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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-11-18-TREE-min RECEIVED 2021 d IIP°) , 1 A9 pui °i Lexington Tree Committee TOWN CLERK Meeting Minutes of November 18, 2021 LEXINGTON MA 7:30 am via ZOOM Present: Members Gerry Paul (chair), Mark Connor(co-chair), Jim Wood, Gloria Bloom, Pat Moyer, Marty Kvaal, Nancy Sofen, Mark Sandeen (Select Board liaison). DPW staff Dave Pinsonneault, Marc Valenti. Guests Charlie Wyman, Rick Reibstein, Shannon Murtagh, Barbara Tarrh. Nancy Sofen was appointed scribe. Minutes of September 19 and October 14 (as amended) were approved. Forestry Division Updates: 1. Fall planting underway by Foti Tree Service. DPW researched available stock before contract awarded, so planting could begin promptly. 2. Draft report of the Tree Inventory is expected in December, for review by Town staff. 3. UVM is still trying to get 2021 LIDAR data to complete canopy survey. 4. Chris is finalizing planting list for Battle Green trees. Tree Committee will see this before the Select Board votes on it at their Dec 20th meeting. 5. Tree removal permit application on Viewpoint Cloud is almost complete. Project is being closed out by Tim Goncalves. Dave P will talk to Tim to see whether Tree Committee members can see the pages before application goes live. It will show more information than just cover sheet and plot plan. 6. Tree Warden's meeting with builders: requirements were made clear and builders were receptive. 7. Tree Bylaw activity: Some demolitions have been held up because plot plans were problematic, with bylaw requirements not met. Marc V did not know whether any builders have submitted applications in table format. 8. Tree of Heaven removal tree hearing request at 30 Ingleside: person who coordinates tree hearing is out, so it won't happen until Jan or Feb. DPW asks that implementation of waivers when removing ailanthus be consistent. The committee will take this up later in meeting (see 412). Removal of trees in ROW on Cedarwood Terrace: 9. It is the practice of the town that they do not regard trees on unaccepted streets to be Town or Public Shade trees. The Tree Bylaw says that the bylaw applies to trees on unaccepted streets. The committee voted unanimously to ask Town Counsel and Town Manager for legal clarification. Removal of trees on Bowman School property by Eversource: 10. The Conservation Commission is taking action against Eversource, who removed 18 trees without permission when they were supposed to remove bittersweet vines that were growing on those trees and into wires. The Tree Committee asks that mitigation for these trees be required of Eversource. Gerry will wait until Monday (Nov 22) for a response from the Town Manager, then will send the Tree Committee position and ask Town Counsel for an opinion. Shannon Murtagh introduction 11. Shannon has researched sugar maple varieties and found two that show good survival rates. Ailanthus at 30 Ingleside Road 12. The attached letter to the Select Board in support of Julie Sibert's request for waiver of appraisal and payment of appraised value for removal of invasive ailanthus trees in the ROW was approved by a vote of 6-1. Research shows that in New England, this tree's worst trait is how easily it propagates; this species is sufficiently problematic that it should be removed rather than managed. It was suggested that footnotes and citations be added to the letter. The committee encourages the Town to work with the homeowner to plant replacement trees in the ROW at the appropriate time. Tree Bylaw 13. Discussion of what might be next changes to the Tree Bylaw in 2023, as there is no energy to prepare for 2022 ATM so soon after implementation of 2021 changes a. Licensing tree removal companies to operate in Lexington and requiring that they report tree removals would provide information about what is being cut on private land, and a record to facilitate lookbacks should a developer cut trees before applying for a demolition permit. It would not prevent removals. There is precedent(paving companies). This would have to be brought to the Select Board by the DPW, so the committee should talk to the DPW about this at our next meeting. b. Change to 2-year lookback? We don't know how or how often 1-year lookback is enforced. John Frey Memorial 14. A monument was place in Tower Park by the DPW on Nov 7, and will be dedicated in June 2022. The committee thanks Jim Wood, Anne Senning and George Gagliardi for shepherding this. 5G 15. Regulations go to the Select Board in a few days; Gerry says that there are good tree protections. Lexington Living Landscapes 16. Charlie envisions three online Cary lectures: a report by UVM on the Canopy Assessment, a talk about the value of trees in a public setting, and one instructing residents on how to care for their trees. He seeks candidates to give these lectures, and was pointed to Arnold Arboretum for references. Other ideas might include an overview of the Tree Bylaw, including measured outcomes of its impact, if available. Sustainable Landscape Guidelines 17. The guidelines developed for the Hartwell Innovation Park have been largely adopted by the Planning Board for their Special Permit and Site Plan Review regulations. The section on trees was not adopted; the Tree Bylaw applies but no more. Permanent Building Committee 18. Nancy and Charlie hope to tweak the above regulations and present them to the Permanent Building Committee for adoption on a trial basis for the new police station. Planning Board 19. Marty reports that the PB is mainly focused on fall Town Meeting. Tiny Trees 20. Mark C proposes a beta site with one neighborhood in spring 2022. Other Outreach 21. We would like to institutionalize our presence at certain events (Discovery Day, East Village Fair, etc.). Marry will keep track of events and give the group notice of what's coming up. She also wants to develop a trifold brochure about the Tree Committee. She'll provide content and Nancy will help with formatting. Respecfully submitted, Nancy Sofen Attachment: Tree of Heaven waiver Dear Select Board, The Tree Committee supports the petition of Julie Sibert of 30 Ingleside Road for a waiver of the requirement that she obtain an appraisal of several Ailanthus trees to be removed in the right of way on the east side of her property, and for a waiver of the requirement that she pay to the Town the appraised value of those trees. Ailanthus altissima (Tree of Heaven) is a noxious invasive tree that is not just a nuisance but causes significant harm to its local environment and wider surroundings. It grows extremely rapidly and spreads both clonally with new trees growing from its roots and by prolific seed production. Unlike Norway Maple, whose seedlings can be killed by repeated cutting, simple cutting promotes vigorous stump and root sprouting in Ailanthus and can contribute to a spreading thicket. Tree-of-heaven produces allelopathic chemicals in its leaves, roots, and bark that can limit or prevent the establishment of other plants. Successful eradication of these trees requires a complex series of repeated cutting coupled with herbicide applications. Few contractors do this work, and it is expensive. Worse, Ailanthus is the favored host for spotted lanternfly, a pest that causes catastrophic damage to agricultural and landscape plantings. The first breeding population of spotted lanternfly in the state was recently found in Fitchburg and sightings have been confirmed in Woburn, Concord, and Billerica. Lexington has no policy or practice of removing these trees on its public properties or rights of way. That Ms. Sibert is willing to do so, at considerable personal expense, is a service to the Town and her neighbors, particularly to Seasons Four and Site One, the landscape retailer and wholesaler whose property abuts hers. She has researched the necessary methods and identified reputable contractors to do the work. This is a situation that we did not foresee when the Tree Bylaw was recently amended to require payment of the appraised value for removal of a Town shade tree. The specified appraisal method assigns a prorated but still positive (20%) multiplier value to this tree species, but it is the Tree Committee's opinion that this species has no redeeming qualities and is in fact a menace. It is not in the Town's best interest that Ms. Sibert be required to pay an appraised value of the removed trees. We ask that you vote to waive payment of the appraised value for removal of the Ailanthus trees in the right-of-way at 30 Ingleside Road, and that the requirement for an appraisal also be waived. Furthermore, the Tree Committee asks that the Select Board or its designee extend this same consideration to any resident who, in the opinion of the Tree Warden, has a responsible plan to eradicate Ailanthus altissima in the right-of-way abutting their property. The Lexington Tree Committee Gerry Paul (Chair), Mark Connor (Co-chair), Gloria Bloom, Marty Kvaal, Pat Moyer, Nancy Sofen, Jim Wood