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URBAN FORESTRY COUNCIL LANDMARK TREE AD HOC COMMITTEE SPECIAL MEETING APPROVED MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, April 12, 2011, 5:15 p.m. City Hall, Room 421
One Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place San Francisco, CA
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Malcolm Hillan (Chair), Larry Costello, Rose Hillson, Kelaine Vargas
Order of Business
1. Call to Order and Roll Call. The Landmark Tree Ad Hoc Committee meeting convened at 5:40 p.m. Chair D’Agostino appointed herself as an interim member for this Committee meeting. Present: Chair Hillan (5:44 p.m.), Members Costello (6:16 p.m.), Hillson and Vargas.
2. Approval of Minutes of the March 8, 2011 Urban Forestry Council Landmark Tree Committee Special Meeting (Explanatory Document: March 8, 2011 Draft and Approved Minutes) (Discussion and Action). Upon Motion by Member Hillson, second by Member Vargas the March 8, 2011 Draft Minutes were approved without objection (AYES: Members D’Agostino, Hillson and Vargas; Absent: Members Costello and Hillan). Note: Ms. Fish, Council Secretary, corrected the agenda language to “Special Meeting” instead of “Regular Meeting.”
3. Public Comment: Members of the public may address the Committee on matters that are within the Committee’s jurisdiction and are not on today’s agenda. There was no public comment at this time.
4. Amendments to the Landmark Tree Ordinance. Committee Members will discuss proposed amendments to the Landmark Tree Ordinance and make recommendations to the full Council. (Continued from the March 8, 2011 Meeting) (Explanatory Documents: Landmark Grove Definition and Criteria Edits and Draft Nomination Form Edits; Landmark Grove Definition and Criteria and Nomination Form Edits as Amended in April 12 Committee) (Discussion and Action)
Member Vargas explained that the current version of the Landmark Tree Ordinance allows for landmark designation of a single tree. The Landmark Tree Committee is interested in emphasizing the ecological interaction of trees in addition to their individual value and will be recommending amendments to the Ordinance to allow for landmarking groups/groves of trees. She presented edits to the proposed landmark grove definition and designation criteria for landmarking groves of trees (as amended from the March 8, 2011 meeting) for Committee discussion. Committee members reviewed and provided their comments to the grove definition and designation criteria and agreed to additional edits. Council Coordinator Hui reported that she would pursue legal review of the language with Department of Public Works legal counsel. She reported that the Council does not presently have funding available for legal review, but that the Department of the Environment would be willing to contribute to this effort in the new fiscal year if the Department of Public Works legal counsel is not available to do so. Another option would be to request a Board of Supervisors member who has access to legal staff sponsor the amendment.
Committee Members provided comments on the Landmark Tree Nomination Form. The Nomination Form and Definition/Designation Criteria would be forwarded to the Council for review at its May 27 meeting. This agenda item was continued to the June 14, 2011 Landmark Tree Committee meeting to discuss Council feedback and to establish a management framework for landmark groves.
Public Comment
Ms. Jocelyn Cohen stated that several of the terms in the designation criteria are not part of the lexicon of old historical trees and recommended different terms be used, e.g., notable instead of exceptional. She stated that many of these terms such as “exceptional”, “exemplary”, and “extraordinary quality” would put limitations on what the Council can do. She suggested additional edits to the text to say “is of exceptional value to the ecology of the urban forest” instead of “the city”. Additional comments were provided on the Landmark Tree Nomination Form.
Mr. James Scheid, Urban Forester, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, commented on edits to the proposed definition and designation criteria.
5. Tree of the Month Campaign. The Committee will discuss program planning for the Tree of the Month campaign and make recommendations to the full Council. (Discussion and Possible Action)
Committee Members and Council Coordinator Hui discussed whether the Tree of the Month Campaign would be better served by the Planning and Funding Committee since the Landmark Tree is an Ad Hoc Committee that does not always meet on a monthly basis. This agenda item was referred to the Planning and Funding Committee for review at its April 21 meeting.
6. New Business/Future Agenda Items. (Information and Discussion) Council Coordinator Hui reported that three nominations for landmark trees have been received and are scheduled for review at the Landmark Tree Committee’s May 10th meeting. Information on the procedure for tree review will be forwarded to Committee members. Member D’Agostino discussed her considerations for appointing new Committee members. She stated that she would sit in as a temporary member until new appointments have been made.
7. Public Comment: Members of the public may address the Committee on matters that are within the Committee’s jurisdiction and are not on today’s agenda. There was no public comment at this time.
8. Adjournment. The Urban Forestry Council meeting adjourned at 7:39 p.m.
Copies of explanatory documents are available to the public at (1) the Department of the Environment, 11 Grove Street, San Francisco, California between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., (2) or when possible, on the Landmark Tree Committee webpage https://sites.google.com/a/sfenvironment.org/commission/urban-forestry-council/landmark-tree-committee, (3) upon request to the Council Secretary at the above address or telephone number 415-355-3709, or via e-mail at [email protected].
Approved: May 10, 2011
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