HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-04-11-TREE-minLexington Tree Committee Minutes 4.11.24
1. Meeting called to order at 7:33 AM. Present:
members Gerry Paul, Mark Connor (co-chair), Pat
Moyer (co-chair and minutes), Barbara Tarrh, Gavin
Grant, Nancy Sofen, Jim Wood. Also present: David
Pinsonneault, DPW, Charles Hornig, Charlie Wyman,
Joe Pato (SB representative), Rachel Summers. Abbie
McCabe was a guest from Planning.
2. Minutes of 3.14.24 were accepted unanimously.
3. Ongoing dialogue with Dave P. about items of mutual
concern.
a. Arbor Day will be 4/26 in Antony Park. DPW will
plant a tree. All TC members welcome and
encouraged to attend. Dave asked someone from
the Tree Committee to speak, perhaps about new
bylaw changes, other committee work. Likely
Chris will speak about the setback planting process
and results. Of the 500 tree saplings Dave has
ordered for give-away, he approved our having 50
white oak, 50 hornbeam, 50 redbuds for our own
purposes.
b. The University of Vermont will answer additional
questions we and the town posed about their
canopy study for $15-20K, which money Dave has
approved from next fiscal year budget (ie will be
done after 7/1.)
c. The tree inventory update will be complete by
Forestry staff by 5/1.
Emery Park may not get the 2 Kentucky Coffee trees
after all. The center-charette report suggested more
of a multi function area—leaving more space open.
Quoting from the report:
Emery Park needs attention. It has the potential to be
an
active “people’s place” dedicated to Lexington’s
multiple
publics while being reframed by higher density
housing or
office uses on its east and west sides. Given the
historic
character of the Depot Building, this would have to
be
accomplished with great sensitivity to its special
attributes.
Emery Park: Although Emery Park is a lovely
greenspace, it
could be considered underutilized from the
standpoint of what
the potential utilization could be based upon the
Square’s
location in Lexington’s Center.
o This is particularly true in the winter months when
the
grass and landscaped areas of the park are utilized
significantly less.
o Adding an appropriate amount of additional
hardscape to
Emery Park would offer flexibility for year-round
utilization
and the potential for family-oriented park features to
encourage longer visits in the downtown area.
The Select Board will vote on this 2 weeks hence.
The 3 inch Kentucky coffee trees would be planted
somewhere else if not in Emery Park.
d. Dave will send us the Hazard Trees Removed
report, and the report on spending from the Tree
Fund, tomorrow. Currently the balance is
$328,211. He explained that this money is
earmarked for trees, planting, and after care. Town
Meeting has limited spending to $70K, then $90 K
in the past, this fiscal year the limit is $120K.
e. London plane trees at Diamond planted too closely
by school department: Shawn Newell is talking to
Foti about a move of “some”. (3) this spring.
f. Nancy Sofen pointed to some “mulch volcanoes”
on (?) center streetscape, Dave will inspect.
4. The Tree Committee unanimously supports the
application of Rachel Summers and Alicia Morris to
the committee as associate members. Pat will let the
Select Board secretary know.
5. We reviewed most recent landscape plans for the
development at Meriam and Edgewood with Abby,
planning director. We made recommendations,
which she appreciated. (Nancy Sofen took
recommendations to the Planning Board on the
evening of this meeting and reported:
I will send the statement to the Planning Board
for their records - but before I even spoke (and they
did ask me to speak, so the statement was read
publicly) Gary Larson, the landscape architect,
said that he'd spoken with Abby this afternoon and
that they will comply with all our requests, and listed
what they'd do.
He said that buried stormwater systems prevent
them from planting along Merriam St., but they will
add 2 shade trees at the corner. The numbers of
inches removed and to be planted have changed
and I couldn't follow exactly what happened, but he
stated that they'll make every effort to achieve full
mitigation (and maybe more) through planting, but if
that's not possible payment would be made to the
tree fund.
They haven't yet discussed waiver of the Tree
Bylaw. I'm very happy with this response.
We debated if the Tree Bylaw should be
waived for this project, allowing the Planning Board
oversight of replanting and mitigation payments.
Some committee members wondered about how the
PB enforces its recommendations? Abby: depends
on the experience with the builder; someone from
PB keeps an eye out, neighbors. If bylaw waived,
we called strongly for preservation of large trees,
and (as in recent update to article 34) an arborist be
hired to certify hazard trees and provide tree
protection plan.
6. Articles 33-37 all passed with greater than 90%
support at Town Meeting within the last week.
Dave’s request for an associate director was
approved. We will ask Dave for this person’s job
description. Hearty thanks to Nancy and to all who
worked diligently for months on crafting our articles
34-36.
7. Trees for the 250th celebration. See item 3a above. A
subcommittee of Gavin, Barbara, Rachel and Pat
suggests that we give some of the 150 tree starts to
Harrington graduating fifth graders (Gavin has a
connection there, which he will activate shortly), and
the rest we will give away at Discovery Day in late
May. The DPW will store the items safely until we
need them. We discussed using tree tags..would
DPW fund them? Barbara et al will develop
supporting materials on care of the tree to be
handed out with each tree. There may also be an
interactive on line “let us know how your tree is
doing” with pictures set up.
8. Nancy reported from the Tree Manual revision
group. The large shade tree list (prepared for
developers) has been updated. Upcoming topics: the
general recommended tree list, and then regulations
which will govern implementation of the bylaw
revisions just passed.
9. Bylaw working group discussion. We briefly
discussed a recent adoption of Dan Miller’s
recommendation to require changes to tree action
occurring after submission of the original plot plan
during construction to be submitted in a timely
fashion to the tree warden. Gerry and others
pointed out that currently, comparing the as-built
plot plan with the original should yield a correct
count of trees needing mitigation. Mark noted that
Dan was “very convincing, in his desire to update
while work in progress. The new enforcement officer,
belonging to Police, mostly is there to enforce noise
ordinances.
10. Discussion of landscape plans for new LHS. The
town has an Integrated Design and Construction
Policy. Aspects of its sway can be waived in individual
circumstances by the Select Board. Town owned
trees are subject to section 7. Our recent bylaw
updates do not touch those regulations. We
discussed how to have the most input to the project.
Members and Dave area already attending the initial
meetings. We are particularly concerned about size
of parking lot, the wooded knoll next to the current
field house (“Keep it!”). Mark stressed that the
overall concept might be that we are placing “a large
building in a park”. Rachel will inventory trees on the
knoll and attempt to quantify their value.
11. Gerry and Nancy reported on the March 28 tree
hearing on Pleasant Street sidewalk and roundabout
construction. It still is not clear that this was a
formal hearing (no one from Forestry was present).
However, Ross Morrow from Engineering did agree
to keep the trees whose removal was objected to by
those attending, and agreed to involve the Tree
Committee in tree selection for replanting on land
adjacent to the roundabout.
12. The trees at Emery Park were discussed. The
Town is considerinf leaving the spot where the two
elms had stood, free of trees. In a unanimous vote
the Committee agreed that those two trees be
replaved. Mark Connor will advocate for that WITH
the powers that be.
We adjourned at 9:55 AM.
Patricia Moyer, co-chair