Subject:
Title
Review of Draft Memorandum to Town Council on Recommendations for Code Amendments to Preserve and Enhance Tree Canopy
Body
On November 8, 2023, the Planning Commission will discuss a draft memorandum (Attachment 1) that would communicate the Commission’s recommendations to the Town Council regarding potential amendments related to preserving and enhancing Vienna’s tree canopy. The memorandum was developed by Chairwoman Plowgian, with editorial review by staff from the Departments of Planning and Zoning and Parks and Recreation, with the purpose of ensuring that the draft reflected the decisions made by the Planning Commission during its discussions of September 27th and October 11th.
These discussions resulted from the Town Council’s having referred, on August 28, 2023, two different options for code amendments (Attachments 2 and 3) to the Planning Commission for review and recommendation. On September 13th, the Commission heard presentations from staff and the Chair of the Conservation and Sustainability Commission, received background material and set a public hearing date. The public hearing was held on September 27th, followed by discussion at that meeting and the next.
The Town Council held its own public hearing on this topic on October 23, 2023, and will hold a conference session and meeting on November 13th, to attempt to complete its decisions. If the Planning Commission completes its recommendation memorandum at the November 8th meeting, the memorandum will be forwarded to the Town Council and be part of Town Council’s deliberations on November 13th.
As a reminder, two proposal options have been developed as amendments to the Town Code, with the purpose of preserving and enhancing the Town’s tree canopy. Both options address the following three categories of potential code amendments:
1. Changing the regulatory approach regarding tree canopy during development from the Town’s current approach, which operates under the State’s tree replacement provision (Section 15.2-961), to the other approach permitted by the State, which is more focused on tree conservation (Section 15.2-961.1).
2. Strengthening the Town’s current approach, in code, to having a citizen advisory committee on trees.
3. Adding a code requirement to require regular reporting from staff and the Tree Board (or Tree Commission) on the status of tree management and the tree canopy in Vienna.
These items are discussed in more detail in the Background Material referenced below.
Attachment 1 is the draft memorandum from Chairwoman Plowgian.
Attachment 2 is Option 1, the version submitted by Brian Land, after having worked with the Conservation and Sustainability Commission (CSC). It proposes a new Chapter 29 of the Town Code, to include all tree components of the code. It would require deletion of relevant sections within Chapters 17, 18 and 27 as well as addition of references within Chapters 17 and 18 to the development standards that would now be in Chapter 29. It proposes 1) amending the Town’s regulatory approach to requiring trees from the current approach (15.2-961 - Replacement of Trees) to the alternative approach permitted under state law (15.2-961.1 - Conservation of Trees); 2) creating a Tree Commission; adding other provisions to Chapter 19; and placing administration of the chapter with the Director of Parks and Recreation.
Attachment 3 is Option 2, the version submitted by the Town Attorney. It proposes amendments within Chapters 17, 18 and 27, to accomplish similar overall goals but with different details. (Chapters 17 and 18 would be moved into the new Chapter 18 of the adopted new code after its effective date of January 1, 2024). It also proposes to amend the Town’s regulatory approach to requiring trees from the current approach (15.2-961 - Replacement of Trees) to the alternative approach permitted under state law (15.2-961.1 - Conservation of Trees). It does so by leaving the development standards within their current locations (Chapter 17 and 18) and amending the existing Tree Board within Chapter 27 but leaving it in that same chapter. Development standards would continue to be administered by the Zoning Administrator, within the Department of Planning and Zoning, but other components would be administered by the Department of Parks and Recreation.
Attachment 4 provides the relevant portions of the State code.) Specifically, both proposals would change from Virginia Code Section 15.2-961 - Replacement of Trees During Development to Virginia Code Section 15.2-961.1 - Conservation of Trees During Land Development.
Attachment 5 provides the relevant Town of Vienna code sections, from Chapters 17, 18 and 27.
Attachment 6 is a staff memorandum from the Department of Planning and Zoning that was provided, first, on September 27th, and then updated for the October 11th meeting. The attached version is the exact same memorandum that was included for that October 11th report. It attempts to provide key decisions that the Town Council may choose to make. (Updates from the September 27, 2023 meeting are provided in red.) No updates have been made since the October 11th meeting.
Attachment 7 is a staff memorandum that was provided by the Department of Parks and Recreation for the October 11th meeting, providing some clarifications and recommendations. No updates have been made since the October 11th meeting.
Attachment 8 provides all the written public comments that were submitted for Planning Commission review by the deadline set by the Commission, of October 10, 2023 at 3:00pm.
Background Material
Additional background information is provided in Attachment 1 of the Planning Commission report for September 13, 2023, which can be found at <https://vienna-va.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx>. It can also be found at the Town Web site that provides information for this topic, at <https://www.viennava.gov/your-government/town-departments-at-your-service/planning-and-zoning/zoning-code-update-code-create-vienna>, under Tree Ordinance Changes, where you can click on “Staff Report Summarizing Options.”
The reports produced as background for these proposed code changes can be found on the Town’s Web site for the Conservation and Sustainability Commission (CSC), at <https://www.viennava.gov/your-government/boards-and-commissions/conservation-and-sustainability-commission>. Scroll down to “Preserving and Managing the Town of Vienna’s Tree Canopy” to find those two reports, both of which were produced in October 2022.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission review the draft memorandum (Attachment 1) to the Town Council and discuss whether it wishes to make any revisions to the draft. Chairwoman Plowgian has identified questions in the draft that she wishes to raise, so staff recommends that those items be discussed.
Once the Planning Commission is satisfied with the memorandum, a motion could be made to approve the memorandum, subject to the changes made at the meeting, ask the Chairwoman to work with staff to update the memorandum and then forward the final version to the Town Council.
Attachments:
1. DRAFT Memorandum from the Planning Commission to the Town Council
2. Proposed Tree Ordinance 08-15-2023 DRAFT Brian Land
3. Proposed Amendments to Chapters 17, 28 and 27 Town Attorney 8-21-2023
4. Relevant State of Virginia Code Sections
5. Relevant Town of Vienna Code Sections
6. Planning and Zoning Staff Memorandum providing potential decision and discussion points for the Planning Commission
7. Parks and Recreation Memorandum on Trees for Planning Commission
8. Written Public Comments Received as of 10/4/23