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2024-05-02 Tree Board MinutesCITY OF EDMONDS F Ey o Jry TREE BOARD Summary Minutes of Regular Meeting May 2, 2024 LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Board Member Higgins read the Land Acknowledgement. CALL TO ORDER / ROLL CALL Chair Kliment called the Tree Board meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Board Members Present Wendy Kliment, Chair Bill Phipps, Vice Chair (online) Janelle Cass (online) Ian Higgins Ben Mark Crane Stavig Ross Dimmick (alternate) (online) Board Members Absent Ray White (unexcused) M1 Ni TTE S: Approval of April 4, 2024 Tree Board Minutes Staff Present Angie Feser, Parks, Recreation & Human Services Director Others Present Jenna Nand, City Council Liaison (online) Vice Chair Phipps questioned the report from the Tree Board Annual Presentation to Council under Unfinished Business on page 2 which stated that the Council was not supportive of a ban on removal of old growth/heritage trees. Chair Kliment explained this is what she had heard from councilmembers at the meeting. Vice Chair Phipps did not think it was accurate. Councilmember Nand explained the Council is always advised by the City Attorney not to pass interim ordinances, but they might be more favorable to a permanent ordinance related to a Heritage Tree program. The April 4, 2024 Tree Board minutes were approved as presented (5-1) with Vice Chair Phipps voting against the motion. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Tree Board Meeting Minutes May 2, 2024 Page 1 of 4 Vice Chair Phipps asked to add a discussion item related to potential Tree Board participation in Climate Action Week to New Business. He also asked about adding a discussion item related to the Rimmer court case regarding the title/Tree code issue. It was noted that clarification is needed about whether the Tree Board should even be discussing the Rimmer case. Director Feser commented that staff was not prepared to discuss it tonight. There was agreement to put it on the next agenda and for board members to do some research in the meantime. The agenda was approved unanimously as amended. AUDIENCE COMMENTS There were no audience comments. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: 1. Earth Day Event (April 20) Report - Vice Chair Phipps reported that it was a great event with about 20 people of all ages. Board member speculated people may have gotten got lost because of there wasn't adequate signage. Chair Kliment reported on the event at Pine Ridge which was also a great event with about 20 people. Both groups got pretty muddy. 2. Tree Board's Tree Code Recommendation to Council - Board Member Mark reviewed the Board's recommendations as previously discussed which he had compiled. There was consensus to hold off on voting on this because not all board members had received the final copy and it wasn't in the packet. Vice Chair Phipps referred to number 4, Required Tree Replacement for Removal of 18-30" Trees, and said he thought they should include a recommended number of required tree replacements depending on the size of tree. Chair Kliment explained there had not been a consensus on that which is why it was worded as it was. Vice Chair Phipps reviewed the tree replacements required for development. He thinks there should be some consistency between the development code and private property tree removals. NEW BUSINESS Watershed Fun Fair — May 18 — Vice Chair Phipps reviewed this item which will be held from 11-3 at the Willow Creek Salmon Watershed Education Center. Board Member Cass and Chair Kliment volunteered to split the day. Board Member Cass may have other obligations, but she will try to make it. Vice Chair Phipps will also be present. 2. Intro of New Project: Tree Identification Signs — Vice Chair Phipps reviewed the scope of this project to make laminated signs for trees sharing environmental benefits and other information. He wondered about integration with the app that Board Member Mark would be talking about. Board Member Mark thought it would be possible to have QR codes on the signs pointing people to the app. Tree App Presentation (Ben Mark) — Board Member Mark reviewed the City of Seattle's tree website which inventories Seattle's trees by type, by owner, by type, Heritage trees, street trees, park trees. He reviewed other sites including City of Melbourne (Australia) which lets you "email a tree" and the City of Snohomish who did a tree inventory with the help of a grant. He displayed the beginning of a sample website he created for Edmonds which could show information about trees including potential environmental benefits such as how much carbon is sequestered and how much shade it provides. Board Tree Board Meeting Minutes May 2, 2024 Page 2 of 4 Member Cass thought this was great and wondered about using Google Earth which could provide data that could be used for other purposes. Board Member Mark explained how QR codes on tree signs could be used to refer people to the website to find out more information about the tree or to find other trees. He offered to continue to take more photos and gather information about trees if someone else wants to handle the technology part. Director Feser spoke to the importance of meeting with IT to address any security concerns. She also recommended identifying the data they want to collect on the trees ahead of time and mentioned concerns about resources to manage this going forward after the initial creation and use of city resources of staff time and any costs. There was discussion about starting with park trees first to be sensitive to private tree owners and maybe having a tree nomination program. Vice Chair Phipps thought highlighting exceptional trees around schools could be a great way to introduce the kids to trees and the digital information. Board Member Dimmick expressed caution about listing dollar amounts for environmental benefits and discussed concerns he had about how these numbers are calculated. Board Members Mark, Higgins, Cass, and Phipps (alternate) expressed interest in working on the project. 4. Summer Market Tree Giveaway/Booth (Oct. 5) Discussion — Board Member Stavig said he has about 40 conifer saplings. Some can be used for the Watershed Fun Fair and some can be used for the Arbor Day/Month event. There was consensus to do the tree giveaway again and also the GIS critical area map activity. There was some discussion about working with IT to export the critical areas data to Google Earth and other ways the process could be improved. The group debated about whether they wanted to do the tree walk again and if so, how it might look. Vice Chair Phipps recommended having some smaller and medium varieties of trees to give away for people who don't have enough room for conifers. Director Feser indicated that Jenn Leach can find suppliers and order the trees through the Tree Fund for the event. She will have staff start working with Vice Chair Phipps and Board Member Stavig to determine what kind and how many trees they should get. 5. Discussion about participating in Climate Action Week (September 21, 2024) — Vice Chair Phipps reviewed this event and said it would be great to have the Tree Board represented there somehow for the September 21 kickoff event even though it is just two weeks away from the Summer Market Tree Giveaway event. He thought another tree giveaway event would be great. There was some debate about whether this would be possible given the proximity to the other event. Director Feser explained that the event is contingent on a grant being approved. She suggested waiting until June to make a decision to make sure the event is going to happen. STAFF COMMENTS/UPDATES None TREE BOARD CHAIR & MEMBER COMMENTS Motion made by Chair Kliment, seconded by Board Member Cass to cancel the July meeting. Motion passed unanimously. Vice Chair Phipps asked about the status of the vote they took encouraging the City Council to initiate an interim amendment to halt the removal of landmark trees until the Tree Code is finished. Chair Kliment thought it would be submitted along with all of their Tree Code recommendations. She encouraged all board members to read Tree Board Meeting Minutes May 2, 2024 Page 3 of 4 the Tree Code recommendations so a vote can be taken next month. Director Feser will put together a writeup of the motion and some background info for the packet. ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Chair Kliment, seconded by Board Member Mark, to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 7:34 p.m. Next meeting: June 6 Tree Board Meeting Minutes May 2, 2024 Page 4 of 4