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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-11-21-TREE-min Lexington Tree Committee Meeting Minutes November 21, 2024 Via Zoom Attendees: Mark Connor and Pat Moyer, co-chairs, Gerry Paul, Barbara Tarrh, Nancy Sofen, Rachel Summers, Gavin Grant, Alicia Morris,Joe Pato (Select Board), Dave Pinnsonneault (DPW Director), Charles Hornig (Planning Board). 1. Meeting called to order 7:31 am. 2. Minutes of October 101h approved as modified (attached.) 3. Items for Dave Pinsonneault a. 21 Crescent is still open. 124" were removed and will be mitigated according to bylaw. b. Replacements for tilia: 2 sweetgum to be planted at Follen Church and other sites have been found for the tilia that will be removed. DPW will follow up with 2 residents who are not aware they did not receive nyssa. c. New bylaw amendments are being enforced, but builders don't really understand what is needed for tree protection plans. When regulations are approved by SB, more copies of Tree Management Manual will be printed. d. A red maple and dogwood were planted yesterday in front of Cary Hall. e. After solar canopies are installed at the police station, DPW will walk site with police chief and Facilities Director to discuss where more trees might be planted. Mark would like to see something that draws the eye from the communications tower, when approaching from the east along Mass. Ave. There is an open spot near the corner of Woburn and Fletcher that will be planted this fall. Hemlocks near Cary Hall will be removed and once the area is open more trees will be planted there. f. The spring planting list was shared and is attached. g. The updated removals list was shared and is attached. h. One member asked about planting in the space between sidewalk and street. New street trees are not exclusively planted in the private property setback. Dave supports planting public street trees in the strip between the street and sidewalk provided that they meet certain basic conditions including the ability for the tree to survive, clearance from below and above ground utilities and line of site safety issues. Additionally he said that he supports the systematic planting of new street trees as part of road reconstruction projects. He also indicated that town does not need resident permission to plant street trees within the public right of way. Only when space does not allow for trees to be planted on public land does he solicit permission to plant on private property. i. Canopy Assessment update: Marc Valenti continues to reach out to UVM, without success. Cost of requested work would be about $30K, and that cost would at least double if we were to ask someone else to do it. j. Drought impacts: If only 1 year, there may not be any decline in healthy trees, though young trees may be affected. It usually takes a couple of years for impacts to show up in well-established trees, sooner if trees are otherwise stressed. 4. Fall Planting: a. 72 trees have been assigned sites. Of these, 39 are replacements for failed plantings and 33 need to be vetted by Dig Safe. The list of sites has been added to the no-edit shared Drive folder. b. Barbara and Gavin hope to meet with Joel in January about spring planting c. Where possible, there is a practice to replace nearby any street tree that's been removed. 5. Urban Forest Master Plan: The request to the state is in. We will hear if we got the requested $25,000 sometime in February, and plan to implement at the start of the 25- 26 budget cycle. Dave plans to put in a budget request for the matching funds which the grant requires of the town. 6. 2501h: Dave had kindly agreed to order the (specified by us) 250 small native trees (done), and have them delivered after Patriot's Day to the DPW. Forestry will care for them until we distribute. Pat attended a meeting of the 250th organizing committee last night and presented this idea to that group. There was general support, particularly since the committee hopes to keep the celebration going all year. This plan will extend the recognition of the event well into the spring and summer. We have access to the 250 logo (Pat will get from Mr. Michelson), and to advertising (Ashley Rooney plus a hired marketer). Today a small group to plan details of advertising and distribution was formed. It consists of Gavin, Barbara, Nancy, and Pat. 7. Planting in small areas: Pat had asked Rachel to research methods of improving the chance of survival of trees planted in small areas (eg narrow street strips, the right-of- way, etc. Dave was aware of these expensive but possible solutions. They could be used selectively if we wished to have large trees in important street locations. We discussed the DPW preference to plant in the setback (survival benefits). This currently requires homeowner agreement. Someday will we modify the bylaw in certain areas to allow the town to plant at will in people's setbacks? Rachel broached the idea of an experimental Miyawaki forest somewhere. Dave agreed to be open to the idea and to think about possible sites. Such a forest has been planted in Cambridge at Danehy (?) park in Cambridge, near Alewife station. 8. Planning updates: Planning Department has been busy. Many applications for condos/apartments to be built in the 250+ acres zoned by the town in conjunction with the MBTA Communities Act. Abby McCabe continues to send proposals received to Nancy for review, and Nancy makes suggestions, then returns. Bylaw enforcement in these cases is done by the PB, not the Tree Warden. We had questions about how the bylaw is enforced in these situations. Barbara will discuss with PB officials. 9. North Street sidewalk tree removals— no updates 10. There is general enthusiasm in the committee for the saving of a number of trees at the site of the recent police station build. Thank you letters to those involved were briefly discussed and tabled. 11. Hartwell Ave Planning: This is a Statewide project that is slated for 5-6 years from now. Currently the area is pretty devoid of trees, Nancy and Barbara have attended some meetings. The Bedford St. portion is slated to remove some trees; planting in setback would be necessary to replace these. Ross Morrow (sidewalks) has been receptive to TC involvement. The plan includes some 14 foot median strips which could accommodate a number of trees. 12. Bylaw regs: will be brought by Nancy to SB early next month, after approval of which they will be placed in the online and paper Tree Manual, and discussed in more detail with developers. Meeting adjourned at 9:16 AM.