINGS WE'VE OVERLOOKED OR, UM, DEFINITIONS WE, WE, WE DIDN'T QUITE GET RIGHT.
SO REALLY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR FEEDBACK FROM THIS COMMITTEE TO INFORM REVISIONS.
AND THEN, UM, MOVING TOWARDS A MORE FINAL DRAFT.
UM, AND THEN IT'S ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY, THIS IS STARTING OUR COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDER OUTREACH AND INPUT.
SO YOU GOT A COUPLE LETTERS, UM, IN, IN YOUR PACKET FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, RELIEF BEING ONE OF THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS THAT HAS BEEN, UM, A PART OF THIS PROCESS.
UM, AND THEN WE WILL ALSO START, UM, AS I'LL TOUCH ON LATER IN THIS PRESENTATION, START A BROADER OUTREACH, UM, EFFORT TO MAKE SURE THAT ANYBODY IN THE COMMUNITY WHO WANTS TO BE PART OF THIS CONVERSATION IS ABLE TO, UM, BE PART OF THAT.
AND IT'S NOT A SURPRISE TO ANYBODY, UM, WHEN ULTIMATELY WE ADOPT A NEW ORDINANCE.
SO MY PLAN TODAY IS REALLY TO RUN THROUGH, UM, THE DIFFERENT SECTIONS AND JUST GIVE A LITTLE SUMMARY OF EACH SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE ASKED, UM, WHERE THERE'S BEEN SOME INPUT THAT HAS COME IN.
UM, I'VE, I'VE AUGMENTED THOSE QUESTIONS A LITTLE BIT TO, UM, LOOK FOR FEEDBACK.
AND THEN AT THE DISCRETION OF THE CHAIR, WE CAN GO BACK TO EACH ONE, UM, FOR ANY KIND OF, UM, COMMITTEE DISCUSSION AS AS APPROPRIATE.
SO STARTING WITH THE PURPOSE, UM, REALLY LOOKED AT CREATING A MORE ROBUST PURPOSE STATEMENT IN THIS DRAFT THAN WHAT IS CURRENTLY IN THE CODE, WANTING TO RECOGNIZE THE WIDE RANGE OF COMMUNITY BENEFITS OF TREE PRESERVATION, AND, UM, ALSO CARRYING THAT THROUGH INTO A LOT OF THE SUBSECTIONS OF THE ORDINANCE.
UM, WHEN YOU WORK WITH ORDINANCES A LOT, YOU FIND THAT WHEN YOU HAVE A QUESTION, YOU COME BACK UP TO WHAT'S THE PURPOSE OF THIS, OF THIS ORDINANCE OR THIS CHAPTER OR THIS SECTION.
SO WANTING TO HAVE SOMETHING REALLY ROBUST AND CLEAR OF WHERE THE CITY IS WANTING TO GO AND THE PURPOSE, THE OBJECTIVE OF THE ORDINANCE.
SO IF THERE ARE TIMES WHERE THERE'S QUESTIONS ABOUT AN INTERPRETATION, UH, THE USER OF THE ORDINANCE CAN GO BACK TO THAT PURPOSE AND, AND FEEL PRETTY, UM, CERTAIN THAT THEY'RE INTERPRETING IT IN LINE WITH THAT OVERALL PURPOSE STATEMENT.
SO QUESTIONS POSED TO THE COMMITTEE.
DOES THE DRAFT CAPTURE THE APPROPRIATE RANGE OF BENEFITS TO GUIDE THAT IMPLEMENTATION? ARE THERE KEY BENEFITS THAT WE SHOULD ADD, UM, TO THE DRAFT APPLICABILITY? THIS IS REALLY TRYING TO OUTLINE WHO, WHO, WHO NEEDS
[00:10:01]
TO USE THIS ORDINANCE, WHO, UM, IS REQUIRED TO, UM, THESE REQUIREMENTS, UM, INTO THEIR PROJECTS OR THEIR PLANS.SO WE SPECIFIED THAT IT APPLIES TO ALL ZONING DISTRICTS WITHIN THE CITY.
AND THEN WE ALSO, UM, INCLUDED A REFERENCE THERE, AGAIN TO STREET TREES.
THERE WAS, WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE EXISTING ORDINANCES, THERE OVERLAPS AND THAT HAVE CREATED SOME CONFUSION, UM, IN IMPLEMENTATION, WHEN I'M LOOKING AT THIS, DO I GO TO THIS CODE OR DO I GO TO THIS CODE? SO TRYING TO BE REALLY SUCCINCT AND CLEAR, UM, THAT IT'S NOT THAT WE DON'T REGULATE STREET TREES, BUT STREET TREES ARE REGULATED IN THIS SECTION AND REFERRING PEOPLE TO THE, THOSE, THOSE OTHER SECTIONS.
SO AGAIN, IS THERE ANYTHING MISSING FROM THE APPLICABILITY, UM, SECTION AS IT IS CURRENTLY DRAFTED? UH, SUBSECTION OH THREE OH DEALS WITH EXEMPTIONS.
UH, THIS SECTION IS, UH, PURPOSEFULLY REALLY LIMITS THE EXEMPTIONS FROM THE ORDINANCE.
UH, WE OUTLINE THREE, UM, EMERGENCY SITUATIONS.
THAT'S REALLY WHERE A TREE IS CAUSING IMMINENT DANGER TO THE PUBLIC OR A HOMEOWNER.
UM, AND, AND, AND THINGS NEED TO HAPPEN QUITE QUICKLY.
UM, PUBLIC UTILITY PROTECTION, UM, IS ANOTHER ONE.
AND THEN NUISANCE SPECIES, A NUISANCE SPECIES IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, IS NEW, IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE CURRENT ORDINANCE.
UM, AND AND WE DID INCLUDE HERE.
SO, UM, ARE THERE OTHER EXEMPTIONS THAT SHOULD BE ADDED? THERE WERE PUBLIC COMMENTS, UM, OR COMMITTEE COMMENTS ABOUT THINKING ABOUT SHOULD WE EXEMPT FOR SHADING OF SOLAR PANELS? SHOULD WE EXEMPT, UH, FOR IMPACT TREES THAT ARE IMPACTING HARD LANDSCAPER FOUNDATIONS, SHOULD WE EXEMPT FOR VIEW PRESERVATION? UM, AND THEN A COUPLE COMMENTS ABOUT, UM, EXEMPTING FOR DISPEN DEFENSIBLE SPACE REQUIREMENTS.
UM, SO KIND OF ADDING THAT TO THE, TO THE QUESTION, SOME SPECIFICS THAT CAME UP IN THE COMMENTS WE HAVE RECEIVED.
UM, AND THEN IN TERMS OF NUISANCE SPECIES, UM, IS IT APPROPRIATE TO INCLUDE NUISANCE SPECIES, UM, AS EXEMPT FROM THE ORDINANCE? AND ARE THERE ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS FROM THE ONES THAT WERE PROPOSED IN THE DRAFT? UM, A COUPLE SUGGESTIONS FOR EUCALYPTUS, MONTEREY PINE AND LIQUID AMBER, UM, TO BE CONSIDERED AS MAYBE ADDITIONAL, UM, SPECIES UNDER THAT CLASSIFICATION.
UH, DEFINITIONS, UH, WE SOUGHT TO REALLY EXPAND THE LIST OF DEFINITIONS APPROPRIATE FOR THE TREE PRESERVATION DISCUSSION.
ONE THING I REALLY WANNA HIGHLIGHT IS, UH, THE ELIMINATION OF THE TERM PROTECTED TREE.
UM, OUR CURRENT ORDINANCE ONLY APPLIES, UM, UNDER C CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES TO A KIND OF SHORT LIST OF PROTECTED TREES.
UM, AND SO ONE OF THE MAIN CHANGES IN THIS ORDINANCE IS MOVING TO THE ORDINANCE, APPLYING TO ALL TREES OVER A CERTAIN SIZE.
SO THERE'S A DEFINITION THAT A TREE IS ANY NATIVE OR NON-NATIVE WOODY PLANT WITH A TRUNK DIAMETER OF SIX INCHES OR GREATER.
UM, SO THAT'S A VERY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE, UM, FROM THE CURRENT ORDINANCE TO THIS ORDINANCE IN TERMS OF, UM, WHAT IS BEING PROTECTED.
UM, SO FOR COMMITTEE INPUT, ARE THERE DEFINITIONS THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL? UM, IS THE PROPOSED DEFINITION OF TREE TOO RESTRICTIVE? THERE HAVE BEEN SOME COMMENTS THAT IT, IT IS A SIX INCHES IS A PRETTY RESTRICTIVE, UM, SIZE.
UM, OTHER JURISDICTIONS HAVE USING 12 24 10, UM, SO IS, IS THAT THE RIGHT SIZE? UM, AND THEN ALSO A COMET CAME IN ABOUT DIAMETER AT BREAST HEIGHT BE USED INSTEAD OF JUST TRUNK DIAMETER.
UM, SO SOME QUESTIONS WE'D LOVE INPUT ON, UH, TREE REMOVAL PERMITS.
UM, THIS SECTION, AGAIN, IT SIGNIFICANTLY EXPANDS THE CITY'S CURRENT SCOPE BECAUSE, UH, TREE REMOVAL PERMIT WOULD BE REQUIRED FOR, UH, REMOVAL OF ALL TREES, WHICH AGAIN, IS REFERRING TO THAT DEFINITION OF SIX INCHES, UM, TRUNK DIAMETER, UH, NOT JUST THE PROTECTED TREES.
SO, UM, THAT'S A, A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE HERE.
UM, THIS SECTION IDENTIFIES THE REVIEW AUTHORITY, UM, FOR TREE REMOVAL PERMITS THAT ARE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH A DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION.
THAT REVIEW AUTHORITY IS THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR.
UM, AND IF THEY ARE CONSIDERED AS PART OF A DEVELOPMENT PROJECT, THEN THAT, UH, REVIEW AUTHORITY BECOMES THE REVIEW AUTHORITY FOR THE PROJECT.
SO IF A PROJECT CAME IN FOR A HOUSING DEVELOPMENT, THE TREE
[00:15:01]
REMOVAL PERMIT IS PART OF THAT, THAT WOULD GO TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND THEY WOULD BECOME THE, UM, REVIEW AUTHORITY.SO TRYING TO BE REALLY CLARIFY UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES, UH, WHO THE REVIEW AUTHORITY IS.
THIS SECTION ALSO INCLUDES FINDINGS FOR APPROVAL AS WELL AS FINDINGS FOR DENIAL.
UM, AND IT ALSO HAS, UM, A SECTION THAT SPECIFICALLY GIVES THE AUTHORITY FOR THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR TO, UM, SEEK PROFESSIONAL INPUT FROM A CONSULTING ARBORIST, UM, AS NEEDED.
SO IF AN ARBORIST REPORT CAME IN AND IT DIDN'T, IT DIDN'T READ RIGHT, WE HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT IT THAT WOULD GIVE, UM, THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR THE AUTHORITY TO, UH, USE A CONSULTING ARBORIST, UM, AS NEEDED.
AND THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR NOW DOES HAVE A CONSULTING ARBORIST UNDER CONTRACT FOR SUCH REFERRALS.
SO WE'VE, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED, UM, ALREADY.
SO IN TERMS OF INPUT FROM THE COMMITTEE, IS WE'VE KIND OF TAKEN A MORE OF A MAXIMUM REGULATORY APPROACH IN THIS DRAFT.
IS THAT APPROPRIATE? IS THERE A DESIRE TO SWING? A LITTLE BIT? IS A MORE MODERATE APPROACH DESIRED? UM, AND ARE THERE ANY MODIFICATIONS TO THE FINDINGS FOR APPROVAL OR FINDINGS FOR DENIAL THAT SEEM, UM, LIKE THEY SHOULD BE MADE? UH, TREE REPLACEMENT.
UH, THIS SECTION IS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE ROBUST THAN CURRENT CODE.
IT ADDRESSES, UM, REPLACEMENT RATIOS, LOCATION AND TIMING, UM, WHICH WAS SOMETHING THAT SOME OF THE COMMENTS ABOUT THE ORDINANCE FROM EARLY ON WAS ABOUT NEEDING ALL OF THOSE PIECES, UM, TO REALLY CREATE A SOLID TREE REPLACEMENT, UM, REQUIREMENT.
UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT APPROPRIATE IN LIEU FEES.
UM, CURRENTLY THE WAY THE ORDINANCE READS IS IN LIE FEES ARE THE, UM, THE TYPICAL NORTHERN CALIFORNIA WHOLESALE TREE COSTS PLUS AN AVERAGE INSTALLATION COST.
SO IS THAT THE APPROPRIATE WAY TO DEFINE IT? SHOULD THERE BE MORE OF A CLEAR, YOU KNOW, FOR EACH TREE IT'S X AMOUNT? SO WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, UM, THE APPROPRIATE IN LIE FEES, UM, AS, AS PART OF OUR EFFORTS.
SO FOR COMMITTEE, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT'S MISSING FROM THIS SECTION? UM, IS THE THERE ONE TREE PER THREE INCHES OF TRUNK DIAMETER FOR TREE REMOVALS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH A DEVELOPMENT PROJECT TO ONEROUS FOR INDIVIDUAL HOMEOWNERS? A TOPIC THAT CAME UP FROM A NUMBER OF THE COMMENTS THAT CAME IN WAS, THAT'S A LOT.
UM, FOR A HOMEOWNER THAT MIGHT WANNA REMOVE A TREE TO THEN HAVE TO PUT IN A NUMBER OF TREES, IS THERE ROOM FOR THEM? IS IT BECOME SO EXPENSIVE? UM, AND DOES IT REALLY FURTHER GOOD? UM, GOOD PRACTICE TO, IF YOU'VE GOT TOO MANY TREES ON A LADDER, REQUIRING TOO MANY TREES ON A LOT.
UM, AND THEN ALSO ARE THE RATIOS THAT ARE IN HERE FOR REPLACEMENT AS PART OF DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS APPROPRIATE, UH, SUBSECTION OH NINE OH DEALS WITH DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS SPECIFICALLY.
UM, SO THIS WAS WHEN THERE ARE TREE REMOVALS PROPOSED AS PART OF A DISCRETIONARY REVIEW PROJECT.
SO WE ADDED SUPPLEMENTAL FINDINGS, UM, THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE MADE BY THE REVIEW AUTHORITY FOR TREE REMOVAL PERMITS THAT ARE PROCESSED CONCURRENTLY WITH DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
UM, STANDARD CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL HAVE ALSO BEEN ADDED TO THE ORDINANCE.
THESE WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE ADDED TO, UM, THE RESOLUTIONS APPROVING A PROJECT.
UM, AND THEN ALSO WE ADDED, UM, SITE DESIGN PRINCIPLES.
AND REALLY THE PURPOSE HERE WAS TRYING TO ENCOURAGE CONSIDERATION OF PRESERVATION AS PART OF THE EARLY, UM, AS PART OF THE EARLY DESIGN, UM, EFFORT.
SO INSTEAD OF SOMEBODY JUST KIND OF THINKING, OKAY, AND WE'VE SEEN A NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS COME IN THIS WAY, THAT THEY JUST KIND OF THINK OF CLEARING THE TREES OUT AND THEN THEY'VE GOT A, A SITE TO WORK WITH, UM, ENCOURAGING CONSIDERATION OF WHAT TREES ARE THERE AS THEY'RE PLANNING THEIR PROJECT.
SO ARE THERE ADDITIONAL SITE DESIGN PRINCIPLES THAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED? ARE THERE ADDITIONAL STANDARD CONDITIONS THAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED TO ENSURE SUCCESSFUL TREE PRESERVATION? AND ARE THE SUPPLEMENTAL FINDINGS HELPFUL? UM, CONSIDERATIONS, UM, TO ENSURE TREE PRESERVATION IS PRIORITIZED? UM, I DO NOT HAVE A SLIDE
[00:20:01]
FOR 1708 OH, BUT THAT IS, UM, THE SECTION THAT TALKS ABOUT, UH, TREE TRIMMING AND PRUNING.I DON'T BELIEVE THERE WAS SPECIFIC QUESTIONS IN THAT, BUT UM, OBVIOUSLY THESE QUESTIONS ARE JUST A GENERAL GUIDELINE TO GET DISCUSSION HAPPENING.
UM, THE MINISTERIAL PROJECTS IS STILL BEING DRAFTED, BUT THE INTENT HERE IS REALLY TO SAFEGUARD EXISTING TREES FROM CONSTRUCTION IMPACTS.
SO EVEN IF SOMEBODY IS NOT PROPOSING TO REMOVE A TREE, HAVING SOME, UM, BASE STANDARDS THAT THEY HAVE TO, UM, COMPLY WITH, UM, AS PART OF THEIR PERMIT APPLICATION.
SO THAT MIGHT BE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE JUST DOING A BUILDING PERMIT, UM, TO DO SOME UTILITY UPGRADES.
SO THERE'S NO DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL PER SE.
THERE'S NO DISCRETION, BUT THERE IS A BUILDING PERMIT TO DO SOME GRADING, UM, TO TRENCH TO DO SOME TRENCHING FOR NEW UTILITY HOOKUPS.
WELL, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S BEING CONSIDERED.
WHAT, WHAT TREES AND HOW CLOSE ARE YOU GETTING TO THE TREES AND WHERE ARE THE, THE ROOTS THERE TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE NOT, UM, UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES AND LOSS OF TREES EVEN WHEN SOMEONE'S NOT PROPOSING TO REMOVE A TREE.
UM, SO WE ARE LOOKING AT SOME OF THOSE REQUIREMENTS TO ADD TO THE ORDINANCE, UH, TREE PRESERVATION AND PROTECTION PLANS.
THESE REALLY OUTLINE THOSE MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR WHAT SHOULD GO INTO THESE PLANS.
WHO SHOULD PRODUCE THESE PLANS.
UM, SO QUESTION TWO, THE COMMITTEE AS, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT SHOULD BE ADDED? UM, DID WE OVERLOOK ANYTHING? UM, AND ENFORCEMENT.
SO AGAIN, THIS IS A SECTION THAT WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO DEVELOP BASING ON BASED ON THE EXISTING AUTHORITY IN THE MUNI CODE.
UM, AND THEN LOOKING FOR CLEAR SPECIFICS FOR FEES ASSOCIATED WITH ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS.
SO THAT IS BEING, UM, WORKED ON AND WILL BE BROUGHT BEFORE THE COMMITTEE, UM, IN A FUTURE, UM, UPDATED DRAFT.
SO, UM, BEFORE, AS I'M CLOSING THIS OUT, KIND OF WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.
SO WE HAVE STARTED WITH, YOU KNOW, STAKEHOLDERS, BUT WE HAVE, UM, INITIATED CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CITY'S COMMUNICATION TEAM, UM, TO THINK ABOUT OTHER WAYS TO, UM, HIGHLIGHT THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE, UM, GET, UM, OTHER PEOPLE WHO, UM, THIS WILL IMPACT TO BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION.
SO COMMUNITY BULLETINS, SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS, THOSE KIND OF THINGS.
AS WELL AS, UM, LOOKING AT SOME DIRECT OUTREACH.
UM, I KNOW THAT DOWNTOWN BUSINESS DISTRICT IS ASKED TO PARTICIPATE IN CONVERSATIONS ONCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT STREET TREAT SPECIFICALLY, UM, DOING SOME OUTREACH TO, UM, LOCAL ARBORISTS, UM, UH, SO SOME OF THAT KIND OF DIRECT OUTREACH.
SO WE WILL, UM, CONTINUE WITH THOSE EFFORTS TO DEVELOP THOSE EFFORTS AND, UM, ENSURE WE'RE DOING THAT AS PART OF THIS PROCESS AS WELL.
AND SO NEXT STEPS, UM, WE WILL RECEIVE FEEDBACK TODAY.
WE WILL BE UPDATING THE TREE PROTECTION ORDINANCE WITH THE FEEDBACK RECEIVED, UM, FILLING IN SOME OF THOSE AREAS THAT WE ARE STILL WORKING ON.
WE ARE ALSO INITIATING AN UPDATE, UM, TO THE MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 13.08, WHICH IS THE SECTION ON STREET TREES.
UM, AND WE'LL BE BRINGING BOTH OF THOSE UPDATED DRAFTS BACK TO THE TREE ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF FEEDBACK, UM, ALL AT THE SAME TIME DOING COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
ULTIMATELY, THIS IS A ZONING ORDINANCE UPDATE.
SO IT DOES GO TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION, UH, FOR THEIR REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION, ULTIMATELY CITY COUNCIL FOR ADOPTION, UM, AND THEN IMPLEMENTATION.
SO ONCE WE'VE GOT NEW, UM, REGULATIONS OF DOING ALL OF THE INFORMATION AND THE OUTREACH TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE KNOW WHAT THE EXPECTATIONS ARE.
AND FINALLY, JUST WANTED TO KIND OF CAP IT OFF WITH, UH, JUST A REMINDER OF CITY COMMITMENT.
UH, WE, UM, ARE LOOKING AT TREE PRESERVATION ACROSS MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS, UM, HOW TO IMPLEMENT CITY COUNCIL DIRECTION AND THE COMMUNITY VISION AND AWARE THAT WE NEED TO INCREASE THE AWARENESS, UM, INTERNALLY, UM, TO COMMIT TO TREE PRESERVATION.
UM, CONTINUE A COMMITMENT TO CONTINUE TO REFLECT BACK TO THESE OBJECTIVES, UM, AND CONSIDERING ISSUES, PROCESSES, PERMITS THAT INVOLVE, UM, TREES.
AND ALSO THE FLEXIBILITY TO CONTINUE TO REFLECT BACK ON THOSE OBJECTIVES WHEN THERE IS INTERPRETATION.
UM, WHEN EVERY TIME YOU ADOPT A NEW ORDINANCE, ONCE YOU START IMPLEMENTING IT, YOU'RE
[00:25:01]
LIKE, OH, THAT DOESN'T QUITE WORK, RIGHT? OR WE SHOULD HAVE SAID THAT.SO IT'S, IT'S AN ITERATIVE PROCESS.
UM, SO, UM, AND JUST TO END WITH GRATITUDE TO BE ABLE TO BE HERE AND TALK ABOUT THIS AND, UM, HAVE MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY HERE FOR THAT COLLABORATION.
SO THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
BEN IS HERE AND, UM, WE'RE HAPPY TO FOLLOW YOUR LEAD.
I THINK WE'LL OPEN IT UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
I, I'M SORRY, I'M DEFINITELY HERE RIGHT NOW.
I THINK YOU'D GO TO COMMITTEE COMMENT.
FIRST QUESTIONS FOR CLARIFICATION.
SHOULD WE START WITH LY? YEAH.
AND THANK YOU EVERYONE THAT'S WORKED HARD TO IMPROVE OUR, OR START THE PROCESS OF IMPROVING OUR TREE ORDINANCE.
UH, THIS WILL BECOME AWARE, I THINK, WHEN YOU START DOING COMMUNITY OUTREACH, BUT I DID A POLL OF MY FRIENDS NEIGHBORS, ACQUAINTANCES, AND NO ONE KNEW THAT THERE WERE ANY PROTECTIONS EXISTING RIGHT NOW, WHICH I THINK HAVE BEEN ON THE, UM, EXISTING FOR SEVERAL YEARS, MYSELF INCLUDED.
UM, AND THEN I ALSO DID A POLL OF HOW WOULD YOU FEEL ABOUT FURTHER PROTECTIONS? AND I DID NOT HEAR ANY SUPPORT FOR THAT.
UM, I THINK ANYBODY THAT HAS A GOOD TREE IN THEIR BACKYARD IS GOING TO, UH, APPRECIATE IT AND NOT TAKE IT, REMOVE IT LIGHTLY.
UM, IT'S REALLY COSTLY AND IF IT'S A GOOD TREE, IT'S SERVING ITS PURPOSE.
SO, UM, MY FEELING IS THAT THIS, UM, PROPOSAL GOES TOO FAR.
UH, IF WE, IF IT, IF IT WAS GOING TO GO FURTHER, UM, I WOULD CERTAINLY SAY THAT THE SIX INCH, UH, DIAMETER IS, UH, TOO RESTRICTIVE.
I LOOKED AT ORDINANCES FROM SAN JOSE, PALO ALTO, NOVATO MILL VALLEY, SEBASTOPOL, SANTA CRUZ, AND OAKLAND.
AND THE MOST RESTRICTIVE OF ALL OF THOSE I THINK WAS OAKLAND AT NINE INCHES EXCEPT FOR THE COAST LIVE OAK, WHICH IS PROTECTED AT FOUR INCHES.
UM, SO I COULD GO INTO, UM, SORT OF MORE SPECIFICS.
UM, UH, I WAS THE ONE THAT ADDED, UM, WHAT OTHER EXEMPTIONS THAT I THOUGHT SHOULD BE INCLUDED, WHICH WOULD BE, UH, SHADING OF SOLAR PANELS, UM, TREES THAT ARE IMPACTING FOUNDATIONS, UH, TREES THAT HAVE GROWN UP AND NOW, OR OBSTRUCTING VIEWS.
YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE LIKE ME AND THEY PLANTED TREES, UM, SORT OF STUPIDLY, UM, IGNORANTLY AND, UM, AND THEN REALIZED THAT IT WAS THE, THE WRONG TREE, UH, AND, AND SUBSEQUENTLY HAD TO REMOVE THEM.
AND IT WASN'T SOMETHING THAT I WANTED TO DO.
UM, UH, BUT I'M SURE THAT THERE ARE PLENTY OF PEOPLE WHO BOUGHT A PROPERTY AND THEN DISCOVERED THAT, UM, IT HAS A TREE THAT THAT IS JUST NOT SERVING ITS PURPOSE, UNFORTUNATELY.
UM, THE TREE REPLACEMENT, UM, I THOUGHT THAT THAT WAS, UM, IT WAS, IT WOULD REALLY BE SUPER, VERY COSTLY AND DIFFICULT FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE TO FIND THE, THE SPACE IN THEIR YARDS.
FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU HAD TO TAKE OUT A 30 INCH TREE THAT WOULD BE, UH, REQUIRE YOU TO PUT IN 10 TREES, UM, WHICH, YOU KNOW, THE AVERAGE COST OF A 15 GALLON TREE IS GONNA BE ABOUT A HUNDRED DOLLARS.
SO THAT'S GONNA BE A THOUSAND DOLLARS.
AND THEN THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE THE, AS YOU MENTIONED, INSTALLATION COST, WHICH WOULD BE, COULD BE QUITE HIGH FOR DINGING ALL THOSE HOLES.
PLUS JUST THE SPACE THAT THAT WOULD REQUIRE.
SO, UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, IN LIEU FEES, UM, MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE, BUT THEN IT MIGHT BE PROHIBITIVE FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE.
SO, UM, UH, I GUESS I'LL STOP THERE.
AND I WILL LOOK TO THE CHAIR FOR STRUCTURING OUR COMMENTS.
I'M USED TO, UH, COMMISSIONERS USUALLY DOING A ROUND OF QUESTIONS, AND THEN WE HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC AND THEN WE GIVE OUR FINAL COMMENTARY.
SHOULD WE DO THAT OR WOULD YOU RATHER US GIVE QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS KINDA ALL AT ONCE? I'M SORRY.
CAN I'M, I'M A LITTLE DEAF RIGHT NOW, SO CAN YOU SAY THAT AGAIN? UH, I'M USED TO THE FORMAT WHERE COMMISSIONERS GIVE THEIR QUESTIONS FIRST TO STAFF, THEN GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT, AND THEN COME BACK TO COMMISSIONERS FOR A FINAL COMMENT.
SHOULD WE DO THAT FORMAT HERE? WOULD YOU RATHER US READ KIND OF EVERYTHING NOW AND THEN GO TO PUBLIC? OR HOW DO YOU WANNA STRUCTURE THAT? I, I'M OPEN FOR DISCUSSION.
WELL, WHY DON'T I START WITH QUESTIONS AND THEN WE CAN ALWAYS COME BACK.
UH, JUST SO I DON'T EAT UP TOO MUCH TIME.
UM, I GUESS THE FIRST QUESTION, ANY MODEL JURISDICTIONS THAT STAND OUT THAT YOU PULLED FROM? I KNOW SOMETIMES THEY ALL RUN TOGETHER, UH, BUT ANY THAT STOOD OUT JUST FOR OUR OWN KIND OF FUTURE RESEARCH AND AS TOUCH POINTS STOOD OUT, IN WHAT WAY, UH, JUST STOOD OUT AS YOU WERE CONSTANTLY KIND OF PULLING FROM THEM OR REFERENCING THEM, OR, THEY SEEMED TO HAVE A LOT OF GOOD IDEAS, YOU KNOW, IF THERE WAS ANY JURISDICTIONS THAT STOOD
[00:30:01]
OUT AS REALLY BEING GOOD MODELS FOR WHAT YOU WERE TRYING TO CONSTRUCT HERE.I MEAN, A LOT OF IT COMES FROM MILL VALLEY.
I'LL SAY ALSO, UM, I THINK SOMEBODY, MAYBE, MAYBE ROGER HAD SAID SOMETHING ABOUT CHICO.
UM, SO LOOKED AT THE CHICO ORDINANCE TO LIKE, UM, LOOK AT ARE, ARE WE MISSING ANYTHING, UM, THAT THE CHICO ORDINANCE DID? SO ALSO AS PEOPLE BROUGHT UP ORDINANCES, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT THIS OR LOOK AT THAT, WE'D PULL 'EM UP AND LOOK AT IT AND THERE ARE SECTIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, ELENA HAD SOME EXPERIENCE USING SAUSALITO'S, UM, TREE ORDINANCE AND THERE'S SOME GOOD PIECES OF IT.
BUT THEN WHEN YOU LOOK AT CERTAIN THINGS, THEY'RE JUST NOT REALLY ALIGNED WITH PETALUMA TOO.
LIKE SO MUCH OF THEIRS IS PRIVATE VIEWS.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF LOOKING AT DIFFERENT OPTIONS AND SAYING, OKAY, THAT LITTLE PIECE, MAYBE THAT'S A GOOD THREAD.
AND THEN THERE'S OTHER ONES THAT IT DIDN'T, DIDN'T RESONATE.
YEAH, NO, THAT'S, THAT'S A GREAT ANSWER FOR KIND OF OUR FUTURE EDIFICATION AND RESEARCH INTO THIS.
AND THEN, UH, JUST BUILDING ON WHAT COMMISSIONER, UH, EBERLY JUST SAID ABOUT THE SIX INCHES, OBVIOUSLY IT'S A PRETTY HUGE SCOPE CHANGE.
I THINK THE ONLY I'VE HEARD OF A CITY, I THINK IT'S MUNICH, GERMANY, SOMEONE TOLD ME IS EIGHT INCHES, ANY TREE, EIGHT INCH DBH IS INCLUDED.
UH, WHAT WENT INTO TO THAT DECISION WAS THAT, UH, JUST YEAH, JUST TALK ABOUT THAT DECISION.
YEAH, I MEAN THERE WAS PUSH AND PULL ON THAT ONE, FAIRFAX IS FOUR INCHES.
SO THERE IS ONE THAT'S MORE RESTRICTIVE LOCALLY AND IN SONOMA OR NAPA, I THINK THEY PROTECT VALLEY OAK DOWN TO SEEDLINGS, WHICH IS JUST OUTRAGEOUS.
RIGHT? AND, AND THERE WERE PEOPLE IN RELIEF WHEN WE WERE DOING, 'CAUSE I WAS DOING AN INITIAL DRAFT WITH, WITH RELIEF.
THERE WERE MEMBERS OF RELIEF THAT WANTED IT TO BE ANY TREE PERIOD, INCLUDING SEEDLINGS OF LIKE ANY SPECIES NEEDING A PERMIT IN PETALUMA.
SO SIX INCHES CAME FROM A LOT OF COMPROMISE FROM EVERYONE THAT WAS WORKING ON THE INITIAL VERSION OF THE DRAFT.
AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, KIND OF OUR, OUR JUMPING OFF POINT HERE.
AND THEN, IS TRUNK DIAMETER KIND OF AN ANALOG FOR DBH OR IS DOES IT MEAN SOMETHING ELSE? NO, SO IT'S, EXCUSE ME, BEN, CAN YOU UM, PUT THE MIC CLOSER TO YOU? YEAH, THANK YOU.
UH, DBH COMES FROM FORESTRY AND YOU SEE THAT IN A LOT OF, UH, ORDINANCES.
YOU ALSO SEE DSH DIAMETER AT STANDARD HEIGHT, WHICH IS THE SAME THING, BUT PEOPLE TRYING TO CHANGE THE, THE WORDING OF IT, UH, IT DOESN'T WORK WELL TO JUST SAY FOUR AND A HALF FEET FOR URBAN TREES 'CAUSE THEY'RE NOT CONIFERS.
DBH COMES FROM MEASURING CONIFERS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, YOU GET ABOVE THE BUTT SWELL AND YOU'VE GOT LIKE SOMETHING THAT'S FAIRLY UNIFORM.
MOST OF THE TREES THAT YOU'RE MEASURING FOR A TREE REMOVAL PERMIT IN THE CITY OF PETALUMA, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT GONNA HAVE LIKE A, A SINGLE TRUNK, NOT MOST, BUT A LOT OF 'EM ARE NOT GONNA HAVE A SINGLE TRUNK AT FOUR AND A HALF FEET.
SO, LIKE THE, THE DESCRIPTION OF HOW TO MEASURE THE DIAMETER IN THIS DRAFT COMES PARTIALLY FROM THE CURRENT EDITION OF THE GUIDE FOR PLANT APPRAISAL FOR HOW TO DEAL WITH MULTI STEM TREES.
THE THING OF, OF MEASURING THE NARROWEST POINT, IF IT FORKS ABOVE OR BELOW THREE FEET, IT'S JUST, IT'S, IT BECOMES SUCH A STICKY ISSUE WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT WHETHER OR NOT A TREE NEEDS A PERMIT.
'CAUSE THERE'S GONNA BE SOME CUTOFF AT SOME POINT OF DBH.
RIGHT? AND LIKE IF YOU'VE GOT A REDWOOD THAT'S GOT SIX INCHES OF BARK ON IT ON EITHER SIDE, YOU PULL PLATES OFF AND IF IT, IF IT'S A COAST LIVE OAK, I THINK SOMEONE IN THEIR COMMENT MENTIONED COAST LIVE OAK.
LIKE THEY'RE, THEY'RE GONNA FORK AND WHERE ARE THEY FORK? MOST OF 'EM ARE FORKING AT ABOUT FOUR AND A HALF FEET
YOU KNOW, SO IF YOU JUST TAKE THAT STRAIGHT DIAMETER, A TREE THAT HAS A NARROW POINT BELOW FOUR AND A HALF FEET OF 12 INCHES CAN BE 36 INCHES AT FOUR AND A HALF FEET IF IT'S SPLITTING OFF TO SEVEN DIFFERENT STEMS. SO THAT'S WHY IT IS THE WAY THAT IT'S, IT'S JUST MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD AND, AND IT'S, UH, THAT'S THE INTENTION ANYWAY, IS THAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO READ THAT AND SAY, OKAY, THIS IS WHERE I NEED TO TAKE THE MEASUREMENT FOR MY TREE.
AND SO THE TRUNK DIAMETER, DO YOU ANTICIPATE ANY ISSUES WITH KIND OF CODIFYING THAT? IS THAT JUST UP TO DISCRETION OF WHOEVER THE DIRECTOR OR POINT PERSON IS ON STAFF TO DECIDE LIKE EXACTLY WHERE TO PULL TRUNK DIAMETER FROM? IT'S IN THE DEFINITIONS.
UM, SO THEN FOLLOWING ALONG WITH THIS AND ACTUALLY BUILDING INTO THE FUTURE REVIEW WE'RE GONNA DO OF THE MUNI CODE, UM, IS TALKING ABOUT KIND OF WHO IS THE REVIEW AUTHORITY, IF THERE'S THOUGHTS
[00:35:01]
ABOUT BUILDING OUT INTERNAL STAFF CAPACITY TO SPECIFICALLY DEAL WITH TREES.UH, AND I KNOW IN LOOKING AT SOME OTHER MUNICIPALITIES, THEY PUT PERSONNEL UNDER PUBLIC WORKS THAT ENDS UP BEING THE FUNNEL WHERE A LOT OF THESE TYPES OF ISSUES WOULD GO THROUGH.
WHETHER IT'S A TREE PROTECTION PLAN APPROVAL, WHETHER IT'S A PERMIT APPROVAL FOR AN INDIVIDUAL'S PROPERTY.
UM, HAVE YOU GUYS TALKED ABOUT THAT ISSUE AT ALL? PROS AND CONS? IS IT KIND OF OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF THIS OR, 'CAUSE I, I KNOW IT'S GONNA COME UP AND I KNOW WE TALK ABOUT IT A LOT.
I YOU HAVE IT AS THE DIRECTOR OR THEIR, WHOEVER THEY MM-HMM.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS A NICE WAY TO HANDLE IT.
AND, AND I, I MEAN, I THINK WHEN WE LOOK AT WHAT PUBLIC WORKS, PUBLIC WORKS DEALS WITH PUBLIC, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE, PUBLIC ROADS, PUBLIC TREES.
UM, SO THAT'S WHY I THINK THAT'S WHY OUR CODE MAKES THAT DIFFERENCE BECAUSE PUBLIC WORKS IS PUBLIC STUFF AND PRIVATE PROPERTY IS TYPICALLY PLANNING.
UM, AND, AND SO THAT'S KIND OF THE WAY OUR ORDINANCES CURRENTLY DO, UM, HAVE THEM BROKEN UP.
AND WE WERE KIND OF TRYING TO CREATE CLARITY BUT ALSO FOLLOW THAT, THAT LEAD THAT MOST OTHER THINGS ARE SET, SET UP WITH, YOU KNOW.
UM, SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS THE THINKING ON WHY, YOU KNOW, WITH IT'S, IT'S PRETTY RARE THAT YOUR ORDINANCE IS GOING TO GET MORE SPECIFIC.
I MEAN, THERE ARE SOME IN TERMS OF LIKE WHO THE DESIGNEE IS.
'CAUSE IT'S ULTIMATELY IT'S THE DIRECTORS OVERSEEING IT AND THEY GIVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO WHO ON STAFF IS QUALIFIED HAS, HAS THE ABILITY.
IT CAN SHIFT DEPENDING IF SOMEBODY LEAVES.
YOU KNOW, YOU GOTTA, YOU GOTTA HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY TO SHIFT IT.
SO MOST OF OUR ORDINANCES, I, AND I'M SURE THERE'S SOME EXAMPLES, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S THE CHIEF BUILDING OFFICIAL, UH, IT'S DOESN'T SAY THE DEPUTY BUILDING OFFICIAL BECAUSE IT'S THE CHIEF BUILDING OFFICIAL IS OVERSEEING IT AND DESIGNATING THE ROLES IN THAT DIVISION THAT NEED TO HAPPEN.
SAME WITH THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR OR, UM, THE PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR OR THE PARK AND REC DIRECTOR.
AND THEN THEY SEE TO WHO, WHO IS THE DESIGNEE.
SO THE END DESIGNEE IS A GOOD CATCHALL FOR INTERNALLY IF WE WANNA HAVE OTHER VOICES, OTHER PEOPLE WEIGH IN.
UH, AND I'M GUESSING IF THAT CHANGES IN THE FUTURE, IF WE BUILD OUT AN URBAN FORESTRY DEPARTMENT OR WE CAN ALWAYS KIND OF UPDATE THESE TO POINT IN THAT DIRECTION IF APPROPRIATE.
OF COURSE, IF THE, IF THERE WAS AN URBAN FORESTRY DEPARTMENT AND THAT APARTMENT WAS IN CHARGE OF EVERYTHING TREES, THEN WE WOULD CHANGE THE, THE REVIEW AUTHORITY TO THAT.
AND THEN ANOTHER ISSUE, THE REPLACEMENT CALCULATIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT GETTING, I'M SURE THERE'S A LOT THAT GOES INTO THAT AS WELL, THE THOUGHT BEHIND THAT.
UH, BUT CAN YOU JUST TALK ABOUT THE 15 GALLON REPLACEMENT TO EITHER LIKE THE ONE INCH OR THE THREE INCHES OF TRUNK REMOVED.
IS THAT COMMON PRACTICE? IS IT, UM, JUST TALK THROUGH THAT A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY OUR PRIOR ORDINANCE WAS MORE ABOUT MATCHING OR DOUBLING SOME AMOUNT OF EXISTING TRUNK REMOVED.
UH, SO JUST WALK THROUGH THAT A LITTLE BIT.
YEAH, THAT'S AGAIN, THE RESULT OF SORT OF PUSH AND PULL OF PEOPLE.
AND THERE, I THINK THERE'S MEANT TO BE A THING IN THERE THAT'S NOT IN THERE YET OF THAT LETS US WALK THAT BACK.
SO IT'S NICE IN MY EXPERIENCE TO HAVE SOMETHING A, A STIFF REQUIREMENT THAT YOU CAN GO TO IF NEEDED.
BUT THEN THE FLEXIBILITY TO SAY THAT IF SOMEONE QUALIFIED LOOKS AT THIS AND SAYS THAT IT'S NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH A GOOD FORESTRY PRACTICE OR LAND MANAGEMENT, THAT YOU COULD WALK IT BACK AND I MEAN, THAT'S HOW IT'S DONE IN MILL VALLEY AND IT'S WORKED REALLY WELL.
THEY'VE GOT STIFF REPLACEMENT REQUIREMENTS THAT HAVE ONLY EVER BEEN, I MEAN THEY, I THEY MAY HAVE NEVER BEEN IMPLEMENTED FULLY.
USUALLY I GO AND LOOK AT IT AND SAY, YEAH, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU'D LOST THIS TREE AND IT WAS BIG AND THE REPLACEMENT IS SUPPOSED TO BE 10 TREES, BUT THIS, THIS SITE COULD REASONABLY SUIT TWO.
YOU KNOW, AND I USUALLY TALK TO THE PROPERTY OWNER AT THAT TIME TOO, ABOUT WHAT THEY WANT AND LOOK AT THEIR PROPERTY AND SAY, YEAH, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT YOU COULD GET TWO OR THREE TREES IN HERE.
AND IF THEY'VE GOT SOME LIKE REALLY STRONG OBJECTIONS, LIKE I DIDN'T WANNA REMOVE THIS TREE, I LIKE THIS TREE, I DON'T WANT A LOT MORE TREES, THEN IT'S JUST ONE TREE.
YOU KNOW, I'M NOT LOOKING TO MAKE ANYBODY, I DON'T THINK ANYONE'S LOOKING TO REALLY IRRITATE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN A BAD PLACE.
[00:40:01]
PEOPLE HAVE DONE THE WRONG THING OR IF YOU NEED IT TO HAVE THE ABILITY TO, TO REALLY REPLACE THE TREE THAT'S GONE AND, AND THAT'S BEST DONE WITH MORE TREES, YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT CONTEXT PIECE THAT THERE'S ALWAYS DISCRETION TO WALK BACK SOME OF THESE STANDARDS AS APPROPRIATE AND THAT WILL BE KIND OF BUILT INTO THE LANGUAGE.UM, AND THEN E UH, JUST IN SECTIONS OF THE DOCUMENT, I BELIEVE IS A DOCUMENT RELIEF PROVIDED TO THE TACA FEW YEARS AGO, BREAKING DOWN LIKE BEST PRACTICES FOR AN ORDINANCE.
ONE THING THAT STOOD OUT THERE WAS THEY REFERENCED KIND OF A GOALS SECTION, WHICH MAY HAVE NOT BEEN DEEMED APPROPRIATE HERE, BUT IT'S KIND OF OVERARCHING GOALS OF THE CITY.
WE MAY HAVE COVERED IT IN OUR PURPOSE SECTION, BUT IT'S JUST A LITTLE MORE ROBUST, A LITTLE MORE PRESCRIPTIVE.
IT MENTIONED THE 30%, CAN IT BE COVER OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO A GOAL SECTION, UH, SPECIFICALLY IF THERE WAS ANY TALK ABOUT THAT, AGAIN, IF IT WAS JUST DEEMED NOT REALLY IN THE SCOPE HERE.
AND THEN ALSO ANOTHER SECTION THAT WAS OFTEN AT THE END OF AN ORDINANCE, LIKE A PERFORMANCE EVALUATION SECTION, MAYBE THAT'S JUST SEEN AS MATTER.
OF COURSE, OF COURSE WE'LL BE REVIEWING IT OR WHETHER THAT'S WORTH PUTTING IN WRITING.
I'M WONDERING IF EITHER OF THOSE SECTIONS KIND OF BUBBLED UP IN CONVERSATION OR, UM, IF THAT WAS EVER CONSIDERED PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF THE ORDINANCE.
IS THAT WHAT YOU MEAN? YEAH, NO, WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT THAT, BUT THAT SOUNDS GREAT.
WELL, AND AND I'LL SAVE THAT FOR COMMENTARY THEN.
I WAS JUST CURIOUS, UM, ABOUT THAT.
AND THEN JUST TO WRAP UP, UM, I THINK WELL ALSO THE, THE FIRST PART OF YOUR QUESTION YEAH.
MY TAKE ON THAT IS THOSE BELONG IN THE MANAGEMENT PLAN.
THE ORDINANCE IS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT WHAT YOU NEED A PERMIT FOR TO REMOVE AND WHEN A TREE IS REMOVED, WHAT HAS TO BE DONE AND THEN GOALS GO IN A MANAGEMENT PLAN.
AND THEN MY LAST ONE ABOUT 17.090 IN THE DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT, UM, AND I THINK THIS IS REALLY FOR HEATHER, DOES THIS GIVE STAFF MORE POWER TO IMPROVE THE APPLICATIONS THAT WE SEE IN THE FUTURE ON PLANNING OR, YOU KNOW, GIVE THEM MORE ABILITY TO KIND OF GET US A BETTER OUTCOME ON TREES THAN US KIND OF HAVING TO REALLY DO IT AT DISCRETIONARY HEARINGS AND THINGS.
I, I THINK IT, IT GIVES US SOME, LIKE, YOU KNOW, I KIND OF ENVISION LIKE A HANDOUT AS PART OF THE, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN SOMEBODY SAYS, I, I NEED INFORMA, I WANT TO, I WANNA, YOU KNOW, BUILD A DUPLEX OR WHATEVER, UM, AND GO THROUGH A, A DISCRETIONARY PROJECT.
AND THEY'RE LIKE, SO WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS? I SEE THIS GIVING US MORE TO KIND OF HAND THEM TO SAY, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU NEED TO DEMONSTRATE THAT YOU HAD THESE SITE DESIGN PRINCIPLES.
WHICH DOESN'T MEAN TO SAY NO TREE WILL EVER BE REMOVED AS PART OF DEVELOPMENT, BUT IT JUST ALLOWS US TO SAY, DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE TREES? YOU KNOW, WAS THERE A WAY TO MOVE THINGS OVER, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT THIS WAY? OR CLUSTER THINGS OVER HERE TO KEEP THOSE TREES? SO, UM, I THINK, I THINK IT DOES GIVE US A BETTER STARTING POINT.
'CAUSE WE'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS THAT WE TELL STAFF, YOU KNEW THIS, WE WEREN'T GONNA LIKE THIS ABOUT TREES.
SO IF THEY HAVE SOME MORE POWER TO KIND OF FILTER THAT OUT BEFORE IT MOVES THROUGH THE PROCESS, THAT'S FANTASTIC.
UH, AND I'LL SAVE EVERYTHING ELSE I HAVE FOR COMMENTARY.
UM, I JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
UM, THE FIRST ONE, AS I WAS READING THROUGH THIS AND THINKING ABOUT IT, IT REALLY HAS TO BE, UM, OF THE APPROPRIATE SIZE THAT FITS OUR CITY AND OUR DEPARTMENTS AND OUR STAFF.
SO I, ONE OF MY OVERARCHING QUESTIONS IS, UM, AND THIS IS BASED ON THE MANY, UH, LEADING TREE CITIES IN CALIFORNIA THAT WE'VE INTERVIEWED, UM, SPECIFICALLY THEIR DIRECTORS OF PUBLIC WORKS AND THEIR URBAN FORESTRY, UH, URBAN FOREST DIRECTORS.
UM, WHAT IS THE CURRENT PROCESS IN TERMS OF HOW WE HANDLE THINGS LIKE A PERMIT? UM, I IMAGINE IT INTAKES THROUGH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, BUT THEN AT SOME POINT IT DOES PASS OVER TO PUBLIC WORKS AND A ARBORIST, AND THEN THE PUBLIC WORKS PERSON GOES OUT, DOES A FIELD VISIT, UM, UH, HIRES A CONTRACTOR AND AN ARBORIST TO COMPARE THEIR, UM, WHAT THAT PERMIT IS SAYING WITH WHAT THEY ACTUALLY SEE IS GOING ON.
AND THEN SOMEBODY TO THEN AT THE END MONITOR THAT IT WAS DONE PROPERLY AND MANAGE WHETHER THERE SHOULD BE FINES OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
WHAT DO, DO WE USUALLY DO WE NORMALLY DO THAT? DO WE DO THAT CURRENTLY? RIGHT NOW? IS IT AUTOMATED?
[00:45:01]
WELL, WE, SO IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE TYPE OF PERMIT THAT IS COMING IN.SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING NOT TO TALK ABOUT STREET TREES, BUT STREET TREES HAS ONE PROCESS.
UM, AND THE WAY THAT ORDINANCE READS IT DOES GET COME IN AND IT GETS REFERRED TO PARKS, PUBLIC WORKS AND PLANNING.
UM, AND THERE'S A REVIEW AND THERE'S FINDINGS THAT ARE MADE AND, AND THEN THE ENCROACHMENT PERMIT IS ISSUED.
AND THEN, UM, AND THEN THERE IS KIND OF A, IT'S KIND OF A SELF-CERTIFICATION I, IF YOU WILL, ON IF, IF THE TREE HAS THEN BEEN REPLACED.
UM, SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WHEN WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT PROCESSES, WE NEED TO CLOSE THE LOOP.
YES, WE NEED A, I SAW THAT SOMETHING TO GO BACK OUT AND SAY, OKAY, IT'S 30 DAYS, YOU KNOW, THE TREE HAS TO BE IN 30 DAYS AFTER, YOU KNOW, UNLESS THERE'S EXTENUATING WHETHER CIRCUMSTANCES OR PLANNING OR WHATEVER.
UM, AND WE NEED TO GO OUT AND CHECK, OKAY, IS IT THERE? AND IF IT'S NOT THERE, WHAT DO WE DO? YOU KNOW, SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE INTERNAL PROCESSES THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING DISCUSSION ABOUT AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT DO WE NEED IN THE ORDINANCE AND WHAT DO WE NEED IN OUR LIKE PERMIT PROCESSES.
AND SO THAT EVERYBODY'S WORKING ON THE SAME, THIS HAPPENS, THEN THIS HAPPENS, THEN THIS HAPPENS.
UM, SO IF IT'S A APARTMENT BUILDING, THEN THAT WHOLE APPLICATION, INCLUDING ALL ANYTHING THAT THEY HAD ABOUT TREES WOULD GO TO PUBLIC WORKS WOULD ALSO BE PART OF THE LOOKING AT, UM, THE ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS IF, IF IT'S GONNA BE A INITIAL STUDY OR, YOU KNOW, SO THERE'S, IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE SCOPE OF WHAT COMES IN.
UM, AND THEN BUILDING PERMITS, AND I KIND OF TOUCHED ON THIS IN MY PRESENTATION, IS ANOTHER AREA THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED AS WE NEED MORE WITH BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONS.
BECAUSE CURRENTLY UNLESS SOMEONE SAYS I WANT TO REMOVE A TREE, THE FOCUS ISN'T ON TREES.
AND SO WHAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IS EVEN IF SOMEONE'S NOT REMOVING A TREE, IF THEY'RE DOING CONSTRUCTION, WE NEED TO DO EVERYTHING AND REQUIRE EVERYTHING TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT CONSTRUCTION THEY'RE DOING ISN'T GOING TO IMPACT THE EXISTING TREES.
THERE'S A LOT OF WORK MAN HOURS THERE.
SO IS PART OF YOUR PROCESS, THANK YOU FOR THAT, IS PART OF YOUR PROCESS THEN EVALUATING THE ROBUSTNESS AND FUNCTIONALITY OF WHATEVER THAT SOFTWARE OR PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE IS, BECAUSE OTHER CITIES HAVE IT SO THAT IT MAKES IT SO EASY FOR STAFF, IT PLUGS IN THE MILESTONES BASED ON THE TYPE OF PERMIT AND THE TYPE OF SITUATION, AND IT JUST PINGS YOU WHENEVER TO DO SOMETHING, MAKE A REPORT, FILE A REPORT, SHOOT OUT A FINE.
ARE YOU GUYS, IS PART OF YOUR REVIEW RIGHT NOW INCLUDING, UM, SOFTWARE REVIEW? SO WE DO HAVE, UM, A SOFTWARE PROGRAM, UH, THAT IS USED FOR PERMITS AND IT'S A RELATIVELY NEWISH, LIKE WE WENT TO ALL ELECTRONIC DURING COVID.
UM, AND SO WE'RE ACTUALLY IN THE PROCESS OF KIND OF DOING A, A REEVALUATION AND FINDING THE PLACES THAT IT'S NOT, WE, WE DIDN'T, WE DIDN'T THINK ABOUT THIS OR WE NEED TO BUILD MORE MILESTONES INTO THIS TYPE OF PERMIT OR SOME OF THOSE AUTOMATED.
SO IT'S KIND OF THAT, YOU KNOW, CIRCLE BACK PROCESS TOO.
WE HAD IT, WE DEVELOPED IT, WE'VE STARTED USING IT, AND NOW WE'RE GOING BACK TO REVISE AND UPDATE IT.
UM, COUPLE CLARIFYING QUESTIONS IS, ARE IN LIEU FEES PART OF TODAY OR IS THAT A DIFFERENT MEETING? UH, WE'RE GONNA BRING THAT BACK.
I HAVE TO WORK WITH, SO USUALLY IN LIE FEES ARE SOMETHING, SO LIKE OUR HOUSING AND LIE FEES, THOSE ARE ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL WITH OUR FEE, OUR MASTER FEE SCHEDULE AND SO AND SO OKAY.
SO WE WE'RE GONNA, I, THAT'S WHAT I'M WORKING WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY ON.
SO THE WAY IT'S WORDED NOW IS WHAT I READ TO YOU, WHICH IS BASICALLY THE, THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE SOMETHING THAT SAYS, OKAY, HERE'S THE AVERAGE COST AND HERE'S THE ESTIMATE ON AVERAGE COST OF INSTALLING TREES AND I'M SUPPOSED TO DO X AMOUNT.
AND THAT'S, IT'S KIND OF HOW WE COME UP WITH THE CALCULATION.
IS THERE A BETTER WAY TO DO THAT? IS THERE A LESS ONEROUS WAY TO DO THAT? MM-HMM.
[00:50:01]
WORKING WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE ON KIND OF WHAT WE CAN DO AND WHAT WE WOULD NEED TO THEN ADOPT INTO A MASTER FEE SCHEDULE IF WE WANTED TO CHANGE THINGS UP.WILL THAT COME BEFORE TACK? YEAH.
UM, ALSO, I'M NOT SURE THAT IT'S, IT'S NOT PART OF TODAY, BUT I'M NOT SURE WHERE IT IS.
UM, THE GUIDELINES FOR UTILITIES TRIMMING TREES, I'M NOT, I DIDN'T FIND IT, BUT IT'S GOTTA BE SOMEWHERE IN OUR CODE.
YEAH, I SAW THAT QUESTION IN YOUR COMMENTS AND I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT I CAN FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ON STREET TREES.
BECAUSE SOME CITIES GIVE THEM SOME GUIDELINES.
AND IT JUST OCCURRED TO ME THAT THAT'S A BIG PIECE CONSIDERING WHAT I SEE GOING ON IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND IT VARIES BY CONTRACTOR TO CONTRACTOR THAT THE UTILITY COMPANIES ENGAGE.
SOME OF THEM ARE MUCH MORE AGGRESSIVE THAN OTHER ONES.
AND THEN MY FINAL QUESTION HERE IS, OH, WE TALKED ABOUT THE PURPOSE.
I NOTICED THAT OTHER, AND DARREN ASKED A QUESTION ABOUT GOALS.
OKAY, THAT CAN BE PART OF URBAN FORESTRY MANAGEMENT PLAN, BUT IS IT NOT THE CASE THAT INTENT SHOULD BE A PART OF PURPOSE? BECAUSE I SEE OTHER CITIES DO THAT, AND MY VAGUE UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THE LAW IS INTENT MATTERS.
SO IS THAT PART OF TODAY AS WELL? BECAUSE I DO HAVE COMMENTS RELATED TO INTENT LATER.
WELL, I MEAN, I THINK THERE, I I THINK THAT IN THE PURPOSE WE KIND OF DID TOUCH A LITTLE BIT ON INTENT.
LIKE, RIGHT, WE WANNA PROTECT AND PRESERVE AND MAINTAIN.
AND SO THOSE ARE KIND OF GOALS THOUGH TOO, AREN'T THEY? THEY'RE, THEY'RE QUANTIFIED GOALS, BUT WELL, IT'S REALLY THE PURPOSE.
WHY, WHY DO WE HAVE THIS? WHAT, WHAT'S OUR PURPOSE FOR HAVING THIS ORDINANCE? SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE REAL SP THEY'RE KIND OF SPECIFIC TO THESE REGULATIONS AS, AS OPPOSED TO BROADER REACHING.
LIKE, LIKE BEN SAID, LIKE, WE WANNA HAVE 30% CANOPY COVER OR, YOU KNOW, THOSE WOULD BE BETTER IN THE MASTER PLAN, BUT WHAT, WHAT IS OUR PURPOSE WITH, OR OUR INTENT OR OUR GOAL OF THIS ORDINANCE TO SOME EXTENT CAN BE IN THAT PURPOSE STATEMENT.
AND WE DID TRY TO CAPTURE SOME OF THOSE.
BUT IF THERE'S THINGS THAT WE DIDN'T QUITE CATCH, UM, THAT WOULD BE GOOD FEEDBACK.
'CAUSE SOME CITIES SAID IT, IT IS A KEY COMPONENT FOR THEN FACING OUTWARD TO THE COMMUNITY AND BOMBARDING THEM AS WELL AS STAFF FOR IN TERMS OF CULTURE.
AND THAT'S DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, WHAT I WAS MEANING, WHEN WHEN YOU'RE WORKING WITH AN ORDINANCE, YOU, YOU GET THAT PURPOSE IS LIKE SETTING THE STAGE.
LIKE WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT JUST DOING THIS JUST TO MAKE IT AN ONEROUS PROCESS.
WE'RE DOING THIS BECAUSE WE, YOU KNOW, THERE IS GREAT VALUE IN ALL THESE DIFFERENT THINGS BY TAKING CARE OF OUR TREES.
SO SAYING THAT REALLY EXPLICITLY IN THAT PURPOSE STATEMENT.
I WOULD, I MEAN, I WOULD JUST ADD TO THAT, THAT, UM, A LOT OF THE INSPIRATION FOR THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING IS COMING FROM OTHER LOCAL TREE ORDINANCES, UH, WHICH HAVE THE ADVANTAGE OF BEING LONGSTANDING, YOU KNOW, ALL THE OTHER COMMUNITIES HAVE BEEN PROTECTING THEIR TREES AND REQUIRING PERMITS FOR DECADES.
SO IT WOULD BE PROBABLY A GOOD EXERCISE TO SEE IF WE CAN FIND ANOTHER COMMUNITY THAT'S, THAT'S ESSENTIALLY STARTED FROM SCRAP.
LIKE WE ARE, YOU KNOW, WE HAD THIS LIKE NON-EXISTENT ORDINANCE.
WE STILL, THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW IS A NON-EXISTENT TREE ORDINANCE.
AND WE'RE GOING FROM THAT TO LIKE MORE OF A, A STANDARD OR A CONSERVATIVE ONE.
SO IT'S, I THINK A NICE IDEA TO TRY AND FIND SOMEONE ELSE THAT'S DONE THIS.
'CAUSE I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE, BECAUSE GONE FROM NO PROTECTION TO GOOD PROTECTION.
AND IT'D BE GREAT TO TALK TO THEM TO SEE WHAT THEIR EXPERIENCE WAS.
SO THANKS, THANKS FOR THAT IDEA.
UM, I HAVE NO QUESTIONS AND I'LL SAVE FOR COMMENTS.
UH, NO QUESTIONS, BUT I DO WANNA MAKE COMMENTS AND I'M NOT SURE WE HAVE TIME FOR THOSE.
WE'LL, WE'LL TAKE QUESTIONS FIRST, THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO COMMENTS.
THE, UM, IT KIND OF FEELS TO ME LIKE THE TREE ORDINANCE IS A VERY DEFENSIVE POSITION.
WE'RE BASICALLY DEFENDING EXISTING TREES, DE DEFENDING, TRYING TO PROTECT EXISTING TREES.
HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MORE TREES OR TREE URBAN MANAGEMENT OR IT'S JUST DEFENDING WHAT WE'VE GOT, PROTECTING WHAT WE'VE GOT.
AND IT ALSO SEEMS LIKE THE, THE EQUITY,
[00:55:01]
IT, THE, THE BURDEN OF THAT RESPONSIBILITY GOES TO THE PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNER.THE CITY IS BASICALLY NOT INVOLVED.
IT'S THE INDIVIDUAL PROPERTY OWNER WHO'S REQUIRED TO DO WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO DO.
AND I THINK YOU NEED, NEED TO THINK ABOUT HOW TO GIVE THEM SOME REWARD TO DO THAT.
HOW DO WE ENCOURAGE THEM, HOW TO HELP THEM WITH THE, I MEAN, MAINTAINING FIVE FEES ON A PIECE OF PROPERTY IS THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS A YEAR AT THEIR EXPENSE FOR OUR BENEFIT.
UH, I, I, I SUPPORT THAT, BUT I SOMEHOW, I THINK THEY HAVE TO FEEL LIKE THEY'RE PART OF THE, PART OF THE GOAL AND EVERYBODY'S WITH THEM AS OPPOSED TO EXPECTING THEM TO DO THE WORK.
SO THAT'S, I I I SEE THE TREE ORDINANCE AS A SEPARATE CHAPTER OF A URBAN MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT DOESN'T EXIST.
AND I, I, I CAN'T WAIT TO GET THERE BECAUSE I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE A, A LARGER CONTEXT, A LARGER VIEW THAT HELPS DRIVE THIS, IT HELPS CONVINCE PEOPLE TO PROTECT THEIR TREES 'CAUSE THEY'RE PART OF A BIGGER GOAL.
UM, YOU KNOW, I I THINK THIS, THIS EQUITY IN YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT THAT TALKS ABOUT EQUITY IN DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS WITH DIFFERENT PROBLEMS. THE, THE EQUITY OF PE OF NEIGHBORHOODS, PROPERTIES THAT HAVE TREES VERSUS NEIGHBORHOODS THAT HAVE NO TREES, THAT'S INEQUITABLE.
AND I THINK SOMEHOW THAT HAS TO BE DEALT WITH.
UH, I DON'T KNOW HOW THE TREE ORDINANCE, YOU KNOW, THE TREE ORDINANCE CAN'T DO THAT HAS TO BE A BIGGER PERSPECTIVE.
BUT STILL, I THINK THE EQUITY ISSUE HERE IS GONNA BE VERY BIG.
AND I THINK PROPERTY OWNERS ARE GONNA FIGHT BACK BECAUSE THE COST IS THEIRS.
AND I THINK WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY OF HELPING TO SHARE THAT COST.
GETTING CONTRACTORS TO DO BULK PRUNING WITH DISCOUNT FEES, UH, OTHER WAYS OF SUPPLEMENTING THE COST TO HELP PEOPLE MAINTAIN TREES.
'CAUSE WE'RE ALL BENEFITING FROM WHAT THEY DO OR DON'T DO.
AND SOMEHOW I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE PART OF A, A LITTLE MORE GENTLE, UH, A LESS PUNITIVE, MORE GENTLE APPROACH TO ENCOURAGING TREE MAINTENANCE.
AND I DON'T, I DON'T SEE THAT IN HERE.
I'M SORRY, ROGER, DID YOU, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? WE WERE SAVING, WE WERE DOING QUESTIONS NOW AND WE'LL SAVE FOR COMMENT LATER.
I, I THINK THERE'S SOME CONFUSION IN WHERE THE RIGHT OF WAY LINE IS.
I DON'T, IT'S NOT CLEAR HERE, IT'S NOT CLEAR IT'S ENGINEERING EITHER, BUT SOME, IN SOME CASES IT'S THE EDGE OF SIDEWALK.
SOME CASES IT'S BACK OF SIDEWALK.
IN SOME CASES IT'S BACK A CURB.
AND I DON'T THINK ANYBODY KNOWS WHERE THAT IS ON WHAT STREET AND WHAT CONDITION.
AND SOMEHOW I THINK WE NEED TO BE MORE CLARITY CLARITY ON THAT.
'CAUSE YOU MENTIONED RIGHT AWAY CONTROL HERE MANY TIMES.
UM, AND THEN I, I GUESS HAVE YOU CONSIDERED HAVING SELECTED CONTRACTORS, THREE SURGEONS OR, UH, COMPANIES THAT DO THAT WORK SELECTED PRE-APPROVED? THEY KNOW THE RULES, THEY KNOW THE, YOU KNOW, THE PRUNING STANDARDS THAT WE WANT AND THEY'RE PRE-APPROVED AS OPPOSED TO GOING THROUGH THIS UNKNOWN PROCESS.
WE, WE HAVEN'T DISCUSSED THAT AT, AT LENGTH.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE TYPICALLY, WE DON'T RECOMMEND, LIKE IF SOMEBODY COMES IN AND SAYS, CAN YOU RECOMMEND AN ARCHITECT OR CAN YOU RECOMMEND, YOU KNOW, A CONTRACTOR, A A BUILDING CONTRACTOR, A GENERAL, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T GIVE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, BUT I'M NOT SAYING THAT COULD NEVER HAPPEN.
AND WE'LL, WE'LL, PART OF IT, WELL IT SEEMS LIKE ITS GONNA A ROBUST MAKE YOUR, MAKE YOUR JOB EASIER IF YOU HAVE MORE CONDITIONS ON YOUR APPROVAL.
A MORE ROBUST, YOU KNOW, OVERARCHING, UM, TREE APPROACH TO THE CITY.
BUT WE, WE DON'T HAVE THAT IN PLACE NOW AND WE DON'T YEAH.
I, I CAN'T SAY MORE THAN THANKS FOR THE COMMENT AND
AND I, IT WAS MY RECOLLECTION THAT WE DID TALK ABOUT THAT AT LEAST BRIEFLY AT SOME POINT.
'CAUSE YEAH, MY EXPERIENCE WITH THAT IS THOSE ARE A GREAT IDEA.
I HAVEN'T SEEN THEM USED PRACTICALLY, LIKE MILL VALLEY HAS THAT LIST AND I, IT MAY EVEN HAVE SOME STIPULATION WHERE IF YOU USE A CONTRACTOR FROM THEIR LIST THAT IF THERE ARE FINES, THE FINES WILL GO TO THE CONTRACTOR INSTEAD OF THE TREE OWNER FOR IF THEY DO THE WORK WITHOUT A PERMIT.
YOU KNOW, WHICH I THINK IS ON THE SURFACE OF IT SEEMS LIKE A GREAT IDEA BECAUSE THE, I'VE
[01:00:01]
SEEN HOMEOWNERS GET STUCK WITH THE FINES BECAUSE THEY HIRE A TREE COMPANY THAT SAYS, YEAH, I'M GONNA DO EVERYTHING THAT I NEED TO AND GET ALL THE PERMITS THAT I NEED, AND THEN THEY DON'T.AND THE HOMEOWNER HAS TO PAY THE FINES AND THEN TAKE THEM TO COURT USUALLY.
SO, UH, I WOULD BE IN FAVOR OF THAT FOR WHATEVER THAT'S WORTH.
AND, AND I THINK IT'D BE GREAT TO 'CAUSE THE, THE TREE COMPANIES, IT WOULD BE GREAT FOR THEM TO GET SOME EDUCATION ON HOW WE WANT TREES TREATED AND THE NEW PERMIT PROCESS WHEN IT COMES DOWN.
'CAUSE RIGHT NOW THEY'RE REALLY, THEY'RE CONFUSED WHEN I TALK TO THEM ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN PETALUMA.
'CAUSE THEY SAY THEY TALKED TO PLANNING OR TO SOMEONE WHO TELLS THEM THAT NO TREES ARE ALLOWED TO BE REMOVED RIGHT NOW
SO YEAH, I SUPPORT, SUPPORT THAT.
AND THEN DEFINITELY AS PART OF OUR IMPLEMENTATION, WE COULD DO OUTREACH AND EDUCATION AND, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THAT TO, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE, I THINK WE DEFINITELY SHOULD DO WHEN WE, AS PART OF IMPLEMENTATION.
I, I KNOW THAT'S NOT EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, BUT MAKING SURE EVERYONE IS UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE RIGHTS ARE.
BUT IF A, IF A CONTRACTOR FAILS TO GET A PERMIT AND DOES THE WORK AND GETS FINED OR WHATEVER, UH, I, I WOULD THINK THAT WOULD BE GROUNDS FOR REMOVING HIM FROM A, FROM A APPROVED LIST.
SO THERE'S SOME TEETH IN THE, IN THAT.
MARIANNE, ANY QUESTIONS? UH, NO QUESTIONS.
AND I WILL SAVE MY COMMENTS FOR THE NEXT SECTION.
THEN I WILL TURN IT OVER TO PUBLIC COMMENT, SIR.
I'M STILL CHARLES LITTLE AND I HEARD REALLY, I, WHAT A GOOD CONVERSATION.
SORRY CHARLES, I DON'T MEAN TO INTERRUPT YOU AGAIN, BUT COULD I ASK THE CLERK TO START THE TIMER PLEASE? THANK YOU.
I WAS JUST GONNA SAY WE'RE HAVING DIFFICULTIES, SO I'M GONNA START IT HERE ON MY END FOR YOU.
GO AHEAD TO SAY WHAT I SAID AGAIN.
ANYWAY, UM, WE, UH, WE DID HAVE OUR MEETINGS WITH HEATHER AND WE LEARNED ABOUT THE STATE OF THE ORDINANCE AS IT WAS AT THAT MOMENT.
I'M NOT GONNA READ ALL OF THESE.
BUT WE DO WANT TO SAY THAT, UH, WE REALLY, UH, COMMEND WHAT HEATHER HAS DONE IN WORKING WITH ALL THE FOLKS THAT IN THIS LONG, LONG PROCESS, IT'S GONE ON FOR A LONG TIME TO GET TO THIS POINT.
I'M JUST A, A LATE COMER INTO THE PROCESS SINCE I'VE ONLY BEEN WITH RELIEF, UH, A YEAR OR SO.
UM, BUT, UH, I'M REALLY, REALLY, UM, THIS IS A GOOD JOB.
THIS, AND, AND THE THOUGHT THAT'S GOING ON HERE IS REALLY VERY PROFOUND.
IT'S REALLY INTERESTING TO HEAR WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE HAVE TO SAY.
SO LET ME MAYBE COMMENT ON A COUPLE OF THINGS ON THE LETTER THAT WE SENT IN.
UM, AND STARTING WITH, UM, A AGAIN, WE HAD SOME SUGGESTIONS.
UM, AND ONE OF THEM WAS TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIFIC IN THE BEGINNING, UNDER THE PURPOSE.
AND I'M A TEACHER, I'M AN EDUCATOR, AND I TAKE EVERY OPPORTUNITY THAT I CAN TO TRY AND TEACH PEOPLE.
AND SO WE SUGGESTED THAT MORE BE SAID ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF TREES, RIGHT IN THE BEGINNING, UNDER THE PURPOSE.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, ABSORB ODORS, POLLUTANT GASES, IE NITROGEN OXIDES, AMMONIA, SULFUR DIOXIDE, DIOXIDE, OZONE, FILTER PARTICULATES OUT OF THE AIR BY TRAPPING THEM ON THEIR LEAVES AND BARK, SAVE ENERGY IN SUMMER FOR HOMES, CONSERVE WATER, REDUCE VIOLENCE.
THIS IS ALL STUFF THAT'S THAT'S SCIENTIFICALLY PROVED THAT THIS IS WHAT TREES DO.
SHADE CHILDREN FROM ULTRAVIOLET RACE AND PROVIDE NOURISHMENT AND CANOPY, OF COURSE, HABITAT, VALUE, VALUES WE ALL KNOW ABOUT.
UM, SO MAYBE THAT'S NOT APPROPRIATE IN, IN AN, IN THE BEGINNING OF AN ORDINANCE, BUT IT'S THE KIND OF THING THAT I'D LIKE TO SEE THERE WHEN PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT THE ORDINANCE, UM, EXEMPTIONS.
WE THOUGHT A COUPLE OF EXEMPTIONS, UM, MIGHT BE ADDED ONE OF THEM ABOUT, UH, AND IT, AND YOU REFERRED TO IT, HEATHER, I THINK MAYBE THIS MAY BE A BIT REDUNDANT, BUT, UM, YOU WANNA HAVE AN EXEMPTION, I BELIEVE, FOR THINGS THAT ARE DISRUPTING THE PROPERTY THAT'S BUILT IN INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S THERE ALREADY.
UTILITIES, AS YOU SAID, FENCES, SIDEWALKS AND SO FORTH.
AND SO IF PRUNING AND TRIMMING WILL NOT SUFFICE, THEN YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A EXEMPTION FOR THAT, I BELIEVE.
UH, AND YOU MENTIONED DEFENSIBLE SPACE.
I'VE SPENT SOME TIME WORKING AT THE COUNTY LEVEL WITH THEIR, UH, WRESTLING WITH THIS WHOLE QUESTION AS YOU ARE DOING RIGHT NOW.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT COMES UP THERE, UM, IS, UH, PEOPLE WHO, BOTH BECAUSE OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND BECAUSE OF INSURERS ARE, ARE REQUIRED OR HAVE, HAVE, OR CAN'T
[01:05:01]
I GET THEIR INSURANCE? REMO RE UM, THAT WAS THREE MINUTES.OKAY, WE'LL GO QUICKLY ANYWAY.
YOU GOT THE IDEA OF WHAT I JUST SAID.
IF YOU'RE DOING THAT, YOU OUGHT TO BE A PART OF THE EXEMPTIONS, UM, GUIDE FOR PLANT APPRAISALS ON THERE IN TERMS OF DOCUMENT GUIDANCE, DOCUMENT DOCUMENTS.
THIS IS PRETTY WELL USED AROUND, AROUND THE UNITED STATES.
IT, IT WILL MAKE REMOVAL OF A TREE A GREAT DEAL, MORE EXPENSIVE THAN WHAT YOU'RE THINKING OF NOW THAN THE THE EXISTING THING ON THE LIST.
AND THAT'S FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, A GOOD IDEA.
THANK YOU, MR. LITTLE, YOUR TIME.
CAN I RESPOND TO THAT OR WOULD I RESPOND AT THE END? I DON'T KNOW.
I SECOND CHARLIE'S REMARKS, UM, THANKING YOU FOR YOUR QUESTIONS.
THIS IS A DIFFICULT AND COMPLICATED ISSUE, AND RELIEF HAS BEEN PUZZLING OVER IT, DEBATING, ARGUING, UM, FOR THREE YEARS.
I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, MAKE THREE POINTS BASED ON YOUR QUESTIONS AND REACTIONS TO HEATHER'S EXCELLENT PRESENTATION.
MY POINTS WILL FOCUS ON THE EFFECT OF BEING IN THE ERA OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THIS ISSUE.
I WOULD LIKE TO CLARIFY SOME REMARKS ABOUT THE SIX INCH DIAMETER THAT WAS USED, UM, AND PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT.
AND THEN I'D LIKE TO MAKE A STATEMENT ABOUT HOW WE THINK ABOUT OUR TREE CANOPY AS AN ENTIRETY, AND IN PARTICULAR HOW WE LOOK AT OUR PUBLIC TREES AND HOW OUR PRIVATE TREES MAY NEED TO SEE US THROUGH FOR A WHILE.
SO FIRST, THE ERA OF CLIMATE CHANGE.
WE ARE SQUARELY IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS ERA, AND YET YOU ARE CALLED UPON TO RECOMMEND AN ORDINANCE THAT WILL DEAL WITH CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES THAT WE DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND.
I CAN TESTIFY TO YOU, I HOPE BEN WILL SUPPORT ME, THAT IT IS GETTING INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO ESTABLISH NEW TREES.
THEY TAKE LONGER, THEY ARE MORE SENSITIVE AND CLIMATE HAS EFFECTS ON THEM, SUCH AS SCORCHING THE TREE BARK AND MAKING THEM REQUIRE MORE WATERING, INCLUDING DURING THE WINTER WHEN WE EXPECT TO HAVE PLENTY OF RAIN.
BUT WE DON'T, THIS EXTRA ATTENTION TO THE TREES IS VERY EXPENSIVE AND TYP TYPICALLY NOT FIGURED INTO THE COST OF A TREE.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE, IN LIEU COSTS, FOR EXAMPLE, OR AT THE OPPORTUNITY COST OF LOSING TREES, WE HAVE TO CONSIDER THESE ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE THAT WE'RE NOT REALLY USED TO.
BUT I CAN TELL YOU, RELIEF IS RUNNING INTO IT AND SWEATING BULLETS, SOMETIMES KEEPING THE, THE NEW YOUNG TREES THAT WE'RE PLANTING NOW ALIVE UNDER CIRCUMSTANCES THAT WE'RE NOT USED TO.
SO PLEASE GIVE THOUGHT TO THE FACT THAT YOU ARE GONNA BE RECOMMENDING AND HELPING TO CRAFT A TREE PROTECTION ORDINANCE FOR THE ERA OF CLIMATE CHANGE.
NOT COMPARABLE TO WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT IN OTHER CITIES, MANY OF WHICH HAVE 10-YEAR-OLD OR OLDER TREE PROTECTION ORDINANCES THAT MAY HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL, BUT WERE WRITTEN FOR A DIFFERENT TIME.
UM, NEXT ABOUT THE COMPARABLES IN WHAT OTHER CITIES ARE USING TO DEFINE A TREE THAT IS WORTHY OF PROTECTION.
UM, THE SIX INCH DIAMETER WAS OBSERVED IN MANY OTHER CITIES IN THE MARIN AND SONOMA AREA.
WE PROVIDED, UM, TO HEATHER A SPREADSHEET WITH SOME ANALYSIS THAT WE DID OF TREE PROTECTION ORDINANCES NEARBY FAIRFAX.
AND SAUSALITO WORKED WITH FOUR INCH DIAMETERS, SAN SMO AND NEVADA OF SIX TO SEVEN INCH MARIN COUNTY SIX INCH, AND KEN WOODLAND'S SIX INCH.
IS THERE, SOMEBODY COULD GIVE HER TIME TO DO THAT.
CAN WE COMMISSION GIVES CAN WE, CAN WE TAKE ONE MORE, CAN WE TAKE IF THERE'S TIME, IT'S UP TO THERE'S SOMEBODY IN GENERAL PUBLIC THAT WANTS TO SEED THEIR TIME TO WENDY TO SPEAK.
SO IF THEY'D LIKE TO SEED THEIR THREE MINUTES, THE CLIMATE COMMISSION GIVES FOUR AND A HALF MINUTES.
UM, WITH THE, THEN, THEN WENDY, PLEASE CONTINUE.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE MY LAST POINT ABOUT SOME DEEP CONCERNS I HAVE ABOUT THE CONDITION OF OUR PUBLIC TREES AND THE DIFFICULTY IN REMEDYING THOSE CONDITIONS.
[01:10:02]
UM, MY PERSONAL OBSERVATION IS THAT WE HAVE MANY PUBLIC TREES THAT ARE CURRENTLY PROVIDING SHADE AND RESPITE THAT APPEAR TO BE NEAR THE END OF THEIR USEFUL LIFE.FOR EXAMPLE, ON NORTH MCDOWELL STREET, WE HAVE A COUPLE MILES OF MEDIAN STRIP TREES THAT PROVIDE LOTS OF SHADE AND SCREENING AND TRAFFIC CALMING.
AND I RECENTLY OBSERVED THEY HAD BEEN HEAVILY PRUNED, WHICH LED ME TO OBSERVE THAT THEY WERE BRADFORD PEAR.
THIS IS A SHORT LIVE TREE AND WE HAVE MILES OF THEM PROVIDING SHADE ALONG NORTH MCDOWELL.
IN ADDITION, WE HAVE OTHER SHORT LIVE TREES PLANTED THROUGHOUT OUR DOWNTOWN, MANY OF THEM IN VERY SMALL CUTOUT SQUARES IN CONCRETE WITH HIGHLY COMPACTED SOIL THAT TAKE REGULAR ABUSE, BOTH FROM FOOT TRAFFIC AND FROM THE TYPE OF PRUNING THAT THEY'RE RECEIVING.
SO IN CONSIDERING WHETHER WE SHOULD BE PROTECTING PRIVATE TREES OR HOW WE SHOULD LOOK ABOUT THAT KIND OF REGULATION, I THINK WE MAY HAVE TO REALLY ALSO CONSIDER WHAT IS THE, UM, EXPECTED LIFE EXPECTANCY OF OUR PUBLIC TREE CANOPY.
AND IF WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BE REPLACING A LOT OF IT, DOES THAT MAKE US FEEL DIFFERENTLY ABOUT PROTECTING THE SHADE AND OTHER BENEFITS THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM TREES ON PRIVATE PROPERTY? UM, THERE ARE FEW TO KNOW OPPORTUNITIES TO INSERT LOTS OF PUBLIC TREES WITHOUT EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS.
THIS IS THE PROBLEM RELEAF HAS FACED FOR YEARS AS THE PUBLIC BEGS US TO PUT TREES IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.
WE ALSO HEAR THE PUBLIC COMPLAINING, UM, AND VERY UPSET WHEN THEIR NEIGHBORS TAKE DOWN LARGE SHADE TREES THAT PROVIDED SHADE FOR THREE, FOUR OR FIVE HOUSES, MAYBE THE ONLY TREE FOR BLOCKS AROUND.
AND WE LOOK AT THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND THERE'S NO OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO PLANT REPLACEMENT TREES.
SO IT'S A REALLY STICKY WICKET.
BUT I JUST WANTED TO PRESENT LIKE THE SURROUNDING CIRCUMSTANCES TO KEEP IN MIND AS WE CONSIDER PROTECTING OUR TREES.
WENDY, DO YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER PUBLIC COMMENT? I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO COMMITTEE COMMENT AND I JUST, IN LIEU OF TIME, WE HAVE ABOUT 20 MINUTES LEFT, SO JUST PLEASE BE CONCISE.
AND I'LL START WITH EVERLY DEAN.
WELL, I ERRONEOUSLY STARTED WITH MY GENERAL COMMENT, BUT, UH, I, I GUESS I'M JUST GONNA SAY AGAIN THAT I DON'T, I MEAN, I, I HAVE, I BELIEVE YOU, WENDY, THAT YOU KNOW PEOPLE THAT HAVE TAKEN DOWN TREES, BUT THE FOLKS THAT I KNOW THAT HAVE TAKEN DOWN TREES, THEY'VE TAKEN THEM DOWN RELUCTANTLY AND WITH GOOD REASON.
AND WE'RE GONNA TRY TO CATCH A FEW BAD ACTORS AND END UP IRRITATING A LOT OF PEOPLE.
UM, SO, UM, THE, THE OTHER THING I WOULD SAY IS THAT JUST I, YOU KNOW, LOOKED, I LOOKED AT A LOT OF OTHER ORDINANCES AND OR, YOU KNOW, JUST GOOGLED LIKE TREE REMOVAL, MILL VALLEY, FOR EXAMPLE.
AND, AND THE, YOU, YOU GET TO A WEBSITE, MAYBE IT'S NOT ACTUALLY THE ORDINANCE, BUT IT HAS LIKE A FRIENDLY, WELCOMING TONE.
THIS, UM, JUST KIND OF SEEMS KIND OF, UM, JUST HAS A, A NEGATIVE TONE IS WHAT I WOULD SAY.
WE WANNA ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO PLANT MORE TREES.
WE CAN'T, YOU KNOW, PAY FOR THE HUGE COSTS OF PRUNING A HUGE TREE.
I CAN ATTEST TO THAT 'CAUSE I HAVE AN OAK TREE, WHICH HAS ALREADY COST ME THOUSANDS AND WILL CONTINUE TO COST ME MORE.
I CAN AFFORD IT, SOME PEOPLE CAN'T.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, TREES DO HAVE THEIR COSTS AND I JUST, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, I WANNA, WHEN WE GET TO, YOU KNOW, TREES IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT AWAY, I AM ALL FOR MORE PROTECTIONS AND, UM, MORE, UM, DISINCENTIVES FOR, UM, NOT REPLACING THEM, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO PRIVATE OWNERS, I, I'M NOT SO CERTAIN.
UH, YEAH AND I'LL JUST RUN AN ORDER OF THE SECTIONS AND TRY TO KEEP IT KIND OF TO THE MINIMUM MAIN POINTS AND THEN SEND IN MY COMMENTARY AFTERWARDS.
UH, THE FIRST ONE WITH PURPOSE 0.010, I THINK IT'S WORTH MENTIONING THE UFMP AND MAYBE STATING, MAYBE EXPANDING ON THE GOALS A BIT, MENTIONING THE UFMP TO KIND OF POINT AND SOURCE POLICY LEGITIMACY.
UH, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GREAT ADDITION THERE IN LIEU OF ADDING A WHOLE OTHER GOALS SECTION.
I THINK WHEN IT COMES TO EXEMPTIONS 0.030, I DO THINK ADDING SHADING SOLAR AND DEFENSIBLE SPACE ARE WORTHY ONLY BECAUSE IT ALIGNS WITH KIND OF OTHER DIRECTIONS IN THE CITY AND DECISIONS BEING MADE ON PLANNING AND SOME OF THESE OTHER AREAS.
I THINK THAT KIND OF BRINGS US IN ALIGNMENT
[01:15:01]
WITH SOME OF THOSE CONSIDERATIONS.BUT OF COURSE, STAFF AND, AND THE CONSULTING ARBORISTS CAN DECIDE KIND OF WHAT'S BEST THERE.
AND I THINK THERE'S SOMETHING TO BE SAID.
AND THIS GOES INTO DEFINITIONS, WHICH I THINK COULD BE EXPANDED UPON A LOT OF DEFINING EMERGENCY SITUATIONS.
UM, DEFINING WHAT'S A THREAT TO PUBLIC UTILITIES.
AND I THINK IT WAS SAN JOSE THAT HAS A LOT OF DETAIL ABOUT WHAT IS AN IMMINENT THREAT, WHAT IS A POTENTIALLY IMMINENT THREAT? AND DEFINING, YOU KNOW, THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF RISK THAT A TREE IS POSING WHEN WE THINK ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT IT'S EXEMPT.
UH, AND LIKE I SAID, THAT LEADS YOU RIGHT INTO DEFINITIONS.
I THINK WE'RE MISSING SOME THINGS LIKE DRIP LINE.
ONE THING THAT I REALLY LIKE IN SAN JOSE'S IS A CRITICAL ROOT ZONE, WHICH IS EXPANDED BEYOND THE DRIP LINE.
UM, THERE ARE REFERENCE IN OTHER AREAS, AND I THINK I'LL MENTION IT, UH, TO SOME AREA, DEFEND OR PROTECT AN AREA AROUND THE TREE APPROPRIATE FOR THE SPECIES.
I THINK DEFINING SOMETHING IS GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT MORE PRACTICAL AND IMPLEMENTATION.
I DON'T SEE OUR CDD REFERENCING OR CONSULTANT ARBORIST FOR EVERY DIFFERENT SPECIES A PROJECT MIGHT BRING FORWARD OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO I THINK DEFINING A CRITICAL ROOT ZONE OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE COULD BE REALLY POWERFUL TO JUST GIVING MORE PROTECTION AND BEING A LITTLE BIT EASIER TO ADMINISTER.
UM, BUT I'LL SEND THIS RATHER LONG LIST OF DEFINITIONS OR YOU CAN JUST REFERENCE SAN JOSE.
BUT, UM, I THINK THEY HAVE SOME GOOD THINGS THAT ARE, THAT ARE WORTHY OF CONSIDERATION.
UM, I'M GONNA FOR NOW FOREGO PERMITS 'CAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PERMIT LOOKS LIKE.
I'VE ALREADY MADE COMMENTS ABOUT WHO IS THE REVIEW AUTHORITY AND THOUGHT WE GOT SOME ANSWERS THERE.
UH, FOR TREE REPLACEMENT WE KIND OF TALKED THROUGH THAT.
I DID APPRECIATE, I BELIEVE IT WAS RELIEF MENTIONED, UH, A MAINTENANCE AND PLANTING REGIME THAT SHOULD BE RECOMMENDED FOR TREE REPLACEMENT.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WOULD BE STRICTLY IN THE DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT OR THE PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNER.
I THINK THE ARGUMENT COULD BE MADE FOR BOTH SO THAT THE TREE IS SET UP FOR SUCCESS, BUT KIND OF APPEND THAT TO WHATEVER OUR REPLACEMENT POLICY IS.
UH, AND THAT WOULD BE LIKE WATERING, TAKING CARE OF THE TREE DURING THOSE EARLY YEARS OF LIFE.
UM, I THINK FOR, AND THAT, THAT MIGHT GO INTO THE PRUNING AND MAINTENANCE AREA.
UM, AGAIN, FOR THE DEVELOPMENT.
SO PRO PRESERVATION OF TREES AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
I THINK AGAIN, DEFINING A CRITICAL ROOT ZONE, UPDATING SOME OF THOSE DEFINITIONS TO MAKE THAT A LITTLE BIT EASIER TO ADMINISTER WOULD BE SMART.
UM, I THINK ON SECTION D, SUBSECTION E UNDER THAT AREA, IT REFERENCES A CONSULTING ARBORIST, HORTICULTURALIST, OR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT.
I THINK WE COULD BE SPECIFIC WHETHER THAT'S THE APPLICANTS OR THE CITY HIRED, UM, OR WHO WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR, FOR THE DECISION IMPLIED THERE.
UM, AND THEN I THINK ADDING A 30% CANOPY METRIC COULD BE REALLY HELPFUL WHEREVER WE CAN IF, IF WE DECIDE THAT'S IN LINE WITH OUR UFMP, UM, WHICH SEEMS TO BE THE NUMBER WE'VE KIND OF SETTLED ON.
I THINK REFERENCING THAT GOES A LONG WAY.
NOW WE MIGHT HAVE TO DEFINE IT AT PLANNING.
WE'VE HAD TO DEFINE IT AS 30% CANOPY AT EXPECTED MATURE SIZE.
SOMETHING LIKE THAT I THINK COULD BE REALLY USEFUL TO INCLUDE.
UH, I THINK FOR MINISTERIAL PERMITS, OBVIOUSLY THIS HAS TO JIVE WITH OUR, UH, OBJECTIVE DESIGN STANDARDS, BUT I THINK A LOT OF WHAT WE HAVE FOR DISCRETIONARY COULD BE MIRRORED IN THE MINISTERIAL AREA.
UM, SO I DEFINITELY SUPPORT A LOT OF THE MEASURES DESCRIBED THERE.
UH, AND THEN OBVIOUSLY ENFORCEMENT APPEALS ACTUALLY ADMINISTERING THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE MASSIVE PIECE OF THIS PUZZLE.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SUITABILITY OF THE SIX INCHES, THAT SEEMS AGGRESSIVE TO ME FROM WHAT I'VE REVIEWED AND FROM MY EXPERIENCE IN TALKING WITH THE PUBLIC.
UM, I DO SEE SOME WISDOM IN BREAKING OUT CERTAIN SPECIES TO HAVE STRICTER PROTECTIONS, BUT I DO SEE THE LOGIC IN KIND OF HAVING THE STRICTEST PROTECTION AND THEN MOVING BACK FROM THERE.
UM, I JUST THINK THAT'S WORTHY OF MORE THOUGHT.
AND I THINK WHEN WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THE ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS ARE GONNA BE AND WHAT AREAS THERE ARE FOR STAFF DISCRETION TO LOWER PENALTIES OR ALLOW A LITTLE MORE FLEXIBILITY, I THINK THAT'LL GO A LONG WAY IN DECIDING KIND OF HOW STRICT WE SHOULD BE ON THE FACE OF IT.
UM, AND THEN I THINK ADDING A PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF ORDINANCE WOULD BE A REALLY WORTHY SECTION TO ADD JUST OUR PROCESS FOR REVIEWING AND UPDATING OUR ORDINANCE.
AND I'LL INCLUDE EXAMPLE, I FORGET WHAT CITY I PULLED THIS FROM, UH, ALONG WITH MY NOTES JUST TO CONSIDER.
UH, BUT THANK YOU STAFF FOR ALL THE HARD WORK.
AND I'LL SAY I BROADLY SUPPORT EVERYTHING THAT RELEAF PUT FORWARD AS WELL AS, UH, BILL REINHARDT MADE COMMENTARY AS WELL THAT I SUPPORT.
AND, AND, UH, WANNA BE SURE TO THANK THE COMMUNITY FOR SHOWING UP TODAY AND ALL OF YOUR LEADERSHIP OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS AND YOUR HARD WORK.
I HAVE A FEW GENERAL KINDS OF COMMENTS AND THEN I HAVE BI SECTION, BUT I'LL JUST, SOME OF THE CHUNKS I WILL SEND TO YOU, UM, RATHER, AND I'LL JUST LIGHTLY REFERENCE THEM HERE.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, AS YOU KNOW, AS PART OF THE COMMUNITY
[01:20:01]
OUTREACH AD HOC ROGER, DARREN, AND MYSELF, WE SPOKE WITH, UM, AND RESEARCHED MULTIPLE LEADING CALIFORNIA CITIES THAT ARE PRIZE WINNING FOR THEIR TREES WITH AMAZING CANOPY.AND THESE ARE RE THESE ARE ONES THAT DO, UM, CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TO THEIR ORDINANCES, UM, AS WELL AS THEIR URBAN FORESTRY MANAGEMENT PLAN.
SO THEY'RE REALLY ARE LEADING EDGE.
AND THE TOP TAKEAWAY, I GUESS I WOULD WANNA SAY HERE IS THAT OUR CITY COUNCIL MADE THIS A PRIORITY BECAUSE IT'S A HUGE PROBLEM.
WE'VE JUST BEEN LOSING SO MANY TREES, SPECIFICALLY PRIVATE TREES, STREET TREES, YOU KNOW THAT.
BUT WHAT THE ISSUE IS NOT JUST CULTURE OUT THERE THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT CULTURE WITHIN THE CITY HALL.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS CONSISTENTLY WITH ALL OF THE OTHER LEADING CITIES IS THE PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR IS THE DIRECTOR OR HIS DESIGNEE.
DESIGNEE, WHICH IS TYPICALLY AN ARBORIST THAT SETS US UP FOR INCLUDING THAT IN THIS ORDINANCE.
WELL, FOR WHEN THE URBAN FORESTRY MANAGEMENT PLAN IS ENACTED AND IT JUST SCOOTS IN, UM, THE PROBLEM WITH IT BEING IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IS YOU END UP WITH THE TELEPHONE GAME, DISJOINTED COMMUNICATION, LOST EXPERTISE IN THE COMMUNICATION, WHERE'S THE ARBORIST? HE'S OUT ON VACATION AND THE DESIGNEE BECOMES A FUNCTION OF CONVENIENCE.
AND I'VE SEEN THAT HAPPEN HERE.
AND, UH, THEN IT COMES DOWN TO, UH, MANAGER PREFERENCE FOR TREES.
AND WE REALLY DON'T WANNA SET OURSELVES UP FOR THAT.
THE MORE BUTTONED UP WE CAN BE AND WITH A, UH, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR, THE BETTER.
AND SO THAT'S A HOLISTIC APPROACH.
UM, GENERAL COMMENTS WOULD BE, UM, LET'S SEE HERE, MORE SPECIF SPECIFICITY AND QUANTIFICATION IN THE GUIDANCE OF MAKING DECISIONS, CRITERIA FOR MAKING DECISIONS.
AND THEN ARBORIST REPORTS THAT THEN GET PLUGGED INTO VIA THE SOFTWARE MILESTONES INTO OUR RECORDS SO THAT WE'RE DEFENSIBLE.
AND THERE'S NO QUESTION WE'VE GOT, UH, CONTINUITY AND KNOW, UH, KNOWLEDGE, UM, FOR THE ORGANIZATION OVER TIME.
TAC SHOULD BE A DECISION MAKER ON REMOVALS.
A LOT OF CITIES GIVE A LOT OF AUTHORITY TO THEIR, UH, TREE COMMITTEES.
UH, ANOTHER MISCELLANEOUS COMMENTS.
SOME CITIES HAVE THRESHOLDS OF 10% CANOPY MAXIMUM PER TYPE OF TREE BECAUSE THERE'S UH, SOME SORT OF VALUE WITH DIVERSIFICATION.
MAYBE THAT'S DISEASE PREVENTION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, I DIDN'T SEE NO FASTENING WIRE SIGNS, ET CETERA TO TREES.
AND UH, I JUST WANNA SAY, UNLIKE ONE OF THE PUBLIC COMMENTS, I AM NOT CONCERNED WITH BACKLASH AS A PROPERTY OWNER.
A PERMIT FOR THE FENCE IS MORE, UH, ROBUST THAN THE PERMIT FOR TREES HERE IN PETALUMA RIGHT NOW.
SO WHEN YOU BUY A HOME, YOU'VE GOT COSTS.
I MEAN, A LOT OF PEOPLE PUT IN POOLS YET THEY COMPLAINT ABOUT HAVING TO TAKE CARE OF THE TREES.
AND I THINK THAT CAN BE ADDRESSED WITH, UH, A, YOU KNOW, A COMMUNITY OUTREACH CAMPAIGN.
OKAY, SO BI SECTION PURPOSE AND INTENT.
I THINK THAT WE SHOULD SAY THAT WE WANNA PROTECT, PROMOTE, AND INCREASE CANOPY.
I THINK WE WANNA ADD COOLING AND ADD CARBON SEQUESTRATION.
I HAVE CALCULATIONS I CAN SEND YOU AND THAT WILL PERTAIN TO THE CARBON BLUEPRINT AS WELL.
WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE OUR TREES HAVE VALUE, MONETARY VALUE, UM, IN TERMS OF A LOT OF THINGS, INCLUDING COOLING, BUT ALSO IN TERMS OF CARBON SEQUESTRATION.
I THINK THAT WE ALSO NEED TO BE SPECIFIC IN OUR GOAL THAT WE WANT THE CANOPY ACHIEVED IN 20 YEARS.
UH, WE WANT GROWTH OF TREES OR HEIGHT OF TREES THAT ARE PLACEMENT TREES FOR ONES REMOVED TO BE A CERTAIN HEIGHT OR CANOPY WITHIN X NUMBER OF YEARS.
UH, I THINK THAT, UH, WE SHOULD ADD IN THE ORDINANCE THAT THE CITY SHALL DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT PROGRAMS TO MAXIMIZE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PLANTING OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE TREES.
I THINK THAT SHOULD BE PART OF OUR ORDINANCE.
UM, AND THAT THE CITY SHOULD TRACK CHANGES IN THE CANOPY COVERAGE, UM, FOR PROTECTIVE TREES.
OTHER CITIES, UM, DO SOMETHING THAT REALLY MAKES A LOT OF SENSE TO ME.
THEY DON'T JUST LIST THE SPECIES TYPE.
THEY HAVE CATEGORIES OF PROTECTED TREES.
SO IT'S ONE WOULD BE NATIVE TREES.
TWO WOULD BE ALL NON-NATIVE PRIVATE TREES BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANNA LOSE THEIR CANOPY COVERAGE.
UM, AND A AND ALLOW THAT SORT OF
[01:25:01]
A, A GAP TO LET PEOPLE JUST CHOP TREES DOWN.UH, RIPARIAN TREES SPECIAL TO OUR ENVIRONMENT.
ANYTHING WITHIN X NUMBER OF FEET OF THE MIDDLE OF THE PEDAL OF THE RIVER, I DON'T KNOW, A HUNDRED YARDS, UM, A HUNDRED FEET.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE.
BUT THAT COULD BE A CATEGORY BECAUSE OTHER CITIES DO THAT FOR THEIR PROTECTED AREAS.
ENVIRONMENTALLY, UM, SENSITIVE ASSETS, PUBLIC TREES, ALL TREES ON PUBLIC PRODUCT PROPERTY, UM, UH, TO BE INCLUDED.
AND THEN FINALLY DESIGNATED TREES WHICH ARE DEVELOPMENT RELATED.
THAT'S WHAT THEY CALL THAT BECAUSE, UM, I WANNA MAKE A POINT THAT OLD ELM VILLAGE, WHICH IS ON PAYAN STREET, THEY GOT THEIR APPROVAL, THEIR DEVELOPMENT, THEY'RE ROUGHLY 15 YEARS OLD.
MY GOD, THEY TOOK DOWN 20 TREES.
IT'S A CERTIFIABLE HEAT ISLAND WHERE THERE WERE TREES.
AND, UM, THERE SHOULD BE SOME CLOSING OF THAT LOOPHOLE THAT ONCE A DEVELOPMENT IS APPROVED AND WE SAY, YEAH, YOU NEED TO MONITOR IT FOR X NUMBER OF YEARS, THEY NEVER CUT IT DOWN.
I DON'T CARE WHAT KIND OF A DEVELOPMENT IT IS.
UM, PERMITS, I CAN SEND YOU THIS, BUT PERMITS, UM, WE SHOULD HAVE THREE TYPES OF PERMITS.
NUMBER ONE IS IF IT'S AN EMERGENCY, NO MORE EXEMPTIONS WITHOUT ANY PROOF.
WHAT OTHER CITIES DO IS IF YOU HAVE AN EMERGENCY, THERE'S A SPECIAL INTAKE FORM, MUCH LIKE OUR ISSUE REPORTS ON OUR PUBLIC WEBSITE PAGE, BUT THIS HAS A SPECIAL CONDITION WITH IT.
POLICE, FIRE, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR, AND YOU HAVE TO GET APPROVAL.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY IF IT'S REALLY AN EMERGENCY, BUT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO LOOPHOLE.
LIKE WHAT RECENTLY HAPPENED, HEATHER, WHEN YOU WENT THERE AND THEY SAID, WELL, IT WAS AN EMERGENCY.
NO, YOU HAVE TO HAVE PICTURES, THERE HAS TO BE DOCUMENTATION THERE.
WE'VE GOTTA CLOSE THAT LOOPHOLE.
UM, THERE SHOULD ALSO BE THE REGULAR PERMITS, OF COURSE, THAT ARE AUTOMATED.
AND, UM, THERE SHOULD BE ISSUES.
REPORTS, ISSUE REPORTS SHOULD BE PROMOTED SO THAT WE DO HAVE THAT COMPONENT FOR ENFORCEMENT ULTIMATELY, WHICH HAS BEEN OUR ACHILLES HEEL WITH TREES GETTING CHOPPED DOWN WITHOUT ANY REPERCUSSIONS.
CAN, CAN WE, CAN YOU SUBMIT THOSE? 'CAUSE WE HAVE THREE MINUTES LEFT AND I, I'D LIKE TO, I HAVE, OKAY.
SO I'D LIKE CLARITY BECAUSE THE NEXT MEETING ISN'T IN HERE UNTIL 6:00 PM I HAVE TO BE SOMEWHERE AND I, I CANNOT STAY AFTER FIVE.
SO IF THE, IF THE COMMITTEE DECIDES THAT THEY CAN DO THIS WITHOUT ME, I'M HAPPY TO, TO, TO ALLOW THE MEETING TO CONTINUE.
BUT I'M SORRY, I, I CANNOT STAY OTHERWISE, WE HAVE THREE MINUTES LEFT FOR EVERYBODY, RIGHT? YES, YES.
I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO CONTINUE.
SO THE VICE CHAIR WOULD HAVE TO TAKE OVER IN THE MEETING, BUT WE DO HAVE, WE DO HAVE ONE OTHER ITEM THAT HAS TO BE PRESENTED BEFORE WE END TODAY.
I SAY WE, THE VICE CHAIR CAN RUN THE MEETING IF YOU NEED TO LEAVE HOWARD, THAT'S A, IT'S ACCEPTABLE.
WE DO HAVE ONE OTHER ITEM THAT NEEDS TO BE HEARD BEFORE WE CAN LEAVE.
AND WE DO HAVE A TIME CERTAIN WE NEED TO END, WE NEED TO VACATE THE ROOM IN THE NEXT 15 MINUTES.
WELL, IF THE VICE CHAIR COULD TAKE THE MEETING AND WE COULD GO TILL FIVE 15.
DO YOU, DO I HAVE A MOTION? UH, SECOND.
THEN IT'S MOVED AND I, I DO APOLOGIZE, BUT I, I REALLY DO NEED TO CALL AND I CAN PROVIDE THE REST OF MY COMMENTS IN WRITING.
AND DOES THAT PERTAIN TO THE CARBON SEQUESTRATION CALCULATIONS FOR THE CARBON BLUEPRINT? THAT'S THE NEXT PRESENTATION THAT WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO YET.
DO YOU WANNA KEEP YOUR, KEEP YOUR COMMENTS OR, UM, UH, NO.
UM, REALLY APPRECIATE THE HARD WORK ON THIS.
IT'S A GREAT STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
AND, UH, UM, SO JUST REAL QUICK, UH, JUST VERY PLEASED ALSO HERE THAT STREET TREES WILL HAVE ITS OWN TIME, UH, IN FRONT OF THE COMMITTEE.
I THINK THAT'S BEEN ONE OF MY BIGGEST CONCERNS AND SO GLAD TO SEE THAT THAT WILL ALSO HAVE ITS FOCUS.
UM, I SEE THAT THERE IS THIS DELICATE BALANCE OF THE REGULATORY APPROACH WHERE WE'RE GOING FROM A, UM, YEAH, THIS WOULD BE A BIG CHANGE, A BIG SWING.
AND, UH, IN GENERAL, I'M FOR IT.
THERE ARE A FEW AREAS WHERE MAYBE WE COULD, UM, FINE TUNE.
UM, I AM HEARING FROM EBERLY THAT THERE'S A, A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE LARGER DIAMETER, UM, THE TRIGGERS THAT WOULD, UM,
[01:30:01]
TRIGGER PERMITTING ON PRIVATE PROPERTY.AND THEN I'M HEARING THERE'S OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT EVEN HAVE SMALLER DIAMETERS.
SO, UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, UH, MAYBE I'LL, I'LL DO SOME MORE THOUGHTS ON THAT.
I'D LIKE TO DO MY OWN RESEARCH, BUT, UM, I'VE ALWAYS, I GREW UP IN PALO ALTO AND I FEEL LIKE THEY'RE DOING AN INCREDIBLE JOB WITH THEIR TREES AND THE CANOPY.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, SIX INCHES DOES FEEL A LITTLE BIT ON THE ONEROUS SIDE.
UM, LET'S SEE, O ONEROUS MEANING, WELL, LET'S SEE, SIX INCHES FEELS LIKE, UM, MAYBE TOO RESTRICT, IS IT, IT'S RESTRIC.
UM, I DO, A COUPLE OF PEOPLE HAVE BROUGHT UP THE ONE, THE, UH, ONE INCH TO THREE, WHAT IS IT? UM, WHAT AM I SAYING? REPLACEMENT RATIO.
AND I THINK THAT, UH, THE ABILITY TO WALK THAT BACK WOULD BE, UH, REALLY IMPORTANT.
IT DOESN'T SEEM PRACTICAL TO REPLACE, LET'S SAY A 30 INCH DIAMETER TREE WITH 10, YOU KNOW, TO TRY TO FIND THEM.
SO, UM, AND I MAYBE IN, IN MY OPINION, REALLY THE, THE SPIRIT OF THIS TREE PRESERVATION ORDINANCE IS THAT WE'RE MAINTAINING OR INCREASING OUR CANOPY COVERAGE AND THAT, YOU KNOW, BUT WE ALSO WANT OUR, OUR PRIVATE CITIZENS TO FEEL LIKE SOME, LIKE, THAT THEY'RE DOING THE RIGHT THING AND THAT THEIR, THEIR FLEXIBILITY TO DO THE RIGHT THING.
AND SO HOW WE GET THERE, I'M NOT QUITE SURE, BUT, UH, I THINK, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, YOU RAISED SOME SORT OF ANECDOTES OF HOW, HOW IT'S WORKED IN MILL VALLEY AND YOU TAKE A LOOK AT AND WHAT'S GOING ON AND WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH.
I'M JUST HOPING THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, KIND OF CONTINUE FOLLOWING ALONG IN THAT, IN THAT REGARD.
UH, I LIKE THE IDEA, HEATHER SAID SOMETHING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, REALLY TAKING INTO CONSIDER THE SITE DESIGN PRINCIPLES TO, TO CONSIDER TREES THAT, UM, WE MIGHT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY WITH BUILDING PERMITS TO CONSIDER HOW TREES, IF, IF THEY EXIST OR DON'T, DON'T EXIST IN THEIR, LET'S SAY THE, THE PRIVATE PROPERTY OR ON THE PUBLIC PROPERTY, THAT, THAT MIGHT GIVE THE CITY AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONSIDER TREES.
AND AS PART OF THE BUILDING PERMIT.
UM, UH, SOMEBODY MENTIONED THAT THIS FEELS LIKE IT'S SORT OF, UH, IT'S A STRICT, BUT THERE'S, THERE'S MAYBE MORE STICK IN HERE.
I KNOW THAT, UM, INCENTIVES TO REPOPULATE OUR CANOPY IS GONNA BE IMPORTANT TO DO.
I KNOW WITH LIKE THE MULCH MADNESS PROGRAM, I THINK THAT'S GOTTEN A LOT OF FOLKS TO PEOPLE INTERESTED IN, UM, UH, ALTER, UH, ALT ALTERING, THEIR, THEIR YARDS.
SO MAYBE THERE'S SOMETHING LIKE THAT THAT WE COULD CONSIDER FOR TREES TO REPOPULATE OUR CANOPY.
AND, UH, I THINK ANYTHING MORE SPECIFIC I'LL TRY TO ADDRESS IN A, IN A EMAIL THAT'S, UH, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I HAVE HERE.
UM, YEAH, I THINK IT'S A, IT'S A GOOD START.
UH, AND I, UM, ALTHOUGH I'M
I'D LIKE TO FIND WAYS TO MAKE IT MORE, UH, UH, EDUCATIONAL HELPFUL.
EVEN MAYBE THERE'S A DEAL THAT, THAT IF YOU HAVE BIG TREES ON YOUR PROPERTY, THERE'S A DISCOUNT FROM PG AND E OR SOME CONNECTION TO THE BENEFITS THAT YOU'RE CREATING.
UM, THERE'S SOME FINANCIAL REWARD THAT THE, THE LANDOWNER CAN GET.
UM, AND EVEN I THINK, UM, UM, GUIDANCE FOR MAINTENANCE.
UH, HOW, HOW DO PEOPLE TAKE CARE OF TREES OR WHO, WHO SHOULD THEY HIRE? AND A MORE, MORE SELECTED LIST OF CONTRACTORS WHO ARE QUALIFIED, WHO YOU HAVE FAITH IN AND ENFORCEMENT OF THOSE.
UM, I, I THINK MORE, UH, THOUGHTS ABOUT THE TREES THAT HAVE BEEN REMOVED ON PARKWAYS AND PUBLIC STREETS.
IT, IS THERE A PROGRAM OF FINDING WAYS TO REPLACE THOSE TREES?
[01:35:02]
OR IF THERE'S A WAY TO GIVE CREDIT FOR, UH, TREE REPLACEMENT, PUT IT IN A DIFFERENT LOCATION.UH, THAT'S PRE-THOUGHT WHERE YOU, WHERE YOU THINK THEY SHOULD GO.
BUT, SO THERE'S, IF THERE'S TOO MANY TREES TO REPLACE ON THAT GUY'S PROPERTY, MAYBE THERE'S A WAY YOU COULD GET THOSE TREES SOMEWHERE ELSE.
UM, SO THAT'S, I I CONSIDER, LIKE ON WESTERN BOULEVARD, THERE'S AN EXISTING PARKWAY, EXISTING TREES OF MANY CASES AND MANY MISSING TEETH.
IT SEEMS LIKE THAT'S LOW HANGING FRUIT FOR REPLACE TREE REPLACEMENT.
THE HOLE IS THERE OR THE PARKWAY'S THERE, AND IT, UM, SHOULD BE PART OF SOME OVERALL THINKING.
I'LL, UM, SEND IN SOME, SOME OF MY COMMENTS, BUT I DID WANNA SUGGEST THAT, UM, WITH, UH, THE TALK ABOUT HAVING CERTAIN QUALIFIED CONTRACTORS FOR, UH, PRUNING AND EVEN REALLY FOR PLANTING OF THE TREES, IF WE WANT THEM TO BECOME ESTABLISHED PROPERLY, UM, I FEEL LIKE THE BE BETTER WAY TO APPROACH THAT WOULD BE TO CREATE A VERY DETAILED SPECIFICATION, UM, BOTH FOR PRUNING BECAUSE, UM, PRUNING, UH, SH YOU KNOW, WE SHOULDN'T ALLOW, UM, ANYBODY WITH A CHAINSAW AND A PICKUP TRUCK TO PRUNE TREES.
UM, THEY SHOULD HAVE TO HAVE, BE QUALIFIED.
THEY SHOULD HAVE TO, NOT THAT THEY NEED TO BE ARBORISTS, BUT THEY SHOULD KNOW THE PROPER METHODS OF PRUNING TREES BECAUSE INCORRECT PRUNING CAN CAUSE MANY, MANY PROBLEMS AND EVEN KILL TREES.
UM, THE PRUNING SHOULD BE, THE PURPOSE OF IT SHOULD BE TO ENHANCE THE SHAPE OF THE TREE, OR IF THERE'S A PROBLEM WITH UTILITY LINES OR WHATEVER, TO DO ONLY WHAT'S NEEDED, SPECIFICALLY TO AVOID INTERFERENCE WITH THE UTILITY LINES.
AND IT SHOULD BE DONE IN SUCH A WAY TO, UM, THAT IT'S NOT GONNA CAUSE STRUCTURAL DEFICIENCIES OR AREAS THAT ARE PRONE TO DISEASE OR ROT.
SAME THING WITH MAINTENANCE OF NEW TREES.
IT'S VERY CRITICAL THAT THEY BE PLANTED CORRECTLY AND THAT THEY BE MAINTAINED CORRECTLY IN THE FIRST THREE YEARS AT LEAST OF THEIR LIVES.
THOSE ARE, THAT'S A CRITICAL PERIOD OF TIME FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF A TREE.
SO I THINK IF WE HAVE STRONG SPECIFICATIONS FOR THOSE ACTIVITIES, IT'S GONNA BE HELPFUL TO BOTH CONTRACTORS AND HOMEOWNERS.
'CAUSE IT'LL BE A, JUST A SET OF INSTRUCTIONS.
UM, THERE ARE EXISTING STANDARDS FOR THAT, LIKE THE CALIFORNIA LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE, UH, STANDARDS MANUAL.
IT HAS, I MEAN, YOU CAN JUST CUT AND PASTE AND THEN MODIFY SLIGHTLY AND YOU'D HAVE YOUR SET OF INSTRUCTIONS FOR EACH OF THOSE ITEMS. I HAVE OTHER, SOME OTHER, UM, COMMENTS, BUT I'LL, I'LL, I'LL SEND YOU GUYS AN EMAIL WITH THAT.
DOCTOR, MAY I ASK A QUESTION? MAY I ASK A QUESTION? UM, HEATHER, SINCE THIS IS, UM, A PARTIAL DRAFT AND IT'S IN VERY WELL RELATIVELY ROUGH FORM AND WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME OF OUR CONTENT OR FEEDBACK VERBALLY, SOME IN PAPER.
I FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO SEE IT AGAIN AT SOME POINT.
IT THIS THING, NOT JUST THE STREET TREE PART.
THIS WILL COME BACK IN A, IN AN UPDATED FORM WITH THE SECTIONS THAT ARE NOT, I MEAN, THERE ARE SECTIONS IN HERE THAT WE, WE WERE VIEWING AS MM-HMM.
SO I DON'T FEEL LIKE THE WHOLE THING IS ROUGH.
IT'S JUST THERE'S CERTAIN SECTIONS THAT AREN'T FILLED IN YET.
THAT WE DIDN'T EVEN, SOME WE DIDN'T TOUCH ON.
I WOULD SEE THAT, UH, THE FULL, WE'LL, WE'LL LOOK AT THE COMMENTS.
WE'LL DO SOME UPDATES, WE'LL FILL IN THE SECTIONS AND THEN THE WHOLE THING WILL COME TO YOU FOR REVIEW.
BUT WHAT WE'RE HOPING IS BY THIS, THIS DISCUSSION AND COLLABORATION THAT AT THAT POINT THERE WON'T BE SOMETHING THAT WE LOOKED AT TODAY.
AND, AND IT'LL BE A COMPLETE REWRITE OF SOMETHING YOU'VE ALREADY LOOKED AT.
IT'S LIKE AN ITERATIVE PROCESS.
IT'S THE DISCUSSION THAT I FIND REALLY VALUABLE BECAUSE WHAT ONE COMMITTEE MEMBER SAYS CAN CHANGE HOW YOU THINK ABOUT THINGS.
AND THEN WE, WE PUT OUR HEADS TOGETHER, WE WITH THE COMMUNITY, WE COME UP WITH SOMETHING BETTER.
BUT WHEN WE HAVE TO SEND THINGS IN IN PAPER, WE DON'T GET TO TALK ABOUT IT.
IT'S THE QUALITY OF THE OVERALL INPUT ISN'T AS GOOD AS IT CAN BE FOR YOU GUYS.
QUICK NOTE, UH, TO BEAR IN MIND THAT THIS
[01:40:01]
IS THE ORDINANCE.SO THIS IS THE THING THAT NOT MOST PEOPLE ARE NEVER LOOKING AT THIS.
MOST PEOPLE ARE SEEING THE THING THAT I THINK SOMEBODY SAID THEY GOOGLED SOMETHING AND THEY DIDN'T KNOW IF THEY WERE LOOKING AT THE ORDINANCE OR THE WEBSITE.
THERE'S GOING TO BE A PUBLIC FACE WEBSITE THAT THE PUBLIC WILL LAND ON THAT SAYS LIKE, THIS IS HOW YOU GET YOUR PERMIT.
AND PART OF THAT IS GOING TO BE THE TREE REMOVAL PERMIT APPLICATION.
WHICH IS GONNA HAVE ADDITIONAL STUFF THAT'S NOT GONNA BE CODIFIED THAT WE CAN CHANGE.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE'LL HAVE SOMETHING.
THE PLAN IS ANYWAY IN MY HEAD.
THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE GONNA HAVE SOMETHING.
LIKE YOU NEED TO HAVE AN ARBORIST REPORT.
AND MAYBE WE CAN, WE CAN SEPARATE IT OUT SO THAT TREES BELOW A CERTAIN DIAMETER NEED AN ARBORIST, DON'T NEED AN ARBORIST REPORT AND TREES ABOVE THAT BY VARIETY PERHAPS.
SO LIKE IT GETS EASIER TO REMOVE SOMETHING THAT'S SIX INCHES, BUT YOU STILL NEED TO ASK PERMISSION TO DO IT AND IT'S LIKE EASIER TO DO SMALL TREES OR THOSE THINGS THAT WE'RE CALLING EXEMPTIONS LIKE FOR SOLAR PANELS.
NO, YOU DO STILL NEED A PERMIT FOR THAT BECAUSE YOU CAN'T, JUST, AN EXEMPTION MEANS YOU DON'T NEED A PERMIT.
SO LIKE A MONTEREY PINE, A EUCALYPTUS, NO, IT, I WOULD BE VERY AGAINST PUTTING EUCALYPTUS ON AS AN EXEMPT SPECIES BECAUSE THERE ARE BEAUTIFUL EUCALYPTUS AROUND PE EXEMPT SPECIES FOR ME ARE TREES THAT ARE A PROBLEM THAT YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO ASK ANYBODY TO TAKE OUT.
AND THAT'S THE LIST THAT WE HAVE.
AND WHAT I, I, I'M THINKING I'D LIKE TO ADD TO THAT IS MAYBE SOMETHING LIKE IF A TREE IS WITHIN A CERTAIN DISTANCE OF ANOTHER TREE AND UNDER A CERTAIN DIAMETER, YOU CAN TAKE THAT OUT.
'CAUSE THAT WOULD BE A NICE EASILY VERIFIABLE THING.
LIKE YEAH, THERE'S JUST TOO MANY TREES ON THIS SITE.
YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO GET A PERMIT BECAUSE THIS QUARTER ACRE HAS HUNDRED TREES.
YOU COULD THIN IT OUT PRETTY EASILY WITHOUT A PERMIT.
BUT THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THOUGHT PROCESSES.
SOME CITIES DO IT BY, AND SOME OF THE THINGS I WANNA RESPOND TO ABOUT EVERYBODY'S COMMENTS, BUT YOU HAVE NO TIME
THAT'S ALMOST WHY I THINK THAT IT WILL BE HELPFUL TO STAFF ULTIMATELY TO HAVE GRANULARITY.
BECAUSE ULTIMATELY THEIR DECISION MAKING IS GONNA HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY.
YOU'RE GONNA WANNA CONSIDER EXISTING CANOPY ON THE LOT AND MAYBE LIKE IN PACIFIC GROVE, YOU GOT GREAT 80% CANOPY COVERAGE ON YOUR LOT.
OKAY, YOU DON'T NEED TO REPLACE THE TREE, BUT MAYBE THERE'S SOME MINIMAL IN LIE FEE, I DON'T KNOW.
UM, BUT THEN ALSO OAK HILL, CERTAIN NEIGHBORHOODS, THEY SEEM TO HAVE A LOT MORE TREES THAN MIDTOWN.
AND SO MAYBE THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE LEEWAY.
AND IF YOU CAN KIND OF PUT THAT DOWN HERE, WHOEVER THE URBAN FORESTER IS IN TWO YEARS, IT WILL HELP THEM.
WHOEVER IT IS IN 10 YEARS MIGHT CHANGE AND THAT WILL HELP THEM.
IT JUST KIND OF INSTITUTIONALIZES THE KNOWLEDGE BASE AND THE THINKING.
AND TO BEN'S POINT, A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE COME UP ABOUT THE EDUCATION AND THE REPLANTING EFFORTS AND THE, YOU KNOW, UM, LIKE PRUNING, PRUNING, YOU KNOW, SHEETS OR CONTRACTOR LISTS, THOSE ARE ALL ADDITIONAL THINGS THAT WE CAN DO.
THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY THINGS THAT LIVE IN AN ORDINANCE.
THEY'RE THINGS THAT THEY'RE PART OF THE EDUCATION AND THE PUBLIC FACING AND EDUCATING OUR, UM, OUR ARBORISTS AND TREE REMOVAL ON WHAT OUR ORDINANCES ARE.
BECAUSE TO BEN'S POINT THAT A LOT OF HOMEOWNERS AREN'T GONNA BE DEALING WITH THE ORDINANCE.
THEY'RE GONNA BE CALLING SOMEBODY AND YOU WANT THE PERSON THEY CALL TO BE THE ONES THAT ARE WELL VERSED IN THE ORDINANCE.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S SOME THINGS WE CAN DO OUTSIDE OF THE ORDINANCE THAT RESPONDS TO A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP TODAY TOO.
THIS IS ALL GONNA TAKE YEARS TO, OR I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE TIMELINE IS, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET SOMETHING INTO THE COMMUNITY BULLETIN ABOUT THE EXISTING REGULATIONS PROTECTING NATIVE TREES? SINCE AS I EXPERIENCED, NONE, NO ONE I KNOW EVEN KNOWS ABOUT THOSE.
AND WE ARE WORKING WITH THE COMMUNICATIONS TEAM, SO THAT COULD BE SOMETHING WE LOOK AT.
I, I NOTED THAT WHEN YOU SAID THAT, UM, CINDY, I WAS GOING TO, IS IT APPROPRIATE TO MAKE A MOTION TO EXTEND OUR NEXT ITEM ON THE CARBON NEUTRALITY BLUEPRINT FOR THE NEXT MEETING? SURE.
UM, YES, IT WOULD BE, BUT I'LL HAVE TO GET BACK TO GET BACK TO THEM TO SEE IF WE, BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO HAVE COMMENTS BACK BY THE EIGHTH.
SO NOT HEARING IT TODAY, I DON'T KNOW IF WE'LL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY.
SO YES, YOU CAN HAVE A MOTION.
I CAN SEE IF IT CAN BE MOVED TO NEXT MEETING, BUT IF NOT, I WOULD ASK EVERYBODY TO SUBMIT THEIR COMMENTS VIA EMAIL.
AT THE VERY LEAST, IF WE CAN'T DO THAT, AND I'LL LET YOU KNOW.
HOW ABOUT A, UM, SCHEDULING AN EMERGENCY MEETING SINCE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME IN TWO WEEKS? I'D HAVE TO CHECK WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
THEY TOLD ME EMERGENCY MEETINGS ARE ONLY IF IT WOULD STOP OPERATIONS OF THE CITY.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THIS WOULD FALL CONSIDERATION, MAYBE NOT AN EMERGENCY THEN JUST A SPECIAL MEETING.
SO LET ME FOLLOW UP AND SEE IF WE CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
[01:45:01]
BUT YES, I WOULD MAKE A, A MOTION TO EXTEND THAT ITEM TO A TIME UNDETERMINED, WHETHER THAT'S NEXT MEETING OR DEPENDING ON THEIR TIMELINE.OBVIOUSLY IF THEY NEED A DELIVERABLE BEFORE OUR MEETING, AFTER THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN SUBMIT BY EMAIL IN THE MEANTIME.
BUT A MOTION TO EXTEND TO A TIME UNDETERMINED VICE CHAIR.
YOU, ARE YOU GONNA CALL THE VOTE? YOU'RE OUR CHAIR.
I'M CHAIR
NO, JUST SAY ALL THOSE IN FAVOR.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
AGENDA IS APPROVAL OF THE MEETING MINUTES FOR NOVEMBER 15TH.CAN, CAN WE POSTPONE THIS? THAT'S WHAT THE MOTION WAS FOR.
WHAT'S THE NEXT, THE NEXT ITEM IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FOR NOVEMBER 15TH.
IF YOU'D LIKE TO CALL FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE.
MOTION, I'LL MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.