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City and County of San Francisco DEpartment of the ENvironment URBAN FORESTRY COUNCILPLANNING & FUNDING COMMITTEEREGULAR MEETINGAPPROVED MINUTES
Thursday, April 15, 2010, 4:15 p.m. City Hall, Room 421, One Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place San Francisco, CA 94102
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Chris Buck (Chair), Naomi LeBeau, Terry Milne, Bonnie Ora Sherk
Order of Business
1. Call to Order and Roll Call. The Planning and Funding Committee convened at 4:16 p.m. Present: Chair Buck, Members LeBeau and Milne; Absent: Member Sherk. Council Members D’Agostino and Hillson and Council Coordinator Hui were in attendance.
2. Approval of Minutes of the February 18, 2010 Urban Forestry Council Planning and Funding Committee Regular Meeting. (Explanatory Documents: February 18, 2010 Draft and Approved Meeting Minutes) (Discussion and Action) Upon Motion by Member Milne and second by Chair Buck, the February 18, 2010 Meeting Minutes were approved without objection (AYES: Chair Buck, Members Milne and LeBeau; Absent: Member Sherk)
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. Development and Trees. The Committee will review and discuss tree disclosure and protection requirements when developing near protected trees as it relates to the tree protection zone described for Landmark and Significant trees and prepare a Draft Resolution for recommendation to the full Council. (Continued Discussion from the February 18, 2010 Meeting) (Discussion and Possible Action)
Committee Chair Buck presented The Planning Department’s Tree Disclosure Statement and Article 16 of the Public Works Code for review of this topic (see explanatory documents). Member Rodgers, Planning Department Representative would be asked to discuss the process for amending the Planning Department’s Tree Disclosure Statement. Committee Chair Buck suggested that the Tree Disclosure Statement be amended on page 2, Section B Landmark Trees, so that it would state “trees on adjacent property” instead of “trees on adjacent property overhanging the project site” as the form currently reads. Ms. Hui inquired whether this change would require an amendment to Article 16 Urban Forestry Ordinance in which case the Council would have to prepare a Resolution to recommend to the Board of Supervisors to make this change. Council Member Hillson discussed her concern with (1) the Department of Building Inspection booklet, the Tree Disclosure Statement, and Article 16, Section 808© references to work done within the drip-line of a tree, and (2) projects where permits are not required. She stated that developers or others should be required to fill out the Tree Disclosure Statement even if a permit is not required for construction.
Discussion of amendments to the Tree Disclosure Statement was forwarded to the full Council to consider at their May 28th meeting. Council Member Rodgers would be asked to clarify the Planning Department’s/Zoning Administrator’s process for protection of landmark trees (Article 16, page 11, Section 5(e).) This agenda item was also continued to the Planning and Funding Committee meeting of May 20, 2010 to discuss tree protection zones. Discussion on this matter followed.
5. Greening of Lots where Development is on Hold. (Continued Discussion from the February 18, 2010 Meeting) (Informational Report and Discussion) Council Coordinator Hui reported that Permaculture Guild staff was not available to attend this meeting because it is held on a workday. She stated that she attended a presentation at SPUR about different projects that are using lots. The Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development is working on pilot projects and legislation for the City to serve as an intermediary between private property owners and people who may be interested in doing temporary use applications of the site. Members LeBeau and Milne suggested that groups that are working toward this effort attend a future meeting to request the Council’s support for a resolution.
Council Coordinator Hui and Committee Chair Buck would work together to draft a resolution of support for greening of lots where development is on hold that emphasizes urban forestry projects and/or permaculture for review at the May 20th Planning & Funding Committee. Committee Members were asked to send their ideas so they could be incorporated into this Resolution. .
6. Urban Forestry Council Strategic Planning and Scheduling of a Part 2 Retreat Meeting for recommendation to the full Council to consider at their February 23, 2010 meeting. (Continued Discussion from the February 18, 2010 Meeting) (Discussion and Action)
Council Coordinator Hui reported that June 2 was a potential meeting date for the Council’s next strategic planning session that would be held at the Department of Human Resources Office from approximately 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. She reported that she would be meeting on April 26 with the facilitator who has offered one hour of free facilitation to discuss the agenda, schedule, and previous meeting discussions. Ms. Hui suggested that the meeting include (1) review of the previous strategic planning session, (2) Council discussion, (3) facilitation of discussion; and (4) Council discussion. Ms. Hui would forward venue information to the Council members after her meeting with the facilitator. She reported that a special 15-day meeting notice would be required, and that the meeting would be open to the public. This agenda item was forwarded to the full Council for discussion and action at their May 28th meeting.
Items 7 and 8 were heard together.
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.
8. New Business/Future Agenda Items. (Discussion) Council Member D’Agostino requested a future discussion of the Department of Public Work’s potential relinquishment of tree maintenance to property owners. Committee Chair Buck reported that the Department of Public Works has asked their Urban Forester to review how this would work programmatically. Committee Member Milne suggested inviting Friends of the Urban Forest, Alemany Farm, or West of Twin Peaks Homeowners Association for discussion of this topic so that the Council could potentially create a Resolution taking a position. Council Coordinator Hui suggested inviting Carla Short of the Bureau of Urban Forestry to a future meeting to provide additional information.
Committee Chair Buck suggested including a funding discussion at the next Planning and Funding Committee meeting on the potential effects on the quality of the urban forest if tree maintenance were to be relinquished to private property owners. Additional discussions could include the current budget deficit, funding for the urban forest, and subsequent effects. Council Coordinator Hui stated that she has issued a request for information for budgets and programming for the Annual Urban Forest Report at the end of June and described the schedule for issuance of the report in September. She suggested adding funding questions to the survey “How do you expect your future programming to be affected by the budget deficit? How was it affected this year and how do you expect it to be affected next year?”
9. Adjournment. The Planning and Funding Committee meeting adjourned at 5:42 p.m.
Copies of explanatory documents are available to the public at the Department of Environment, 11 Grove Street, San Francisco, California between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., by clicking on the links with each meeting minutes posted online https://sites.google.com/a/sfenvironment.org/commission/urban-forestry-council/planning-funding-committee, or upon request to the Council Secretary at the address listed below, telephone number 415-355-3709, or via e-mail at [email protected].
Respectfully submitted by, Monica Fish, Council Secretary
*Approved: May 20, 2010 |
