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2022-07-07 Tree Board MinutesCITY OF EDMONDS TREE BOARD 0Summary Minutes of Regular Meeting July 7, 2022 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Cass called the Tree Board meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Board Members Present Janelle Cass, Chair Bill Phipps, Vice Chair Chris Eck Bill Grant Wendy Kliment Crane Stavig Ross Dimmick (Alternate) Andy Lyon (joined late) Board Members Absent None Staff Present Deb Powers, Urban Forest Planner Others Present Laura Johnson, Edmonds City Council Representative LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT — ROLL CALL — INTRODUCTIONS Board Member Stavig read the Land Acknowledgement. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The agenda was approved as presented. NUNITTES- Approval of 6/2/22 Tree Board Minutes It was noted that under Special Events/Projects, the President of the Alliance Club should be corrected to President of the Lion's Club. The 6/2/22 Tree Board minutes were approved as corrected. AUDIENCE COMMENTS Tree Board Meeting Minutes July 7, 2022 Page 1 of 3 Linda Ferkingstad expressed concerns about her family's challenges with efforts to develop their property due to critical areas and tree regulations. They have reached the maximum fee cap of $107,000 of fees to remove their trees and can't live on their property until they pay the City. She stated that the City's tree seizures and excessive fees have decreased property values and the owners' equity. She believes the original intent of the tree ordinance was to avoid clearcutting and to encourage more trees planted on properties without trees, not to restrict needed homes from being built. She pleaded with the City to rescind the regulations and help them to avoid litigation. Ms. Powers commented that the Council had asked staff to include Ms. Ferkingstad as a stakeholder as they proceed with the tree updates. Ms. Ferkingstad acknowledged this but noted that this has taken an inordinate amount of time, and they have been obstructed by the Planning Department throughout the process. NEW BUSINESS 1. Tree Code Update Project Urban Forest Planner Deb Powers introduced this topic and reviewed the scope of this project (Phase 2 Tree Code Amendments). There are three objectives which were established by the City Council and reaffirmed by the Planning Board: Phase 2 Code Amendments related to property owner tree removal, minor changes to the current code, and continued implementation of the Urban Forest Management Plan. She discussed tree code within a policy framework and the code amendment process under the lens of project management. Clarification question and answers happened throughout the presentation. There was discussion about how the Board should bring up and discuss their suggestions throughout the process. Joint meetings with the Planning Board will be important in this process. Ms. Powers then discussed the current code, gave a broad overview of prospective amendments, and reasons for those amendments. Board members discussed details and clarifications of the current tree removal and replacement regulations; fees -in -lieu regulations, tree retention incentives, pros and cons of tree banks, the legality of the City's claims on trees on private property, the equity of forcing people to keep their trees, and the ramifications of taking no action. Councilmember Johnson gave some historical perspective of Council's actions related to this. She asked about the possibility of fast tracking the parts of this that are known to be troublesome for people. Ms. Powers discussed the complexities and limitations of speeding up certain parts. She spoke to the benefits of working on all parts simultaneously and summarized that speeding up one part still would not shorten the overall timeline. There was further discussion on the timeline for the updates and the Board's role in proposing amendments and making recommendations. There was a consensus by the Board to set aside time on the agenda over the next few months to take a more detailed walk through the code. TREE BOARD MEMBER IDEAS AND COMMENTS None Tree Board Meeting Minutes July 7, 2022 Page 2 of 3 ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:18 p.m. Next meeting: August 4 Tree Board Meeting Minutes July 7, 2022 Page 3 of 3