2012-09-06 Tree Board MinutesCity of Edmonds
Citizen Tree Board
Approved Meeting Summary Minutes
September 6, 2012
The meeting was called to order at 6:11 p.m. by Anna -Marie Heckman, Chair.
Members present: John Botton, Steve Hatzenbeler, Anna -Marie Heckman, Susan Paine,
Sandy Seligmiller, Rebecca Wolfe
Members absent: Laura Spehar, resigned.
Staff present: Dave Timbrook
City Council Liaison present: Joan Bloom
Public attendees: none
The July 2012 minutes were approved with minor corrections. The August 2, 2012 minutes were
approved with no corrections.
Anna mentioned Laura's recent resignation from the Board to focus on her new full-time job. The call for a
replacement is forthcoming. Four other Board members (Anna, John, Sandy and Steve) are reaching the
end of their initial terms in December, and need to consider whether to apply to the City Council for
another (4-year) term.
Unfinished business:
Anna described her Canopy Assessment project for the CTMI course, and her intention to have it in a
form to present to City Council along with the Board's `End of Year' report. In addition to this, she
suggested we create a list of our recommendations as Tree Board for the city of Edmonds, to also be
presented at that time. Sandy's Heritage Tree Program project was briefly described and will also be
presented.
Anna would like to see `3 key things' as our recommendations to Council, along with an order of their
importance. Some possible recommendations mentioned include:
hiring someone do a street tree inventory
what the city can do to improve the canopy, where to start, information to back it up, timeframe
what staff resources are needed
iTree values assessment including stormwater
obtain grants, ie: for outside consultant on code issues and urban forestry management plan
An initial tree canopy assessment is deemed critical to knowing where we are before setting goals and
creating tree management policies for the future. Using existing aerial photos, Anna estimates Edmonds
current tree canopy cover at about 27%. There was a discussion of various canopy cover goals and
percentages in surrounding cities. A 1998 American Forests study using Landsat satellite photos created
canopy goal recommendations in the Puget Sound region. These were: 40% tree canopy overall
(including `wild' spaces), 50% in suburban residential, 25% in urban residential, and 15% in business
districts. Areas with low tree cover (less than 20%) more than doubled, from 25% to 57%, between 1972
and 1998. Various other topics were discussed including heat island effects and silva cells.
Tree code issues discussed included the need for incentives for developers to comply, such as economic
benefits. Steve suggested the possibility of having an "adopted policy" approach as a way to improve
canopy cover, for example planting X number of trees on public lands in a period of time without code
modification, while code revisions are in process. Dave mentioned the Parks Department's history of
planting as many new trees as possible over the years. Questions were asked about Highway 99
redevelopments in Edmonds not utilizing trees, in comparison to the new area through Shoreline.
Differences in funding sources were mentioned, such as a business district tax versus state monies, also
maintenance costs. The need to include trees as an essential component of future concept planning was
stated. If a recommendation is made for a 15% canopy cover in business districts, then there will be a
mandate to follow.
Arbor Day planning was discussed. We decided on a booth at the last Farmer's Market on Saturday,
October 6. Information about the Canopy Assessment and Heritage Tree projects may be introduced to
the public as upcoming possibilities, since they are not yet approved by Council. Hopefully we will have a
tent, table and electricity via Parks, laptops available, and informative handouts. Suggested offerings: tree
identification, definitions of significant/heritage/champion tree categories, TreeCity USA signage, pruning
tips. We will bring materials to the October 4 meeting for a trial run. Susan volunteered to write something
for publicity.
New Business:
Anna recently attended the ISA (International Association of Arborists) conference in Portland, and has a
CD available.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:51 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by:
Sandy Seligmiller