2011-09-01 Tree Board MinutesCity of Edmonds
Citizen Tree Board
Minutes
September 1, 2011
Members Present: Joan Bloom, John Bottom, Anna Marie Heckman, Sandy Seligmiller,
Barbara Tipton
Members Absent: Dawna Lahti, Laura Spehar
Staff Present: Rich Lindsay, Parks Department
Corrections to August 2011 meeting minutes: None
Public Comment Period:
Edmonds resident Neil Baum testified that a stand of paper birch trees in the city right-of-way on
9t" Avenue North are blocking his view of Puget Sound. Mr. Baum reported that he has brought
the matter to the attention of Parks Director Carrie Hite and Parks Manager Rich Lindsay. Mr.
Baum testified to the existence of a restrictive covenant that ensures view protection. However,
he did not present a written copy of the covenant to the board.
Mr. Baum indicated that the city planted the trees and entered into a verbal agreement that the
city would keep the trees trimmed to maintain the views. Mr. Baum added that a nearby resident
removed 14 trees from his / her property exacerbating, in his opinion, the impaired view from
Mr. Baum's property.
The city has taken the following actions with respect to Mr. Baum's situation:
• The trees were inspected and are determined to be healthy. They are approximately 25
years of age, according to Rich Lindsay
• Rich Lindsay has asked city planner Rob Chave for guidance on how to respond to this
issue. To date, Mr. Chave has not provided a recommendation on how to proceed.
Board member Joan Bloom asked if the trees could be pruned rather than removed. Rich
Lindsay will ask arborist Dave Timbrook to determine the best way to prune the trees.
Barbara Tipton commented that Rob Chave might want to ask the Edmonds Planning Board to
study the issue of trees in public rights -of -way (especially when located in neighborhoods
governed by restrictive covenants). Mr. Chave prioritizes the Planning Board's work schedule.
Citizen Roger Hertrich provided the Tree Board members with words of wisdom from his life
experience:
• Trim every other tree limb to create a "window" effect
• Alder trees that are pruned "come back like bushes"
• It is tough to prune a tree that hasn't been trimmed for 20 years
• It is difficult to regulate what residents do their private property
Heritage Trees
Sandy Seligmiller and Dawna Lahti have met several times to begin developing a program that
would designate "heritage" trees. Laura Spehar has provided Sandy and Dawna with
information on the Landmark Tree program that is currently underway in the city of Shoreline.
Barbara Tipton pointed out that Seattle's Department of Planning and Development has a
directive on exceptional trees http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/codes/dr/DR2008-16x.pdf . Sandy
Seligmiller made the group aware of standards for defining heritage, historic, and landmark
trees http://phVtosphere.com/treeord/heritage.htm The Tree Board recommends that the
program be voluntary. Citizens would have the option to nominate a tree on his / her to be
designated as a "heritage" tree.
Review of Action Items
Edmonds Market: On Saturday, September 24, 2011, the Tree Board will staff a booth
Edmonds summer market. Laura Spehar will provide a table and tent for the event.
Sandy Seligmiller has volunteered to be in charge of the decorations. At the summer
market, we will be promoting the Arbor Day event that will take place in October.
We decided which handouts should be distributed to residents who visit our booth.
Board members have signed up to staff the booth.
Speakers for upcoming meetings:
o Libby Soden, Snohomish County Public Utility (SNOPUD) District's
Superintendent of Vegetation Management, will be our guest speaker for the
October Tree Board meeting. Ms. Soden will be discussing proper tree pruning
and tree selection. Kernen Lien has indicted that a screen would be available for
Libby's PowerPoint presentation.
o Anna Marie Heckman will contact the state's Department of Natural Resources
(DNR) urban and community forestry specialist, Linden Mead, to speak at a
future Tree Board meeting either in December of sometime in the winter. Ms.
Mead will present funding options available to certified Tree Cities. As we are a
newly formed board, we look forward to Ms. Mead's guidance on how our Tree
Board can become more effective in carrying out our mission, goals, and
objectives.
o Other future speakers: The board agreed that we should invite a speaker from a
city that has been successful in implementing a tree ordinance.
Proactive involvement in actions involving trees on public property
During the public comment period of our June meeting, citizens provided us with written material
in addition to oral testimony about trees along the public right-of-way on Bell Street. Rich
Lindsay met with the Bell Street residents and, along with Public Works Director Phil Williams,
will come up with a possible solution.
For further information about this issue, please refer to the minutes of June 2, 2011.
Project at Hickman Park
The Tree Board members and their families will implement a tree planting project at Hickman
Park. This entails the planting of 10 — 12 Douglas fir or hemlock trees that would act as a
screen. The task includes digging holes, planting the trees, and providing them with water. It
was recommended that we might want to hand out informational pamphlets on how to correctly
plant a tree. Also, Dawna Lahti, our board's writer, might want to provide a story about the event
to the Edmonds Beacon.
Other Business
Rich Lindsay said that he is open to suggestions from the Tree Board. Rich Lindsay mentioned
that he has a very small budget which limits what he is able to accomplish. He asked whether
the public should maintain the street trees that are adjacent to their private property.
Sandy Seligmiller provided a written report about the 2011 Urban Forest Symposium that took
place on May 9, 2011. The major contributors to this report are Sandy Seligmiller and Barbara
Tipton.
Laura Spehar will request the official Arbor Day proclamation from Mayor Cooper (to satisfy
Standard 4 — Tree City USA).
The meeting adjourned at 8:00 pm
Respectfully submitted by:
Barbara T'l,�tow
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