Westminster Area Redevelopment Plan Advisory Committee Meeting 6 – February 15 and March 15 2018
Meeting Preview • Share Your Hat(s) • Urban Forestry • Big Picture • Urban Forestry Management Plan • Urban Forestry in Westminster • Urban Forestry T oday • Current Policy • ICPS/MDP • Central Neighborhood Study • Westminster ARP • Land Use Bylaw • Urban forestry and Area Redevelopment Plans • Guiding Principles Activity
Share Your Hat(s) Round Table Exercise It is important to check in with our perspectives and our roles at this table to make sure they are always included. • Advisory Committee Member • Connection to Westminster • Any other role that informs your thoughts!
Urban Forestry Definition: All the trees and associated vegetative understory in the city, including trees and shrubs intentionally planted, naturally occurring or accidentally seeded within the city limits.
Urban Forestry Trees • Global effects of tree planting are invaluable these are some of the local scale benefits we get from trees, they: 1. Add beauty and improve personal health 2. Create feelings of relaxation and well-being 3. Provide privacy and sense of solitude and security 4. Reduce air pollution 5. Conserve water and reduce soil erosion 6. Save energy 7. Modify the local environment 8. Reduce noise pollution 9. Increase property values 10. Are natural air cleaners, removing carbon dioxide from the air and releasing oxygen 11. Slow rainfall runoff in the urban environment
Urban Forestry Big Picture • Trees and shrubs in our City have been hand planted and are the responsibility of our Urban Forestry Department. • Our trees and shrubs are subject to the southern Alberta grasslands’ dry climate and watering is the responsibility of residents. • Diseases such as European Elm Scale could have affected 11,000 Elm trees and the expected Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) which will impact Ash trees. • The City’s Urban Forestry Department worked to fend off the Elm Scale infestation in 2016 this included: • Securing funding to treat ~3,600 public trees • And informing landowners on identifying symptoms and guidance on how to improve the survival chance of private Elm trees. (Take away: extending information to residents is invaluable) • Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) arrived in Ontario in 2002 and it is beginning to spread into Manitoba. The GoC, Canadian Forest Services, are studying possible long term controls and developing models for estimating the economic costs and benefits of various management options.
Urban Forestry Urban Forestry Management Plan • Purpose of plan is to outline arboricultural care of trees including: street, park and river valley trees. • Primary operations include • Planting: reforests the City’s public spaces by replacing trees that die or must be removed due to other problems. • Maintenance: manages the health of our trees by routinely pruning, tree health testing, pest management in a timely manner. • Tree removal: removal of dead or condemned trees to ensure human safety, property protection and allow for timely planning.
Urban Forestry Urban Forestry Management Plan • Highlights the importance of tree diversity ( recommended: each species represent less than 10% of tree inventory) • Recommends a tree canopy cover of 25% Westminster does very well. • Adopted list of recommended tree species for planting, for streets and park planting. We do have this! • Value of Citizens’ request and volumes of public tree panting and maintenance
Urban Forestry Management Plan Update Urban Forestry Master Plans typically include guidance on: • Preparing for challenges facing the municipality’ urban forest • Balancing urban development with tree conservation • Protecting significant treed areas and increasing biodiversity • Creating strategies for communities to influence the treed character of their neighbourhoods • Determining if the municipality should be planting more trees, and if so, where and what kind • Minimizing any negative impacts of existing and new trees • Establishing planting and canopy cover targets 7
Urban Forestry in Westminster Tree Canopy Cover in Westminster Average Trees per Acr cre City: 2 trees per acre Central Neighbourhoods: 5 trees per acre Westminster: 4 trees per acre Tree Species in Westminster Tree Condition in Westminster
Photo Voice Activity- Mature Tree Love! Photo credit: Jennifer Gullage-Payne Photo credit: John Pickles Photo credit: Kristina Larkin
Urban Forestry Today Public Trees T oday • The Forestry Management Plan provided recommendations that influenced Urban Forestry’s day to day activities. • Their focus is to upkeep their 10 year pruning/ checking in cycle for each tree. • Shrub maintenance has their own crew. • Tree maintenance: • Planting: reforests the City’s public spaces by replacing trees that die or must be removed due to other problems. I to 1 ratio. • Maintenance: manages the health of our trees by routinely pruning, tree health testing, pest management in a timely manner. • Tree removal: removal of dead or condemned trees to ensure human safety, property protection and allow for timely planning.
Urban Forestry Today Private Trees T oday • The City offers relevant educational support for residents and landowners • Current example: European Elm Scale Information @ www.Lethbridge.ca • Private landowners and residents play a role in maintaining our trees healthy, not only private but public boulevard trees in front of their properties and homes. Good practices to follow: • Water regularly, especially during drought times (this includes mature elm trees) • Try not to damage the root systems of the tree when landscaping or doing other home/yard renovations • Be aware of overhead branches and try not to break or damage any elm tree branches • Avoid compacting the soil around the roots of the tree (driving or parking vehicles on the roots) • Mulch the area around the tree
Urban Forestry Today Private Trees Today • Private landowners and residents have different financial means, access to information, and mobility capabilities and this also impacts the level of care and willingness to keep a tree. • Trees are impacted to accommodate redevelopment changes. Changes in the form of new buildings replacing current ones or additions to current buildings. This impact will be further discussed in Land Use Policy conversation. • Redevelopment in mature neighbourhoods also presents opportunities for urban forest renewal and enhancement by adding age and species diversity to the tree inventory of the neighbourhood.
Current Policy Integrated Community Sustainability Plan / Municipal Development Plan (ICPS/MDP), 2010 • Urban forestry related policy 6.4 A Well Designed City 6.4.5 Lethbridge is a Planned City that Exhibits Quality Urban Design: The intent of these policies is to create a built environment that reflects community values and aspirations and encourages: walkability, mitigate impact of climatic extremes and maintain and expand the urban forest. Example Actions: 1. Establish an urban forestry plan to manage the expansion, protection, maintenance and replacement of the urban forest 2. Conserving the existing inventory of street trees 3. Encourage the planting of edible fruit trees and/or bushes throughout Lethbridge
Current Policy Central Neighborhood Study, 2010 • Current City of Lethbridge Practices • Parks Operations maintains a database to better track tree health which includes the cyclical pruning and maintenance program and allow for individual evaluation of trees. • Strategies considered feasible • Trees should be protected from construction impacts that could result in deterioration of tree health and life span = Increased internal communication between dep’ts when replacing sidewalks would better allow for different standards to be accommodated. • Strategies considered not feasible • A bylaw should be developed to assign a monetary value to trees on private property in the Central Neighbourhoods to limit their removal this is nor feasible because the regulation of landscaping on private property where it has not been required as part of a development permit approval has not been seen as an area of municipal involvement.
Current Policy Westminster Area Redevelopment Plan (WARP 1985) • No mention of trees
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