HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-12-09-TREE-min
Lexington Tree Committee
Town of Lexington, Massachusetts
201 Bedford Street, Samuel Hadley Public Services Building, Room 125
Minutes, Meeting of December 9, 2010
meeting opened
The at 7:40 a.m. Attendees: John Frey (Chairman), Gerry Paul, Karen
Longeteig, Anne Senning, Nell Walker, Jim Wood, and Jewel Kuljian. David Pinsonneault (Tree
Warden), Deb Mauger (Selectman’s liaison), and Jane Beswick (Friends of Trees) also attended.
Karen Longeteig took her turn as scribe.
Minutes of the November 4th meeting were approved with a few corrections (“Bob”, not “Marjorie”
Esselen) and the notation of two attachments. Also added at the end was the boiler-plate, “No
remote participation and no audio recording at the meeting.”
Tree Warden's
agenda items: David Pinsonneault
Dave announced that he has been promoted to DPW’s Manager of Operations
th
as of January 10. A stunned Tree Committee congratulated him and expressed
great appreciation for his work since our formation in October, 2001. Dave will
be covering both positions until his successor can be hired. Jim moved that John
Frey should email Town Manager Carl Valente and the Board of Selectmen to
report our unanimous desire that they fill the position as quickly as reasonably
possible. Carried.
removal activity
a) Tree under the Bylaw since 10-01-01: 737 sites/616 closed; 2236
trees to be planted/1461 planted; 927 trees to be removed/733 removed. Fees levied for removal
of trees, and collected under regulation of 8-4-08, are $30,500 (from 3050 DBH inches of trees
removed). It continues to be a well-received process.
DCR Grant
b) application: no word yet whether granted or not.
Inventory
c) : John, Anne, and Nell finished up the year’s efforts by entering the trees planted in
summer 2010. They used paper forms because the hand-held had frozen, but Judy Seppala
from MIS later fixed the device.
Amendment of Tree Bylaw
d) : this warrant article, if passed, would remove Tree Bylaw Section
120-IV, B, including parts 1-4, which is the clause on “non-applicability” of the Tree Bylaw to
commercial projects coming under purview of the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). Explanation:
When a parcel is re-zoned for a commercial project, the developers can ask that all zoning
bylaws be ignored. However, a Town’s General Bylaws, such as the Tree Bylaw, must be
observed. Our article, by revoking the non-applicability, would thus require Tree Warden/Tree
Committee review and approval of tree plans for commercial projects. To get other committee
support for our initiative, Gerry and John met with the ZBA and the Planning Board. Part (b) of
the draft article addressed the percentage of large sites to be covered by the Bylaw, but so far we
lack a reliable and fair formula. Anne moved that we put forward to Town Meeting only Part (a) of
the draft Article. Carried.
Planting Protocolexperiment
e) Tree and Mass Ave tree planting : Gerry and Jim, with Dave’s
approval, conducted this experiment in planting methods: will trees survive in a tough 33”-wide
berm, if planted with new protocol methods including watering tubes? They planted two
‘Redmond’ American Lindens in November.
Dave had one addition to the Tree Planting Draft Protocol: under ‘Planting Methodology
Considerations, he would like to add “Locations and species approved in advance”. He would
also like to run it by his crew members for their input. The only other substantive change to this
attachment would be the revision of the last sentence to read, “Anne Senning and Jim Wood’s
partial survey of trees planted in 2010 showed that one-third to one-half are struggling.”
Dave said we may want to reduce the number of nursery trees planted out every year from 120 to
60, since planting places may be in short supply, if wider berms are to be required. Gerry urged
the committee to expeditiously develop its off-berm tree planting protocol to take care of excess
trees. Jim noted that after examining the Linden root balls, it appears that all trees planted in
Nursery in 2007 need to be transplanted out next season.
f) Dave will work with John on the final version of the Annual Report. He will reapply for Tree City
status by end of December. The standard “Tree City USA” signs are really big, so Dave may get
his own made to be more manageable.
The Battle Green meeting is tonight; the draft Master Plan has been placed on the Town
website’s “Tourism” link. Dave said we should incorporate planting plans and standards, and
review the draft for objections. The final plan will go to the Board of Selectmen in January. So far
it looks like it may meet our approval.
Friends of Trees: it was noted that a very large White Pine at Minuteman Tech would be a
candidate for Distinctive Tree nomination.
The meeting closed at 9:10 a.m. for the annual photo of the Committee, taken by David Tabeling.
There was no remote participation and no audio recording at the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Longeteig
Next regular meeting: January 6th, 2011, 7:30 a.m. at DPW. [NOTE: First Thursday of the
month, not the second Thursday.] The Agenda will include further discussion of the planting
protocol.