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REVIEW OF DRAFT MEMORANDUM TO TOWN COUNCIL ON RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CODE AMENDMENTS TO PRESERVE AND ENHANCE TREE CANOPY
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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 r...
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