2012-03-08 Tree Board MinutesCity of Edmonds
Citizen Tree Board
Minutes
March 8, 2012
Members present: John Botton, Steve Hatzenbeler, Anna -Marie Heckman, Susan Paine,
Sandy Seligmiller, Laura Spehar, Rebecca Wolfe
Members Absent: none
Staff Present: Planner Kernen Lien, Arborist Dave Timbrook, Edmonds City Council member
Joan Bloom
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm by Anna -Marie Heckman.
The February 2012 minutes were approved with no corrections.
Three newly appointed Tree Board Members were welcomed: Steve Hatzenbeler,
Susan Paine, and Rebecca Wolfe.
There were no public attendees.
Mark Phillips, Consulting Arborist, and Michael Woodbury gave a presentation on the process
the city of Lake Forest Park went through to develop a Community Forest Management Plan
and to update their tree ordinances.The city formed its first Task Force from 2008-2006 to
address concerns about tree loss and to revise the existing tree ordinances. Public meetings
were held and a report issued. A second Task Force was formed in 2009 to provide a broader
perspective and they completed a Community Forest Management Plan in 2010.
A main concept established by the first Task Force was one-to-one replacement of removed
trees. Their proposed plan was based on tree density on a given lot. The firm Jones and Jones
volunteered their expertise and, using King County maps, GIS info, and 2004 aerial maps, they
determined an estimated forest canopy of 43%. This method provided no data about the forest
make-up itself, just 2-D views of coverage.
The second Task Force determined that a better understanding of the extent of the existing
canopy was needed to set a reference point and to gauge the effectiveness of any tree
ordinances. Any goals and policies should be toward sustaining the current canopy coverage
percentage, rather than simply rewriting codes. They adopted a general plan, the Community
Forest Management Plan, to be further updated later, determining that establishing this basis
was necessary to set current and future goals. The Community Forest Management Plan
uses American Forests designations of Urban, Suburban, and Industrial, and lot size, to
determine desirable canopy coverage recommendations. The Community Forest
Management Plan also includes extensive educational information about the value and
maintenance of trees.
Recently, Lake Forest Park conducted a ground -based canopy survey using the iTree
process of inventory and assessment. Mark Phillips, Consulting Arborist, volunteered to lead
groups of volunteers in a city-wide sampling of 115 random plots of 1/10 acre each, to gather
very specific data on tree species and numbers. This information was sent to the USDA
Forest Service for analysis. The project was funded through a Department of Natural
Resources Community Forests Grant of $10,000. There was significant design time, and it
took about 3 months to complete the data collection.
A copy of the City of Lake Forest Park Community Forest Management Plan can be found at:
http://www.cityoflfp.com/index.aspx?nid=163
Unfinished business:
Introductions and brief biographies of all new and old Board members and attending staff
were made to integrate the new members.
Copies of the application packet from last year for Tree City USA status were handed out to
the new members to bring them up-to-date. These included copies of all existing city tree
ordinances and other pertinent information.
Anna discussed email etiquette, and some roles still needing to be filled including Co -Chair
and Arbor Day Lead. She talked about our Edmonds Arbor Day being in October rather than
April, as it is the best time in our part of the country to plant new trees.
At the next meeting in April, Linden Mead from Washington Department of Natural Resources
is coming to present the Tree City USA award. It was decided that we would receive it as
a Board, and have time to ask Linden questions pertaining to tree board issues while she is
available to us. Then we will arrange to present of the Award to the City of Edmonds at a City
Council meeting.
In May and June, the various city departments with tree maintenance issues will be
presenting information about their tree -related concerns to the Board.
New Business:
Anna spoke about the Community Tree Management Institute program that both she
and Sandy Seligmiller were accepted to in February, and began on March 6 and 7. It's an
intensive training opportunity which lasts through the summer with online study, a community
project, and a final 3-day meeting in October. It's offered every few years by Oregon
Department of Forestry and the Washington Department of Natural Resources in cooperation
with Oregon Community Trees, Oregon State University, and the USDA Forest Service.
The curriculum is specifically tailored to the needs of municipal parks, planning, or public
works employees who have tree related responsibilities in their city. The purpose is to provide
participants with the necessary or additional education, leadership focus, and skills to carry out
these responsibilities in a more efficient and effective manner.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted by:
Sandy Seligmiller
March 18, 2012