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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-02-11-TREE-min Minutes of the Lexington Tree Committee February 11, 2021 Held virtually via Zoom Present: Gerry Paul (chair),Jim Wood, Gloria Bloom, Mark Connor, Nancy Sofen, Pat Moyer, Marty Kvaal, Mark Sandeen (Select Board), Chris Filadoro (Tree Warden), Marc Valenti (DPW Manager of Operations) Guests: Rick Reibstein, Charlie Wyman, Marcia Gens (all from Sustainable Lexington Committee) The meeting was called to order at 7:33 am. The minutes of the meetings on January 7 and January 15 were approved. Tree Warden Updates -Chris Filadoro and Marc Valenti - 2020 fall tree planting report will be sent to Gerry. - Tree inventory: two RFQs have been received; one is in question and is being reviewed. - Postings for public hearings on Center Streetscape plantings coming shortly. Expect to transplant about 12 trees. - Spring 2021 planting: planning underway - Tree Canopy Assessment: a proposal from University of Vermont is expected shortly. Tree Management Manual—Nancy Sofen - Select Board has approved the revised Manual. - We will have 100 copies printed by Wales. The town will post the Manual on the Tree Committee website. Hartwell Innovation Park- Rezoning Amendment- Nancy Sofen and Charlie Wyman - The amendment,to be offered at the spring Town Meeting, contains several provisions for sustainable landscaping practices. - The Planning Board has stressed the importance of sustainable practices and wants the support of the Tree Committee. - Agreed on the importance that a variety of trees be planted. - Agreed to explore with Planning Board the role they envision for the Tree Committee in these provisions. - Agreed unanimously to support the landscaping provisions (Sofen 1St; Paul 2nd) as outlined below. Current draft of paragraph 6: 6. Landscaping and Stormwater a. Projects within the C-HIP shall incorporate sustainable landscaping practices in their design,construction,operation and maintenance.Such projects shall be designed to meet the requirements to demonstrate ceftifiability at the Gold level using the SITES Q rating system,as outlined by Green Business Certification,Inc., and to meet other sustainable landscaping requirements laid out in the Planning Board Zoning Regulations. b. Shade trees shall be installed one(1)every twenty(20)to thirty(30)feet between the ROW and a building.Said trees shall be a minimum three(3)inch caliper(PD.Trees shall be selected from Section V.B List of Recommended Trees of the Lexington Tree Manual. c. Native and native hybrid trees that are six(6)inch DBH or greater that are removed shall be replaced within the C-HIP District or mitigated.Mitigation for trees lost that cannot be saved or replaced within the C-HIP District shall be mitigated per 120-81 Mitigation of the General Bylaws,or per the Section,IVC Donating Trees to the Town as per the Lexington Tree Manual,as amended. d. [froth Ruth:Stonnivater management.1)town standards apply,even if the project does not meet the acre threshold;2)bemeen town mid wetlands stormwater rules,the stricter one applies;3)long term groundwater monitoring is strongly encouraged using piezometers;4)nature-based systems are preferred to hardscape systems.] Positions on Non-Tree Committee Articles - The Committee concluded that the Town Meeting warrant will contain no articles appropriate for our comment. Support of Other Boards/Committees for the warrant articles offered by the Tree Committee - Committee members have had several meetings with the Planning Board and the Select Board to discuss the three warrant articles to be offered by the Tree Committee at the spring Town Meeting.The Boards offered some suggestions and were generally supportive. - Meeting with the town's Sustainability Committee will be February 23rd. 2021 Tree Committee Town Meeting Warrant Articles - Committee voted in favor of the 3 articles (see motions below) as follows: Article 32: (Paul, V; Connor, 2nd) unanimous Article 34: (Sofen, V; Paul, 2nd) unanimous Article 33: to be divided into 2 parts 33A(contains a, b, c, e) (Paul,l"; Connor, 2nd) unanimous 33B (contains d) (Paul, V; Moyer, 2nd) vote: 6 yes— I present - Major points of discussion: - Is documentation necessary for all trees on a site? (Charles Hornig, Planning Board) - How will we implement the permitting system? Will applicants know how to do it? - On Article 33b: Committee decided on a threshold of 12 inches. Suggestion: include a diagram showing how to measure. Expect some resistance on this provision. Safety issues should be emphasized. - Tree Committee needs to do extensive outreach and public education - Public Education plans - Town-wide public information session/hearing - Presentation at the annual Town Meeting members' information session - Email to town meeting members - Brief every major town committee - Tree Committee and Friends of Trees Committee websites - Alert conservation/climate groups in town (Marcia Gens) - Prepare for distribution a one-pager for each article: what,why, benefits. - Lexington Conservation Commission survey of candidates'views on Tree Bylaw amendments https://drive.google.com/file/d/lFfOimStVjbmhllpgVhHj9-_GQDfT9JTE/view - Videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUbNdeDiWOQ Priorities for 2021 - A tree planting initiative to supplement the town's efforts; a visible action item. Do set-back plantings in neighborhoods and at schools. Make the plantings into public events.The town's Communications Officer may help with videos. (Mark Connor) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------- ------------------- Motions Reviewed Article 32- DRAFT MOTION: That§ 120-7.13 of the Tree Bylaw, Chapter 120 of the Code of the Town of Lexington, be amended as follows,where underlined text is to be added: Procedures. Any person seeking to prune or remove a public shade tree or Town tree shall submit an application to the Tree Warden in accordance with any application requirements issued by the Tree Warden. The Tree Warden shall hold a public hearing on applications for removal, at the expense of the applicant, in accordance with the provisions outlined within General Law Chapter 87. In addition to any public notice required by said G.L. c. 87, the Town shall contemporaneously provide notice of the public hearing on the Town's website and through such other electronic means as it deems appropriate. If the Tree Warden or Select Board permits removal of the public shade tree,the Select Board shall require the applicant to pay the appraised value of the tree, as determined by a member of the American Society of Consulting Arborists using the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers trunk formula method. Such payments shall be deposited in the Lexington Tree Fund. The Select Board may, at the request of the applicant,waive the requirement to pay all or a portion of the appraised value of the Tree pursuant to this paragraph if the Select Board determines that extenuating circumstances require the removal of the tree or that the removal of the tree is part of an enviFennienta-4y beneficial project. The permit issued by the Tree Warden may specify schedules,terms, and conditions including, requiring the planting of replacement trees. Article 33 DRAFT MOTION: That the Tree Bylaw, Chapter 120 of the Code of the Town of Lexington, be amended as follows: (a) Rename § 120-8 to "Protection of trees." (b) Make the following edits to § 120-8.A: (1) delete the word "Scope."from the beginning of said section; (2) delete the phrase "as set forth below'from the end of said section; and (3) add the phrase "as set forth in subsections B through E below" at the end of said section. (c)Add the following sentence after the first sentence of§ 120-8.B.1: "The owner shall also submit the tree species, if known, location, DBH for all trees on the property,whether or not they are proposed to be removed, and for any trees that are proposed to be removed,the reason for removal and alternatives to removal considered." (d)Add the following § 120-8.F: Before removing a tree greater than ?? inches DBH on private property at which neither major construction nor demolition is planned, and regardless of whether or not said tree is located in the setback area,the owner of the property on which said tree is located shall notify the Town that such tree shall be removed,the tree species (if known), location, DBH, reason for removal, and alternatives to removal considered; provided that Section 120-10 shall not apply to a failure to comply with the provisions of this sentence. (e)Add the following § 120-8.G: Upon removal of any protected tree, the owner of the property on which the tree is located shall provide information to the Town regarding the removal of that tree and the reason for its removal. The owner shall also provide a plan identifying the location, species (if known), and DBH of any trees so removed, remaining trees, and any trees planted as mitigation pursuant to Section 120-8.C. Article 34 DRAFT MOTION: That the Tree Bylaw, Chapter 120 of the Code of the Town of Lexington, be amended as follows: (a)Amend § 120-8.13.1 as follows,where stFuel(thFeugl4 text is to be removed and underlined text is to be added: If any protected trees will be removed or damaged in connection with major construction or demolition, the owner of the property shall submit a proposal for tree removal and mitigation to the Building Commissioner with the application for a building or demolition permit. Additionally, if any protected trees were removed during the 12 months preceding the application for the building or demolition permit, a tree removal and mitigation proposal regarding the protected trees already removed shall be submitted to the Building Commissioner.The proposal shall satisfy the mitigation requirements set forth below and any rules, regulations or manuals promulgated by the Selectmen.The Selectmen shall set an application fee. Such fee shall be at least$5$20 per DBH inch of protected tree to be removed. The Select Board shall annually evaluate the adequacy of the fee and adjust it as needed. (b)Amend the first sentence of§ 120-8.C.1 by replacing "1/2"with "1/4." (c)Amend § 120-8.C.2 by replacing "$100"with "$200." (d)Amend § 120-16 by replacing "2 times inches removed"with "4 times inches removed" in the row marked "Level 2" of the Replacement Inch Calculation Table.