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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-07-21 NCBC Agenda PktYakima City Council Committee Neighborhood & Community Building Committee (NCBC) Council Chambers, City Hall – 129 N 2nd St, Yakima, WA Thursday July 21, 2016 2:00 p.m. City Council City Staff Councilmember Dulce Gutiérrez (Chair) Cliff Moore, City Manager Councilmember Avina Gutiérrez Joan Davenport, Community Development Director Councilmember Carmen Méndez Councilmember Holly Cousens (alternate) Agenda 1. Tree City USA Presentation (Ben Thompson, DNR Urban Forester and Jheri Ketchum, Yakima Arboretum) 2. Equity Assessment Status Update 3. Exploratory Committee Update - Bike/Pedestrian Committee - Ethics & Human Rights - Community Integration 4. Estimates for the Cost of Equipment at Parks 5. Board Appointed Reports – Standing Item - Comprehensive Plan Update - Homeless Network - Parks & Recreation Commission o Water Feature at Millennium Plaza - South East Community Center - Historic Preservation - Appoint Representative to TRANS-Action Committee 6. Other Business / Requests - Rural Community Development Resources (RCDR) Survey Results - Recap of Deliverables for Next NCBC Meeting o Interpreter for Next Meeting 7. Audience Participation Next Meeting: July 29, 2016 (4:00 p.m.) Tree City USA Summary 2015WASHINGTON BY THE NUMBERS 88 Tree City USA communities 1 new 47.0% of WA lives in a Tree City USA community 100% Recertification Rate Seattle Population 653,000 Largest Farmington Population 148 Smallest Washington’s longest-running active Tree City USA community: Ellensburg 33 years $30,671,908.69 spent on urban forestry management average per capita $9.23 Bellevue • 23 years Longest Active Growth Award 8 Growth Award recipients 98.86% of communities completed online applications 6 Washington Tree Campus Schools 0 New Tree Campus Schools 10 Tree Line Utilities Longest Running Active Tree Line USA Utility: Public Utility District NO. 1 of Chelan County (18 years) Beyond Tree City USA British Columbia Oregon Pa cific Ocean Cheney Ritzville Snoqualmie RockfordNorth Bend PaterosPort Angeles OmakTwisp Pasco George Colfax Chelan Entiat Hoquiam Spokane Pullman Woodland Okanogan Tonasket Longview Millwood Oroville Richland Colville Cashmere Kennewick Grandview Wenatchee Vancouver Anacortes Fairfield Fairchild Centralia Oak Harbor Ellensburg Bellingham Walla Walla Airway HeightsWaterville Liberty Lake Y a k i m aYakima O k a n o g a nOkanogan K i n gKing G r a n tGrant L e w i sLewis C h e l a nChelan F e r r yFerry C l a l l a mClallam L i n c o l nLincoln S t e v e n sStevens K i t t i t a sKittitas S k a g i tSkagit A d a m sAdamsPiercePierce W h a t c o mWhatcom W h i t m a nWhitman B e n t o nBenton J e f f e r s o nJefferson D o u g l a sDouglas K l i c k i t a tKlickitat S p o k a n eSpokane S n o h o m i s hSnohomish P a c i f i cPacific S k a m a n i aSkamania G r a y s H a r b o rGrays H a r b o r C o w l i t zCowlitz F r a n k l i nFranklin C l a r kClark W a l l a W a l l aWalla W a l l a A s o t i nAsotin C o l u m b i aColumbia G a r f i e l dGarfield M a s o nMason P e n d O r e i l l ePend O r e i l l e T h u r s t o nThurston I s l a n dIsland S a n J u a nSan J u a n W a h k i a k u mWahkiakum Standing Years @ 1 - 10 @ 11 - 20 @ 21 - 31 ¯ 40 Miles 7/8 /20 16 2015 Washington Tree City USA Communities Se e reve rse sid e for additionalTree C ity USA Commu nities located in th e Pu get Soun d R egio n @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Marysville Snoqualmie Yarrow Point North Bend Edmonds Shoreline Puyallup Bainbridge Island Shelton Duvall Fife Yelm Kent Lacey Dupont Renton Medina Tacoma Sumner Auburn BurienSea Tac Poulsbo Olympia Woodway Redmond Seattle Everett Bothell Kirkland Issaquah Lynnwood Tumwater Bellevue Enumclaw Newcastle Covington Bremerton Arlington Steilacoom Oak Harbor Clyde Hill Woodinville Bonney Lake Port Townsend Lake ForestPark University Place Hunts Point Tukwila 2015 W ashington Tree City USA Com munities:Puget Sound Area ¯ 10 Miles 2/19/2014 Standing Years @ 1 - 10 @ 11 - 20 @ 21+ 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Number of Tree City USA CommunitiesYear Tree City USA in Washington State: 1983-2015 Become a Tree City USA Michael Schrag Ritzville Tree Committee Chairman Terry FlaTley Renton City Forester aS a Tree ciTy USa, we qUaliFied For a granT To replace TreeS ThaT were Toppled by a devaSTaTing windSTorM.” The Mayor and ciTy coUncil wanTed To be a Tree ciTy USa To proMoTe oUr coMMiTMenT To pUblic healTh and environMenTal SUSTainabiliT y.” More than 80 cities and towns in Washington State are discovering the many benefits of being a Tree City USA. dnr.wa.gov/urbanforestry co MMUniT y beneFiTS • Improves community health, character and aesthetics. • Boosts civic pride. • Celebrates community accomplishments. • Connects citizens with their community’s trees. econoMic beneFiTS • Creates more opportunities for grant funding. • Defines the value of volunteer efforts. • Promotes a community’s investment in the future. • Green infrastructure is good for business. ManageMenT beneFiTS • Creates a framework for managing trees and tree-related risks. • Helps track associated activities and costs. • Ensures consideration of trees during the development process • Establishes ordinance language to guide decision- making. Benefits of Trees The benefits that trees provide from social, communal, environmental, and economic perspectives. Most trees and shrubs in cities or communities are planted to provide beauty or shade. While these are excellent benefits, woody plants serve many other purposes. The benefits of trees can be grouped into social, communal, environmental, and economic categories. Social Benefits Human response to trees goes well beyond simply observing their beauty. We feel serene, peaceful, rest- ful, and tranquil in a grove of trees. We are “at home” there. The calming effect of nearby trees and urban greening can significantly reduce workplace stress levels and fatigue, calm traffic, and even decrease the recovery time needed after surgery. Trees can also reduce crime. Apartment buildings with high levels of greenspace have lower crime rates than nearby apart- ments without trees. The stature, strength, and endurance of trees give them a cathedral-like quality. Because of their poten- tial for long life, trees are frequently planted as living memorials. We often become personally attached to trees that we, or those we love, have planted. The strong tie between people and trees is often evident when community residents speak out against the removal of trees to widen streets or rally to save a particularly large or historic tree. Communal Benefits Even when located on a private lot, the benefits provided by trees can reach well out into the surrounding community. Likewise, large- growing trees can come in conflict with utilities, views, and structures that are beyond the bounds of the owner’s property. With proper selection and maintenance, trees can enhance and function on one property without infringing on the rights and privileges of neighbors. City trees often serve several architectural and engineering functions. They provide privacy, emphasize views, or screen out objectionable views. They reduce glare and reflection. They direct pedestrian traffic. Trees also provide background to and soften, complement, or enhance architecture. Trees bring natural elements and wildlife habitats into urban surroundings, all of which increase the quality of life for residents of the community. Environmental Benefits Trees alter the environment in which we live by moderating climate, improving air quality, reducing stormwater runoff, and harboring wildlife. Local climates are moderated from extreme sun, wind, and rain. Radiant energy from the sun is absorbed or deflected by leaves on deciduous trees in the summer and is only filtered by branches of deciduous trees in winter. The larger the tree, the greater the cooling effect. By using trees in the cities, we can moderate the heat-island effect caused by pave- ment and buildings in commercial areas. Wind speed and direction is affected by trees. The more compact the foliage on the tree or group of trees, the more effective the windbreak. Rainfall, sleet, and hail are absorbed or slowed by trees, providing some protection for people, pets, and buildings. Trees intercept water, store some of it, and reduce stormwater runoff. Air quality is improved through the use of trees, shrubs, and turf. Leaves filter the air we breathe by removing dust and other particulates. Rain then washes the pollutants to the ground. Leaves absorb the green- house gas carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and store carbon as growth. Leaves also absorb other air pollutants – such as ozone, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide – and release oxygen. By planting trees and shrubs, we return developed areas to a more natural environment that is attractive to birds and wildlife. Ecological cycles of plant growth, reproduction, and decom- position are again present, both above and below ground. Natural harmony is restored to the urban environment. This brochure is one in a series published by the International Society of Arboriculture as part of its Consumer Information Program. You may have additional interest in the following titles currently in the series: Avoiding Tree and Utility Conflicts Avoiding Tree Damage During Construction Benefits of Trees Buying High-Quality Trees Insect and Disease Problems Mature Tree Care New Tree Planting Plant Health Care Proper Mulching Techniques Palms Pruning Mature Trees Pruning Young Trees Recognizing Tree Risk Treatment of Trees Damaged by Construction Tree Selection and Placement Trees and Turf Tree Values Why Hire an Arborist Why Topping Hurts Trees E-mail inquiries: isa@isa-arbor.com ©2011 (1998, 2004) International Society of Arboriculture. Developed by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), a non-profit organization supporting tree care research around the world and dedicated to the care and preservation of shade and ornamental trees. For further information, contact: ISA, P.O. Box 3129, Champaign, IL 61826-3129, USA. E-mail inquiries: isa@isa-arbor.com www.isa-arbor.com • www.treesaregood.org Economic Benefits Property values of landscaped homes are 5 to 20 percent higher than those of non-landscaped homes. Individual trees and shrubs have value, but the variability of species, size, condition, and function makes determining their economic value difficult. The economic benefits of trees are both direct and indirect. Direct economic benefits are usually associated with energy costs. Air-conditioning costs are lower in a tree-shaded home. Heating costs are reduced when a home has a windbreak. Trees increase in value as they grow. Trees, as part of a well maintained landscape, can add value to your home. The indirect economic benefits of trees within a community are even greater. Customers pay lower elec- tricity bills when power companies build fewer new facilities to meet peak demands, use reduced amounts of fossil fuel in their furnaces, and use fewer measures to control air pollution. Communities can also save money if fewer facilities must be built to control stormwater in the region. To the individual, these savings may seem small, but to the community as a whole, reductions in these expenses are often substantial. Trees Require an Investment Trees provide numerous aesthetic and economic benefits, but also incur some costs. Investing in a tree’s maintenance will help to return the benefits you desire. The costs associated with large tree removal and replacement can be significant. In addition, the economic and environmental benefits produced by a young replace- ment tree are minimal when compared to those of a mature specimen. Extending the functional lifespan of large, mature trees with routine maintenance can delay these expenses and maximize returns. An informed home owner can be responsible for many tree maintenance practices. Corrective pruning and mulching gives young trees a good start. Shade trees, how- ever, quickly grow to a size that may require the services of a professional arborist. Arborists have the knowledge and equipment needed to prune, treat, fertilize, and otherwise maintain a large tree. Your garden center owner, university extension agent, community forester, or consulting arborist can answer questions about tree maintenance, suggest treatments, or recommend qualified arborists.