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Urban Tree Management Discussion
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BACKGROUND SUMMARY:
On May 8, 2023, the Urban Tree Management Discussion was held during the council conference session. Council moved to continue the discussion to the June 12 council conference session.
On September 14, 2020, Town Council approved the submittal of a request for Kirkland and Ellis LLP and Ramboll US Corporation to undertake a pro bono project to complete a legal, policy, and technical analysis to identify tree preservation/restoration programs in other jurisdictions in Virginia, through interviews and research, that could benefit the Town as well as other communities seeking to enhance their tree programs. On March 6, 2023, Brian Land, a long-time Vienna resident and attorney at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and Christina Caplan, Chair of Vienna's Conservation and Sustainability Commission, provided a summary presentation of the report Trees in Vienna: A Review of Programs to Help Vienna Preserve and Manage its Tree Canopy.
On October 11, 2021, Town Council approved the agreement to conduct the Urban Tree Canopy Assessment. The purpose of the project was to help the Town prepare an urban forest management plan, set a tree canopy goal and measure progress toward mitigating and reversing tree loss in the Town. The Urban Tree Canopy Report was presented by Davey Resource to council at the October 17, 2022 Town Council meeting. Unfortunately, there was not ample time at the October 17, 2022 conference session to discuss staff recommendations for next steps and to address council comments. A memo titled Urban Tree Canopy Report Recommendations was provided to council on November 4, 2022 as a follow-up to the October 17th conference session listing staff recommendations in order of priority and responses to council comments.
PlanIT Geo is currently performing a town-wide tree inventory. The goals for this project are to develop and analyze the data that will support the subsequent development...
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