CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO

DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

URBAN FORESTRY COUNCIL 

PLANNING & FUNDING COMMITTEE

 

REGULAR MEETING

APPROVED MINUTES

 

Thursday, February 17, 2011, 4:15 p.m.

 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  Chris Buck (Chair), Maria D’Agostino, Terry Milne, Bonnie Ora Sherk, Daniel Sider

 

Order of Business

 

1.      Call to Order and Roll Call.  The Urban Forestry Council Planning and Funding Committee meeting convened at 4:28 p.m.  Present:  Committee Members Buck, D’Agostino, Milne, Sherk, and Sider.

 

2.      Approval of Minutes of the January 20, 2011 Urban Forestry Council Planning and Funding Committee Regular Meeting. (Explanatory Document: January 20, 2011 Draft and Approved Minutes) (Discussion and Action)  Upon Motion by Member Milne, second by Member D’Agostino, the January 20, 2011 Draft Minutes were approved without objection (AYES:  Members Buck, D’Agostino, and Milne; Absent:  Members Sherk and Sider).

 

3.      Public Comments:  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 were no members of the public present at this time.

 

Item 6 was heard before Item 4.

 

Council Coordinator Hui reported that feedback was received from several Council members and Friends of the Urban Forest on the Recommended Street Tree List; however, a Work Group was not formed.  Committee members discussed next steps (1) add additional information to the list, e.g., site selection criteria, a better disclaimer, glossary, and cultural attributes; (2) consult with Friends of the Urban Forest on trees that were planted within the past five years; (3) Council Coordinator to schedule a meeting with Ms. Short and Chair Buck of the Department of Public Works and Friends of the Urban Forest to review Friends of the Urban Forest, Department of Public Works, and Urban Forestry Council lists and unify the three lists as one list that all three agencies would adopt; (4) create additional lists such as a native open space planting list; and (5) publicize the list on the web and at nurseries.  Members were asked to send additional suggestions to review in Committee. This agenda item was continued to the March 17, 2011 Planning and Funding Committee meeting.  

 

5.      Tree of the Month Campaign. The Committee discussed program planning for the Tree of the Month campaign and will make recommendations to the full Council. (Discussion and Possible Action)

 

Council Coordinator Hui reported that she had met with the Department of the Environment’s Outreach team to discuss potential Tree of the Month programs and the best way to publicize the program. Ideas that were discussed included identifying education opportunities and a submission program to pick the best tree.  An effective plan for the first year of the program would be for the Council to create a matrix of tree selection criteria and for members to sign up for a month of the year, submit tree images with five to ten sentences describing the tree that would include information on tree species, scientific name, and location.  The submission would be added to the Department of the Environment’s newsletter and when the newsletter is archived on the website, it could be “tweeted” and put on the Facebook page.  A Facebook photo album with a short descriptive in the title area could be created. If the program is successful, it could be included in the website redesign process as part of a page on the new website. 

 

This program would present an educational opportunity that would show examples of proper pruning.  A discussion was held on sending tree submissions to other groups to publicize in their newsletter and email lists and asking them to participate in the program. It was suggested that there be media coverage on the Tree of the Month campaign that would include a blog created by the Department. Council Coordinator Hui proposed that the program be launched on Earth Day.  This agenda item would be scheduled for discussion at the next Urban Forestry Council meeting in March.

 

6.      Improper Pruning and Unpermitted Tree Removal. The Committee discussed ways to outreach to the Police Department regarding how to respond to improper pruning and un-permitted removal of public trees. (Discussion and Possible Action)

 

Committee Members discussed how to outreach to the Police Department to help enforce the Ordinance and provide them with the required education on proper and improper pruning practices.  A discussion was held about the feasibility of Council Members attending neighborhood meetings held at police stations to educate and inform people on this issue and for a Police member to attend a Council meeting for a discussion.  Chair Buck reported that the Department of Public Works (DPW) has seen improvements in Police Department responses in the past year or two.  He stated that he would speak to the DPW Director and Ms. Short about issues to address.  This agenda item was continued to the March 17, 2011 Planning and Funding Committee meeting.

 

7.      New Business/Future Agenda Items. (Discussion) Member Sherk suggested that the Committee request a report from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission on how their watershed planning would support urban forestry activities in San Francisco.  Member D’Agostino suggested a discussion on the process of how an idea presented by a Council member would turn into a Resolution or action.  She suggested creating a process flowchart.

 

8.      Public Comments:  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 were no members of the public present at this time.

 

9.      Adjournment.  The Urban Forestry Council Meeting adjourned at 5:59 p.m.

 

The next Planning and Funding Committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 17, 2011 at 4:15 p.m., City Hall, Room 421.

 

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 attachments 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 above, telephone number 415-355-3709, or via e-mail at [email protected].

 

Respectfully submitted by,

Monica Fish, Council Secretary

 

Approved:  March 17, 2011