DUDEK - FOURTH AMENDMENT (#2023515)

FINANCIAL STATEMENT Funding for the Urban Forest Master Plan Project, CIP No. 22773, totals $200,000. Anticipated expenditures for the master plan total $357,507. It is recommended the City Council approve a budget amendment to increase the project budget by $157,507 in the Urban Forestry Fund 129 to fully fund the agreement amount of $325,178 and provide a contingency of approximately $32,000. (Fund 129 has an unallocated balance of approximately $160,000.) Funding and anticipated expenditures are detailed in Attachment 1 . BACKGROUND Tree Preservation Ordinance and Tree and Fence Report In the early 1970s, the City recognized the importance of its urban forest by adopting a tree preservation ordinance and preparing a plan that evaluated the City's trees: 1. The Tree Preservation Ordinance was adopted by City Council in 1971 and the ordinance was codified as a chapter of Title 17 — Planning and Other Matters — of the Pleasanton Municipal Code, specifically Chapter 17.16 — Tree Preservation. 2. Resolution 71-17 approving "The Tree and Fence Report" was adopted by City Council on January 29, 1973. The Tree Preservation Ordinance (Ordinance) focuses on preserving trees within the city, both on public and private property. The Ordinance considers each tree individually and does not address trees as being part of an urban forest. The Tree and Fence Report recommended ways to improve the appearance of the community and solutions to deal with problems with trees. The report also informed property owners of their rights and obligations regarding their street tree(s), identified heritage trees, provided a list of recommended trees for Pleasanton, and contained a guide for proper tree care. The report was intended to be helpful in interpreting and enforcing the Ordinance. The City Council has modified the Tree Preservation Ordinance mostly in response to land development and in response to issues with enforcement of the Ordinance. For example, in 1995, the City Council approved significant changes to the ordinance regarding pruning requirements and heritage tree removal. Provisions were added that required all heritage trees to be pruned per the International Society of Arboriculture Tree Pruning Guidelines and allowed fines to be levied on persons responsible for improper pruning and unpermitted removal of heritage trees. Then in 1998, the City Council approved changes to the ordinance to broaden and better define reasons why the removal of a heritage tree could be permitted, and to establish a Heritage Tree Board of Appeals to hear and decide on appeals of the Ordinance requirements. Other relatively minor ordinance changes have occurred over the years since the creation of the Heritage Tree Board of Appeals to further clarify the Ordinance's intent and requirements, but it has remained largely the same since 1998. In recent years, the City Council has received complaints and expressed concerns about the Tree Preservation Ordinance's language, intent, and enforcement. Most recently, at its June 7, 2022, meeting, the City Council discussed feedback from the Page 2 of 6 Docusign Envelope ID: 4766C15C-A048-4E7F-9D55-CCFC4045496CDocusign Envelope ID: 5DDEF3A6-28A0-4A08-8CF9-8B7857419654