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TREES - EN.RFT Page 1 DRAFT September 1, 1993 TO: Bob Hammitt, Les Lyle FROM: J.R. Medlin SUBJECT: Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP) Impact on Engineering Division On Friday August 20th, Joe Ferguson, John Etter, Louie Kroeck, Jan Staszewski, and I met to discuss the possible impacts of the UFMP on the activities of the Engineering Division. Prior to the meeting Louie had reviewed the 18 policy statements contained in the UFMP and flagged policies 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, & 15 as items of concem. POLICY 1.0 "The City will plant trees'on public property that have potential for good local performance and will, over time, achieve a diversity of species for greater stability of the urban forest. The City will recommend that trees with these characteristics be used in private developments as well." Discussion: Jan will provide a memo to Engineering prior to September 1st which will show the current list of trees available for planting and known to be viable in this region. It will be stated in the memo that this list is not all- encompassing since there are many more trees which may be suitable given special circumstances or changes in availability. Alternate trees may be proposed to the Urban Forester who will review their suitability for addition to the approved list. Where possible, Engineering should endeavor to specify various species within a project to encourage diversity. It will also be stated the the trees on the approved list are not suited for all locations and someone familiar with the growing characteristics of the selected species will need to review its appropriateness. (For Example: you wouldn't select a tree which when mature was very tall for placement under power lines.) Louie Kroeck can provide this service intemally within Engineering and Jan is available for consulting. When Jan conducts his standard review of the engineered plans these items will be a part of his review. POLICY 2.0 "The City will plant native tree species in appropriate locations on public land and encourage their use on private lands, but not to the detriment of species diversity." Discussion: Jan will identify those trees on the approved list which are native to this area. Where possible, Engineering should endeavor to make part of the species selections from this category. Jan noted that the municipal code expressly forbids certain native trees (predominately needle bearing, cottonwood and willows). While there is some disagreement within the community if some of these needle bearing trees should be restricted, none of these will be on the approved tree list unless the municipal code is changed sometime in the future. POLICY 4.0 "The City will establish or enhance the character of its streets through the use of trees in rights -of -way ". Discussion: This policy establishes that street trees are a part of the street infrastructure and the planting of trees is a requirement where space is available within the right-of-way unless otherwise restricted by a conflict. Engineering would be responsible to evaluate conflicts with other infrastructure items and document the justification for the decision if trees are not planted. This may need to be coordinated with any right -of -way width analysis which would be required as a result of Policy 10.0. POLICY 5.0 "The City will enhance the quality of all developed public land by planting and maintaining appropriate trees." Discussion: This was meant by the Tree Commission to cover both rights -of- way, parks, and land owned by the City for public buildings. They wished to insure that the Public Works Department would work to provide more trees in the City's parks as well as around public buildings and streets. Parks Planning will review the appropriate amount of trees in future park developments. Facilities Engineering should include trees where possible in the development or redevelopment of the site plans for public building construction. POLICY 7.0 "The City will adopt measures intended to ensure that new trees planted on public lands and along street rights -of- -way are of the highest quality, require low maintenance, and do not interfere with public safety." Discussion: There have been past practices considered poor by some people of making the planting budget go further through the purchasing of marginal quality stock (whips) and realizing a higher level of mortality would result. This policy requires staff to examine the quality of the stock purchased to insure it is above marginal standards. The Urban Forester will be available to work with anyone specifying the purchase of trees or inspecting the trees on their delivery to help insure compliance with this policy. POLICY 8.0 "The City will amend the Eugene Code to protect trees on public land and street rights -of -way from the potential adverse impacts of construction- related activities." Discussion: It was recommended for Engineering to add the requirement for a "tree protection plan" to be submitted from contractors working on City projects. We would provide a set of general guidelines and specifications which their plan should meet, then they would provide the specifics. Jan felt he had existing example standards from other documents which could be modified as a starting point. Jan will provide Engineering with a draft of these general guidelines and specifications within the next 60 days. We didn't discuss what was needed to be done about home construction contractors who use the right -of -way for materials storage.