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GOOD AFTERNOON. LOUISVILLE METRO COUNCIL'S PARKS AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE. I WANT
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TO FIRST START OFF BY THANKING EVERYONE WHO IS IN CHAMBERS TODAY. AND WE HAVE AN EXCUSED ABSENCE, FOR THE RECORD, FROM COUNCILWOMAN MARILYN PARKER IN THE CHAMBERS TODAY, WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER JP LININGER, COUNCILWOMAN JOSIE RAYMOND, COUNCILWOMAN CRYSTAL BASS, MYSELF, CHAIR KHALIL BACHON, AND OUR AMAZING CLERK'S PEOPLE. SO WE ALSO HAVE IN CHAMBERS WITH US TODAY. GIVING US A PRESENTATION IS CINDY SULLIVAN WITH LOUISVILLE TREES. YEAH. IS THAT[1. ID 25-0085 LOUISVILLE TREE PLAN – Cindi Sullivan, TreesLouisville]
TREES LOUISVILLE TREES LOUISVILLE. AND SHE'S GOING TO GO OVER TREES. LOUISVILLE'S EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. AND IF WE CAN JUST GO THROUGH HER PRESENTATION TODAY AND MAYBE HOLD QUESTIONS TILL THE END. AND THANK YOU, CINDY, THE FLOOR IS YOURS. PLEASE SAY YOUR NAME, WHO YOU ARE, WHAT YOU DO AND ALL THE FUN STUFF. THANK YOU. CHAIR I AM CINDY SULLIVAN. I AM THE PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TREES LOUISVILLE. WE'RE A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION HERE IN TOWN DEDICATED TO IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF LOUISVILLE'S CURRENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS BY PLANTING TREES. SO I AM HERE TODAY, AND SINCE MANY OF YOU ARE NEW COUNCIL PEOPLE AND MANY, OF COURSE, WERE NOT INVOLVED WITH THE PARKS AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE BACK IN 2003, I'M JUST GOING TO CATCH YOU UP A LITTLE BIT. WE WERE ALLOCATED FUNDING TO BE ABLE TO CONDUCT AN URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN FOR LOUISVILLE METRO GOVERNMENT. AN URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN IS SORT OF A HIGH LEVEL LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW AND HOW WELL THAT IS WORKING, AND TO LOOK AT MAYBE WAYS THAT WE CAN IMPROVE OUR PROCESSES AND EFFICIENCIES IN REGARD TO MANAGING OUR URBAN FOREST. WE CAME ABOUT AS TREES LOUISVILLE TEN YEARS AGO IN 2015, WHEN AN URBAN FOREST ASSESSMENT WAS DONE THAT SHOWED THAT WE WERE LOSING ABOUT 54,000 TREES EVERY SINGLE YEAR OVER THE EIGHT YEAR STUDY PERIOD, AND THAT URBAN TREE CANOPY ASSESSMENT SORT OF STARTED A RED FLAG. AND COMMUNITY LEADERS AND THE FORMER ADMINISTRATION DECIDED TO FORM AN ORGANIZATION THAT IS DEDICATED SOLELY TO IMPROVING OUR TREE CANOPY. WE'RE FORTUNATE TO HAVE SO MANY ORGANIZATIONS HERE IN IN THE METRO AREA THAT DO GREAT WORK AND AS FAR AS GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IS CONCERNED, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE AN ORGANIZATION DEDICATED SOLELY TO THAT CANOPY IMPROVEMENT. AND AGAIN, WE KNOW THAT AREAS OF HIGH CANOPY HAVE HEALTHIER, LONGER LIVING PEOPLE THAN AREAS OF LOW CANOPY. SO WE STARTED IN JANUARY OF 2024 WITH THIS PLAN. WE HIRED THE CONSULTANTS. THEY'RE A WOMAN OWNED BUSINESS OUT OF NEWPORT, KENTUCKY, I'M HAPPY TO SAY, AND WE LAUNCHED THE DISCOVERY PHASE OF THE PLAN IN MARCH. SO THE DISCOVERY PHASE WAS A TIME PERIOD FROM MARCH UNTIL THE END OF AUGUST, WHERE WE HELD MULTIPLE COMMUNITY MEETINGS. WE WENT TO LOTS OF SOCIAL AND CIVIC MEETINGS, AND WE TALKED TO MANY PEOPLE. WE ALSO FORMED AN ADVISORY GROUP OF 115 PEOPLE THAT MET THREE DIFFERENT TIMES TO LOOK AT PROCESSES, PROCEDURES, BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES, ALL THOSE THINGS THAT GO INTO MANAGING AN URBAN FOREST PROPERLY AND THAT GROUP THROUGH THOSE GROUPS, WE ALSO HAD AS A SUBSET AN EQUITY COUNCIL. THE EQUITY COUNCIL WAS MADE UP OF PEOPLE FROM SPECIFICALLY FROM WEST LOUISVILLE. WE WERE VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT THAT BECAUSE THE NEIGHBORHOODS OF WEST AND SOUTHWEST LOUISVILLE ARE THE LOWEST CANOPY AREAS IN OUR COMMUNITY BY A LONG WAY. WE KNOW[00:05:04]
THAT THE NEIGHBORHOODS, THE AREAS THAT WERE REDLINED IN THE 1930S HAVE TODAY ABOUT 21% CANOPY. THE GREEN LINED AREAS FROM THE 1930S HAVE ABOUT 48% CANOPY. THAT DISPARITY IS WHAT DRIVES US AT LOUISVILLE EVERY SINGLE DAY. SO DURING THAT DISCOVERY PERIOD, WE FOUND A THERE WERE A NUMBER OF FINDINGS, 20 OF THEM, TO BE SPECIFIC. AND I SENT YOU PREVIOUSLY THE 20 PAGE SORT OF EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR YOU TO REVIEW SO THAT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY OF THOSE. BUT THE ONE PAGER THAT YOU HAVE TODAY SHOWS THE 20 FINDINGS THAT WE DISCOVERED DURING THAT THAT PHASE OF MOST IMPORTANCE, I THINK OUR FINDINGS FIVE THROUGH NINE AND BASICALLY THEY THEY SAY THAT OUR GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IS NOT CONSIDERED VITAL INFRASTRUCTURE. THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT LACK OF RESOURCES FOR TREE MANAGEMENT WITHIN METRO STREET. TREES ARE NOT MAINTAINED EFFECTIVELY AND IN GOOD CONDITION. SO THE POOR STREET TREE MANAGEMENT RESULTS IN INCREASING INEQUITY INEQUITIES THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITY. AND MANY STREET TREES ARE IN POOR CONDITION AND HAVE TRANSLATED TO PEOPLE IN THESE IN LOW CANOPY AREAS, NOT WANTING TREES BECAUSE THEY'RE TOO EXPENSIVE TO MAINTAIN. AND SO THEY THEY WOULD JUST RATHER NOT HAVE THEM. EVEN THOUGH MANY PEOPLE DO UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF HAVING A ROBUST TREE CANOPY. SO WITH THOSE 20 FINDINGS, THE CONSULTANTS CAME UP WITH TEN STRATEGIES TO DO TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS. STRATEGY NUMBER ONE AND AN ACTION ITEM NUMBER 1.1 IS FORM A COALITION TO FOR PLAN IMPLEMENTATION OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS. THIS I THINK IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE, AND I'M GLAD IT ENDED UP BEING NUMBER ONE, BECAUSE WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS. GET OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR PHILANTHROPISTS AND OUR BUSINESSES AND CORPORATIONS AND OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR OUR SOCIAL SERVICES, OUR PUBLIC SERVICES TO WORK TOGETHER TO IMPROVE CANOPY ALL OVER OUR COMMUNITY. AND IN IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY THAT IS DEALING WITH THIS IS SITTING AT THE TABLE SO THAT THAT COALITION PART OF IT IS EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. AND I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE'VE ALREADY BEEN WORKING ON THAT. WE HAVE BEEN I HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THREE DIFFERENT CONVENINGS, IF YOU WILL, OF LOOKING AT TREES. ONE IS, OF COURSE, THIS URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN. THE OTHER IS SOME THE MAYOR'S OFFICE CONVENED, SOME TREE PEOPLE, IF YOU WILL, SOME TREE PARTNERS TO DISCUSS HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER BETTER. AND SO AND THEN ONE OTHER GROUP THAT I'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH IS A LOCAL FOUNDATION CALLED DENDRO FUND.AND DENDRO FUND IS LOOKING AT HOW WE CAN CREATE AN ECONOMY THAT WILL ACTUALLY HELP SUSTAIN OUR URBAN FOREST. SO WE CALL WE'RE CALLING IT TREE RESILIENCE TO TREE ECONOMY. AND WE JUST RECENTLY I KNOW AND THAT'S CLEVER. WE JUST RECENTLY SUBMITTED A GRANT TO THE FUNDERS NETWORK WHICH IS A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION. THEY'RE PARTNERS FOR PLACES. GRANTS ARE IN ROUND 22. AND LOUISVILLE HAS BEEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO ALREADY RECEIVE THREE GRANTS FROM THIS ORGANIZATION. AND THAT'S REALLY SUPER. SO WE HAVE WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD HISTORY WITH THEM.
AND SO WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD POSITIVE ATTITUDE ABOUT GETTING HELP FROM FROM THAT ORGANIZATION. AND THAT WILL, I THINK, HELP HELP US LEVERAGE OTHER LOCAL FINANCING AND RESOURCES TO BE ABLE TO DO WHAT WE NEED TO DO, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT, AGAIN, THOSE THOSE IMPORTANT FINDINGS ARE ARE SUPER CRITICAL. DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS SO FAR? OKAY. SO AGAIN, WE'RE IN THE DRAFT PHASE OF THE OF THE PLAN. OUR CONSULTANTS HAVE CREATED A 100 PLUS PAGE SUMMARY OF EVERYTHING THAT WE DID FROM, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY JANUARY TO DECEMBER OF 2024. AND THEY'VE CONSOLIDATED THAT INTO THIS 20 PAGE PIECE THAT THAT I EMAILED YOU LAST WEEK FOR YOUR REVIEW. AND WE'RE ALSO GOING TO CREATE A VERY QUICK KIND OF LEAVE BEHIND PIECE. AND SO WE'RE READY TO GO TO PRINT. AND AS LONG AS YOU'RE NOT SEEING ANY RED FLAGS JUMPING
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OUT AT YOU WHEN YOU LOOK THROUGH THIS, THIS IS PRETTY MUCH WHAT WE'RE GOING TO GO FOR WITH THESE RECOMMENDATIONS. AND SOME OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE A PRETTY HEAVY LIFT. FOR INSTANCE, THERE IS ITEM ACTION ITEM 1.3 IS THAT METRO GOVERNMENT WOULD TAKE OVER FULL CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF STREET TREES. I THINK THAT IT'S SAFE TO SAY THAT MOST PEOPLE REALIZE THAT THAT'S THE BEST WAY TO MANAGE OUR URBAN FOREST. THAT SAID, WE DON'T HAVE A PLAN YET TO IMPLEMENT THAT, NOR DO WE HAVE THE FUNDING. SO AGAIN, I THINK THAT THIS COALITION WILL BE VERY IMPORTANT IN DESIGNING THESE THIS IMPLEMENTATION AND HOW WE GET TO THAT POINT WHERE WE CAN DO THAT. SO I'M SUPER EXCITED AND WE HAVE A MEETING SET UP ACTUALLY NEXT WEEK. AND I KNOW IT'S AT 1:00. AND SO I WILL BE THERE ON TIME. AND THAT'S GOING TO BE ONE OF THE FIRST COALITION BUILDING MEETINGS THAT THAT WE WILL, WILL, WILL HAVE AND THAT MEETING WILL HELP US KIND OF GATHER ALL THE INFORMATION FROM THOSE OTHER THREE CONVENINGS AND THEN START TO DETERMINE WHO ELSE NEEDS TO BE INVOLVED, WHAT STEPS WE NEED TO TAKE TO GET TO WHERE WE WANT TO BE. HAVE COUNCILWOMAN BASS IN THE QUEUE. BUT I WANT TO ASK ONE QUESTION, I GUESS FOR THE NEW FOLKS REAL QUICK, IF THAT'S OKAY TO YOU. CINDY, WHO PAYS FOR THE TREES AND THE SERVICES RIGHT NOW? CURRENTLY. CURRENTLY THERE'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT MEANS OF GETTING TREES IN THE GROUND. SO WE TREES LOUISVILLE, WE'RE A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION. WE RAISE FUNDS TO BE ABLE TO PLANT TREES IN PRIVATE PROPERTY AND IN THE RIGHT OF WAY. SO WE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DONOR FUNDED AND WE PLANT TREES ALL OVER TOWN. IN YOUR PACKET THAT I GAVE YOU, I YOU HAVE A MAP THAT SHOWS THE PROJECTS THAT WE'VE DONE IN YOUR DISTRICTS. WE'VE WORKED IN EVERY DISTRICT IN, IN LOUISVILLE METRO TO GET TO DO PROJECTS. WE WORK WITH THE KENTUCKY TRANSPORTATION CABINET. WE'RE PLANTING TREES FOR THEM ON KYTC RIGHT OF WAY.WE WORK WITH PUBLIC WORKS. WHEN THEY DO SIDEWALK REPLACEMENTS, WE EVALUATE THE TREES. IF THEY NEED TO BE REMOVED, WE HELP GET THEM REPLACED. AND ON THE PARKWAYS AND OF COURSE IN THE PARKS, THOSE ARE THOSE TREES ARE MAINTAINED BY METRO PARKS. AND THEN IF THERE ARE. ACCIDENTS WHEN AN A TREE FALLS, IF IT FALLS IN THE RIGHT OF WAY, THEN PUBLIC WORKS WILL GET OUT THERE AND DO THAT REMOVAL AND TAKE CARE OF THAT PART OF IT. THAT'S A GREAT SEGUE FOR A QUESTION THAT A FOLLOW UP QUESTION I HAVE. IF THERE IS A TREE THAT IS FELL OR FALLEN, I GUESS, IS THAT THE RIGHT WORD? DO YOU HEAR THE TREE WHEN IT FALLS? DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU ARE. BAD DAD JOKE.
IT'S KIND OF ON THE VERGE OF WHAT WOULD BE A CITY EASEMENT VERSUS A PERSONAL PROPERTY EASEMENT. AND THE TREE HAS FALLEN AND IS LEANING ON ANOTHER TREE. BUT THERE'S ALREADY TREES THAT HAVE FALLEN IN THE CITY EASEMENT THAT ARE DUE TO BE REMOVED. AND IF PUBLIC WORKS CANNOT REMOVE THE TREE THAT IS FALLEN AND IS LEANING, WOULD YOU ALL BE ABLE TO REMOVE THE TREE AND REPLANT A TREE THERE? WE HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS TO FUND A PROGRAM WE CALL TREE RESILIENCE. AND TREE RESILIENCE HAS THREE PARTS TO IT HIGH RISK TREE PRUNING AND REMOVAL, TREE PLANTING AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. BECAUSE OUR INDUSTRY NEEDS MORE PEOPLE AND WE KNOW THAT AND WE ALSO NEED MORE DIVERSITY AND WE KNOW THAT. SO TREES ALLIANCE IS A PROGRAM THAT THAT WE AT TREES LOUISVILLE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FUND FOR A LONG TIME. IF WE GET THIS GRANT THAT WE'LL FIND OUT ABOUT THAT IN MAY, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO.
WE WILL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF FUNDING THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO LEVERAGE, TO BE ABLE TO DO THOSE LARGE TREE REMOVALS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY. OKAY. THANK YOU. I THINK I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION, BUT I'M GOING TO WAIT TILL LATER. I'M GOING TO ASK COUNCILWOMAN BASS IS IN THE QUEUE. OKAY. BEAR WITH ME. I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS THAT ARE PROBABLY GOING TO LEAD TO OTHER QUESTIONS. SO FIRST I WANTED TO TOUCH ON WHERE YOU SAID THE GOVERNMENT WOULD TAKE FULL CARE OF MANAGEMENT OF THE STREET TREES. HOW HOW ARE WE? WHAT I DON'T HEAR IN ANY OF THIS IS THE OWNERSHIP FROM WHO DECIDES WHERE THESE TREES ARE GOING TO GO. DO WE GET CLEARANCE? BECAUSE I,
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I'VE HAD PEOPLE REACH OUT TO ME THAT TREES WERE PLANTED LIKE IN MEDIANS IN FRONT OF THEIR HOUSE, AND NOW THEY'RE MADE TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE TREES. THEY DON'T WANT THE TREE. THEY DON'T WANT TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE TREE AND THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT IT COST TO TAKE CARE OF THESE TREES. SO I GUESS MY QUESTION THERE IS, I HEARD YOU MENTION GRANT MONEY A FEW TIMES THAT YOU ALL HAD GOTTEN. YOU'RE ALSO RAISING FUNDS. SO WHERE DOES THAT PLAY A FACTOR? IF YOU'RE WANTING THE STATE TO TAKE OVER FULL MANAGEMENT OF STREET TREES? AND IF THAT IS THE CASE, DO WE GET A SAY ON WHERE THOSE TREES ARE GOING TO GO? SO THE CURRENT ORDINANCE PUTS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE MAINTENANCE AND CARE OF THE TREE TO ON THE ADJACENT PROPERTY OWNER. THAT'S THE WAY OUR ORDINANCE READS RIGHT NOW. IF THAT WERE TO CHANGE. AND OKAY, SO LET ME JUST STOP THERE. THAT'S THE WAY THE ORDINANCE READS RIGHT NOW. IT IS THE ADJACENT PROPERTY OWNERS RESPONSIBILITY. LOUISVILLE METRO, METRO PARKS AND REC PLANTS, TREES. AND THEY DO THAT SYSTEMATICALLY. AND THEY ALWAYS LEAVE A DOOR HANGER IN ON ON THE ADJACENT PROPERTY OWNERS DOOR TO LET THEM KNOW THAT THEY WILL BE COMING THROUGH AND PLANTING TREES. IF THAT PROPERTY OWNER DOESN'T WANT A TREE, THEY CAN LET URBAN FORESTRY KNOW AND THAT TREE WILL NOT BE PLANTED. SO RIGHT NOW IT IS KIND OF A THERE'S A MIX OF HOW THINGS HAPPEN, BUT CURRENTLY IT IS THE ADJACENT PROPERTY OWNERS RESPONSIBILITY TO MAINTAIN THAT TREE. SO WITH THAT, WE'RE AT THE IF YOU ALL HANG SOMETHING AND SAY THE WIND CATCHES IT AND BLOWS OFF AND THEY NEVER GET NOTIFICATION AND THE TREE GETS PUT UP, NOW THEY'RE STUCK PAYING FOR IT. SHOULD WE MAYBE LOOK FURTHER AND MALE. WELL YEAH. AND THEY HAVE DONE MAILINGS AS WELL. AND, AND WHEN THE, WHEN THE CONTRACTORS GO TO PLANT THE TREE, IF THE PROPERTY OWNER SAYS I DON'T WANT THAT TREE, THE CONTRACTORS ARE GOING TO PUT THE TREE BACK ON THE TRUCK AND TAKE IT AWAY. THEY'RE NOT GOING TO PLANT A TREE. IF AN IF A PROPERTY OWNER COMES OUT AND SAYS, I DON'T WANT THAT TREE, OKAY. YEAH, WE WON'T DO THAT.ALSO, I'VE NOTICED WHERE IS THE THOUGHT PROCESS WHEN WE PLANT A SAID TREE UNDER POWER LINES THAT WE KNOW IN 1015 YEARS IT'S GOING TO BE IN THE POWER LINES? WELL, I WILL TELL YOU THAT OUR INDUSTRY HAS GOTTEN SMARTER OVER THE LAST FEW DECADES, AND OUR URBAN FORESTRY DIVISION AT METRO PARKS AND REC HAS VERY SPECIFIC STANDARDS FOR WHAT TYPE OF TREE CAN GO UNDER POWER LINES. IF WE ARE UNDER POWER LINES, WE CAN'T PUT A TREE THAT'S GOING TO GET MORE THAN 25 OR 30FT IN HEIGHT.
SO I WILL SAY THAT THAT OVER THE LAST DECADES OR GENERATION, WE HAVE MADE THOSE MISTAKES OF PUTTING THE WRONG TREE IN THE, IN THE, IN THE WRONG PLACE. BUT NOW WE ARE DOING THE RIGHT TREE IN THE RIGHT PLACE. OKAY. AND THEN WHERE ARE WE AS FAR AS YOU KNOW, DO WE TRY TO WORK? DO YOU ALL TRY TO WORK WITH DEVELOPERS WHEN, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP THE, THE, THE GREENERY, THE TREES, AND THEN WE COME IN AND WE FLATTEN 40 ACRES OF TREES TO PLANT TEN TREES IN PLACE. WHAT DO YOU ALL TRY TO WORK? YES. SO AT TREES LOUISVILLE, WE HAVE FOUR PILLARS OF OPERATION EDUCATION AND PUBLIC AWARENESS ADVOCACY, WHICH WE'RE VERY PROUD OF. COLLABORATION AND FUNDING OUR PROJECTS. SO THERE'S REALLY TWO DIFFERENT THINGS WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT RIGHT OF WAY TREES, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE PUBLIC TREE PROTECTION ORDINANCE. AND WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT NEW DEVELOPMENT THAT'S UNDER THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE. SO WE ARE VERY PROUD TO SAY THAT TREES LOUISVILLE WORKED REALLY HARD WITH METRO COUNCIL TO BE ABLE TO DEVELOP A PUBLIC TREE PROTECTION ORDINANCE THAT PASSED IN DECEMBER OF 2017. IT MAY NEED SOME LANGUAGE CHANGES AND REVISIONS. AND WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'D LOVE TO BE ABLE TO WORK ON THAT WITH COUNCIL. AND WE ALSO WORKED WITH METRO COUNCIL PLANNING AND ZONING AND WITH LOCAL DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY TO REVISE THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE BEFORE 2018, THERE WAS ZERO PRESERVATION REQUIRED ON ANY NEW DEVELOPMENT. OVER 50 ACRES. NOW, SINCE 2018, WE WERE ABLE TO GET LANGUAGE IN THERE, WORKING WITH THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY. THAT 20% OF THAT EXISTING CANOPY HAS TO BE MAINTAINED, HAS TO BE PRESERVED. SO IT'S A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. THOSE OF US IN, IN MY INDUSTRY DON'T REALLY THINK THAT THAT'S ENOUGH, BUT IT WAS A NUMBER THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS AND THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY AND THE POLICYMAKERS COULD, COULD LIVE WITH TOGETHER. ALL RIGHT. ONE LAST QUESTION, THEN I'LL I'LL
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PASS IT TO SOMEONE ELSE. WE KNOW. WELL, I HAVE A RESIDENT THAT HAD REACHED OUT TO ME.SHE'S ON SOCIAL SECURITY FIXED INCOME. THE CITY USED TO TAKE CARE OF A TREE THAT'S IN, YOU KNOW, NOT TECHNICALLY HERS, BUT WAS PLACED. AND THEN THEY DECIDED ALL OF A SUDDEN THEY'RE NO LONGER GOING TO TAKE CARE OF SAID TREE. AND IT'S HER RESPONSIBILITY. AND SHE'S UP TO, LIKE, $1,000 IN FINES THAT SHE CAN'T PAY. AND SHE ALSO CAN'T PAY TO HAVE THIS TREE PRUNED AND CUT THE WAY IT NEEDS TO BE BECAUSE OF HER FIXED INCOME STATUS. ARE THERE ANY KIND OF PROGRAMS OUT THERE OR SOMEONE SHE CAN REACH OUT TO? MAYBE HELP WITH THIS? OR THERE IS A TREE ASSISTANCE FUND AND THAT WAS THAT BUCKET OF MONEY, IF YOU WILL, WAS CREATED BY METRO COUNCIL SOME YEARS AGO. AND IF THAT RESIDENT DOES MEET THOSE ECONOMIC SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE TREE ASSISTANCE FUND, THEY THEY CAN GET HELP WITH THE REMOVAL OF PRUNING OF A LARGE TREE. YES.
OKAY. AND IT'S CALLED THE TREE ASSISTANCE FUND OKAY. AND THAT'S HANDLED THROUGH URBAN FORESTRY.
THANK YOU FOR THAT. SURE. COUNCIL MEMBER LEININGER. SO WE'RE GOING TO SEGUE DIRECTLY INTO WHAT I WAS GOING TO TALK ABOUT, WHICH WAS URBAN FORESTRY. YOU KNOW, THEY'RE GOING THROUGH, YOU KNOW, DISADVANTAGED AREAS BY CENSUS TRACK, TRYING TO BE MINDFUL OF RESOURCES AND TALKING TO PEOPLE THAT, YOU KNOW, ARE MEETING CRITERIA FOR, SUCH AS THE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ON THE STREET TREES, WHICH IS A FRUSTRATION OF MINE BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE TOLD FLAT, YOU KNOW, THE STREET TREES ARE YOUR PROBLEM. IF IT'S ON, IF IT'S ON THE EASEMENT, YOU STILL GOT TO DEAL WITH IT. WHEN WE DO HAVE PROGRAMS, BECAUSE ESSENTIALLY WITH 1.3 WE HAVE 1.3. RIGHT NOW IT'S JUST MEANS TESTED. THE ACTION ITEM 1.3. WHAT IS A PROPOSAL TO NO LONGER MEANS TEST ASSISTANCE AND CARE FOR TREES ON THE EASEMENT, BUT INSTEAD TO MAKE THAT A PROGRAM THAT IS UNIVERSAL BENEFIT. THAT'S THE WAY I SEE IT. AND I THINK THAT'S THAT'S VERY EXCITING. SO I'M GLAD TO SEE IT IN THERE. THANK YOU. SURE. AND I SHOULD ALSO POINT OUT, JUST IN CASE YOU'RE NOT AWARE OF THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT GRANT, THAT WAS THAT URBAN FORESTRY RECEIVED LAST YEAR. THEY RECEIVED $12 MILLION TO BE ABLE TO REMOVE HIGH RISK TREES, TO REPLACE THOSE TREES, AND TO CREATE A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. THAT $12 MILLION IS FOR A FIVE YEAR PERIOD. SO WE'RE ALREADY INTO THE FIRST YEAR OF THAT, BUT IT IS ONLY FOR JUSTICE40 AREAS AND JUSTICE40 AREAS WERE BASICALLY AN A THING, IF YOU WILL, CREATED BY THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, WHERE 40% OF FEDERAL FUNDING SHOULD GO TO CENSUS TRACTS THAT ARE CONSIDERED, THAT ARE SCREENED BY THE CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE SCREENING TOOL.
DEMOGRAPHICS, TREE CANOPY, IMPERVIOUS SURFACES, ALL SORTS OF THINGS GO INTO THAT SCREENING TOOL. AND 23% OF OUR METRO AREA IS CONSIDERED SUGGEST. SO. THAT'S THE ONLY PLACE THAT THAT $12 MILLION CAN BE SPENT. AND ALSO IN YOUR PACKETS, I DID PROVIDE YOU A MAP OF THE SUGGEST AREAS SO THAT YOU CAN SEE THAT THAT EACH OF YOU HAVE SUGGEST AREAS IN YOUR DISTRICTS. I THINK THERE ARE MORE THAN HALF OF THE COUNCIL IS NOT CONSIDERED IN THE. YEAH THAT'S IT. THE PINK.
THE PINK. YEP. BUT BUT THAT WOULD COVER SIGNIFICANT AREAS OF CERTAINLY MY DISTRICT I BELIEVE COUNCILWOMAN BASS AND I THINK ALSO PARTS OF THE CHAIRS. SO YEAH. SO RIGHT OF WAY AND THAT'S AGAIN THAT'S ONLY FOR RIGHT OF WAY EASEMENT PUBLIC PROPERTY THAT DOES THAT THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE PRIVATE PROPERTY. SO IF YOU DO HAVE RESIDENTS THAT ARE CALLING YOU AND YOU KNOW THAT THEY'RE IN THOSE AREAS THEY CAN GET HELP WITH WITH THAT IRA MONEY. THANK YOU. I HAVE ONE FINAL QUESTION. AND SO THIS IS NO DISRESPECT TO ANYONE, BUT AND 1.3 OF THE STRATEGIES METRO GOVERNMENT TAKES OVER FULL CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF STREET TREES. MY QUESTION IS HOW. AND NO OFFENSE TO OUR PARKS DEPARTMENT, WHICH I RESPECT IMMENSELY, WHO ARE ALREADY OVERWORKED AND UNDERSTAFFED. HOW DO WE EXPECT THEM TO TAKE CARE OF ALL THE WORK THAT IS NEEDED ON THIS?
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NOW, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION. AND THAT, I THINK, IS WHAT NEEDS TO BE DETERMINED BY THE COALITION THAT WE'RE GOING TO BUILD. THAT WILL INCLUDE ALL OF US HERE SO THAT WE CAN DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, IF THERE ARE MOST OF OUR PEER CITIES. CHAIR BATSON, DO MAINTAIN THE RIGHT OF WAY TREES, AND IT'S DONE BY A NUMBER OF THINGS. NOBODY WANTS TO HEAR THE THREE LETTER WORD TAX. BUT OHIO. THAT'S HOW CINCINNATI AND EVERY JUST ABOUT EVERY COMMUNITY IN OHIO MANAGES THEIR URBAN FOREST. I THINK THAT WE DEVELOP A PLAN, WE DEVELOP A PLAN TO FUND IT.AND I REALIZE IT'S GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME. BUT I THINK IN ORDER FOR US TO BE A HEALTHY COMMUNITY, NO MATTER WHAT ZIP CODE YOU LIVE IN, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO DO BECAUSE AGAIN, WE KNOW THAT THE PEOPLE IN THE LOWEST CANOPY NEIGHBORHOODS LIVE 12 YEARS LESS THAN THE PEOPLE IN THE IN THE HIGH CANOPY NEIGHBORHOODS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THANK YOU FOR COMING TODAY AND THANK YOU FOR BEING RUSHED HERE. YEAH, I'M SO SORRY.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HAVING ME. AND AGAIN, ANYTIME YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS PLAN, WHICH WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND GO TO PRINT WITH OR ANY ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT TREES IN YOUR DISTRICT OR NEIGHBORHOOD, WE'RE MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANKS FOR
[Adjournment Note: Agendas are followed at the discretion of the Chair. While an item may be listed, it does not mean all items will be heard and/or acted upon by the Committee.]
HAVING ME. WITH THAT BEING SAID, THERE'S NO ADDITIONAL BUSINESS ON THE CALENDAR FOR TODAY, SO THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED.* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.