DUDEK - FOURTH AMENDMENT (#2023515)

A review of the City's Tree Preservation Ordinance for consistency with the UFMP, and if appropriate, recommended changes to the ordinance to assist with the implementation of the UFMP. The UFMP will utilize the existing documents that helped to establish the city's urban forest, including the Tree Preservation Ordinance, the 1973 Tree and Fence Report, the CAP 2.0, and the tree inventory to create a comprehensive guide for the management of the urban forest. The plan will guide Tree Preservation Ordinance updates, implementation of CAP 2.0 goals, tree inventory updates and maintenance management, and public outreach and education regarding the city's urban forest. It is intended to be comprehensive enough to provide a broad vision for the future of the city's urban forest and detailed enough to address individual community concerns regarding the urban forest, such as potential hazards with trees relating to storms and fires. The UFMP's analysis of the City's Tree Preservation Ordinance will help to address concerns identified by the community over the last several years such as tree protection standards, potential hazards with trees relating to storms and fires, conflicts between trees and infrastructure, safety concerns, and the health of the city's urban forest. The recommendations will help to address changes that have taken place in the community and urban forest over the last 50 years, clarify the roles and responsibilities of homeowners, the Heritage Tree Board of Appeals and staff, as well as reduce staff time spent managing the ordinance. The UFMP will take a more holistic look at maintaining and preserving the urban forest with recommendations to update the ordinance consistent with that view. Additionally, the UFMP will outline a plan to implement the goals of the CAP 2.0. One of the primary recommended actions of CAP 2.0 was to create an Urban Forest Master Plan to help increase carbon sequestration opportunities and improve ecosystem resilience. The UFMP will analyze carbon sequestration, average pollutant capture, avoided runoff, avoided emissions, and structural and functional value. Dollar amounts will be estimated for these benefits, which will be useful for education, long-term planning, and securing tree program funding. New tree planting recommendations will also be provided to meet the goals of the CAP 2.0; this will include optimum planting locations, species and maintenance management. The tree inventory and canopy cover analysis will serve as the foundation for the UFMP. While the City developed the tree inventory in the early 2000s, over the years it has become inaccurate and is focused only on individual trees. The updated tree inventory will identify and evaluate the public trees and will help define the recommendations of the UFMP for sustaining and growing the city's urban forest. The tree canopy cover analysis will account for public and private trees and address shade cover and carbon sequestration questions. Together, both the tree inventory and the canopy cover analysis are vital to the CAP 2.0 analysis and meeting the goals set forth in the CAP 2.0. The UFMP will provide recommendations and guidance for preserving and growing the urban forest which consists of both private and public trees. The tree preservation Page 4 of 6 Docusign Envelope ID: 4766C15C-A048-4E7F-9D55-CCFC4045496CDocusign Envelope ID: 5DDEF3A6-28A0-4A08-8CF9-8B7857419654