4-24-07

Members present: June Hutson, Roger Vonder Bruegge, Bill Ruppert, Judy Wickersham, Susan Renard, and Jenny O’Toole.

The meeting was called to order at 7:01 pm.

Citizen comments: Chris Maddock, 520 N. Taylor, Kirkwood. Mr. Maddock requested permission to remove a street tree at this address. He commissioned a tree study done by a certified arborist who recommended removal. The arborist said the tree is diseased and rotting. Mr. Maddock is planning on demolishing the house and rebuilding with the intention of selling. He said the original plans put the driveway over a sewer lateral. He asked how quickly he would know the KUFC’s recommendation. June Hutson said she will pass her recommendation to Ken Yost.

I.                    Minutes: the minutes of 3-27-07 were approved as submitted.

II.                 Communications

A.     June Hutson announced that the City of Kirkwood has received the Tree City Award for the 17^th consecutive year. The award ceremony will be this Friday at the Jewel Box.

B.     Request for permission to remove a tree by Chris Maddox. Susan Renard asked if we can recommend replanting another tree on the property. Judy Wickersham said the practice is to enclose a Recommended Street Tree brochure marked “For your consideration” with the letter Ken Yost mails. A brief discussion on this request followed. It was noted that the tree in question has been marked with a “zero” value. Roger Vonder Bruegge made the motion to recommend the owner to remove the tree. Judy Wickersham seconded the motion. The motion passed.

C.     Donna Poe who is organizing this year’s Festival of Food & Flowers has invited us to be a part of their educational exhibits. The event will be held from 10 am to 5 pm on May 19^th in the park next to City Hall.

D.     June Hutson said the KUFC banner is missing. Roger Vonder Bruegge volunteered to ask the Parks Department about this.

III.               Council Liaison: Councilman Joe Godi was excused. June Hutson invited him to the next meeting.

IV.              Jr. Treekeepers: Paul Loida was not present. Graduation dates have been set for North Glendale, April 27 at 2:10 pm, St. Peter’s, May 4^th at 10 am, and Tillman is to be announced.

V.                 Draft of Tree ordinance

The subcommittee met April 18. Bill Ruppert distributed the latest draft. He said it all comes down to two sets of trees, public trees and private trees. The bulk of the ordinance deals with public trees. The manual is strictly for public trees. At this point the subcommittee is pretty much in agreement regarding the manual, although it’s never going to be finished. Unless someone has seen something more, Bill Ruppert said it’s ready for Ken Yost’s input. Roger Vonder Bruegge has gone through the draft of the code and found every place where “public tree” needs to be noted. The big debate comes with the issue of private trees.

There are four issues that could impact private trees:

·        care of private trees: the ordinance has taken the approach that if you hire a tree maintenance company, they have to be licensed by the City;

·        the tree preservation plan which is any plan for new single residences or is required to go before Planning & Zoning (P & Z);

·        tree preservation sites equal to or greater than 3 acres;

·        tree preservation on new development sites less than 3 acres.

Roger Vonder Bruegge said he needs to understand Missouri statutes and laws to determine if any policies exist other than the property owner owns any trees on the property. He said he has done some research and learned that 94% of forestry land is privately owned.

Bill Ruppert said by using the public trees to set an example, we can set the standard. Right now we have no way of capturing any funds to compensate the city for any trees that are taken down by anyone other than the city. Public trees are a limited resource in this community. Maybe there is a way to work out an arrangement with the electric company to replant suitable trees that will, in the long run, result in savings to the community. Susan Renard cited a case in Clayton where Ameren removed all the Bradford Pears on Big Bend from Clayton to Forsyth and compensated the city $100 per tree. Although this money is going to the general fund, she said she will be able to spend that money to plant trees in the park.

Roger Vonder Bruegge reported that the Parks Department doesn’t know yet if it wants to be subject to the tree code. He said issues affecting the risk of capital, which trees would do, is why he opposes the tree code when it pertains to private trees. This impacts the ability to borrow. The property becomes a liability to the property owner. Bill Ruppert said he would like to set aside the private trees issues and bring the draft of the tree code to a review of the citizens. He believes that if we have the best thing we can for public trees, then it will eventually be the standard for private trees.

Bill Ruppert said there is another aspect dealing with the protection of trees during construction on private property. Roger Vonder Bruegge said that maybe that needs to be addressed at P & Z. June Hutson said that Public Works provides developers with instructions on protecting trees, but it is not enforced. Jenny O’Toole said there is something to be said for tightening up the code pertaining to single family developments. The main difference we’re talking about here is the tree fund. Bill Ruppert said we’re still going to maintain the discussion on private trees. The debate needs to be part of the debate on teardowns. Roger  Vonder Bruegge said the infill issue needs to be addressed at P & Z. We need to sit down with them. Jenny O’Toole said she is curious about how many lots in Kirkwood could be used for infill. Roger Vonder Bruegge said he objected to restrictions to private property owners on how much they can build on their property. June Hutson said the city does not object to the reduction of square footage of land for development on teardowns. Why would the city ever consider approving a tree code limiting development if the property tax is linked to square footage? Why would the city be willing to restrict the footprint on a property? Roger Vonder Bruegge said we need to work for a balance between dense property and nothing. June Hutson said we need to revisit the tree preservation code in P & Z. She also said she would feel a lot better about our code if Ken Yost looks it over and tells us the substantive difference between what we already have and what we are proposing.

Bill Ruppert said that what he proposes to KUFC is that we create this ordinance as a base document and set aside the parts on private trees for further discussion. June Hutson commented that by taking out the sections dealing with private trees, what we have left, for all intents and purposes, is what we already have in Public Works. Basically, it’s the same language that is already in the books. Bill Ruppert said Ken Yost should go through the draft and note anything that is different.

Roger Vonder Bruegge said he would like to put all the tree codes in one place. He said Quninette Cemetery set the precedent for a non-commingled tree fund. He said we need to hold the line on the tree fund.

Bill Ruppert said he wants to make this ordinance a Public Tree Code, but he would really like to see the community look at this. Jenny O’Toole asked how we could get public discussion on the private tree issues. Roger Vonder Bruegge said you don’t allow the debate to stop. You couch it in different terms. Politically, you work toward the best thing and with very little fighting. Then you work on the next thing. There is some rationale to not fighting a battle you don’t need to fight.

Roger Vonder Bruegge made a motion that we give the draft of the tree code, limited to public trees only, and the tree manual to Ken Yost for his review and comments. Seconded by Bill Ruppert. The motion passed. Roger Vonder Bruegge said we need to get the current draft of the tree code on the city website.

VI.              Other Business

A.     America in Bloom: Bill Ruppert reported that a feature article appeared in the “Gateway to Greening” publication. Judges will arrive the morning of Wednesday, June 27. They will have a working lunch at Mudd’s Grove, followed by a driving tour of the city. He is working on holding a dinner on the Meramec campus. Thursday, June 28, there will be a breakfast at the swimming pool followed by a driving tour . The Kirkwood Business District will host a reception at the train station.

B.     Bill Ruppert presented a statement he had prepared regarding the care of public trees in Kirkwood. This was prompted by several residents who approached him regarding improvement of their street trees. They were surprised to learn the city’s resources were so limited.

C.     Bill Ruppert said he is going to Kirk Hutcheson, the chair of this year’s Greentree Festival. Bill Ruppert said he wants to get trees back into the culture of the Greentree Festival as was originally there. He would like to see the KUFC have more of an involvement. Possibly we could come up with a fund raising event to buy trees.

D.     Bill Ruppert reported that he will be assisting Donna Poe in submitting a TRIM grant proposal for Downtown Kirkwood. He said he would like to include the KUFC in the proposal just in an advisory role. They are looking at improving five areas:

·        the parking lot on E. Jefferson almost across from the library;

·        the island on W. Jefferson near Duffy’s

·        all the little leaf Lindens next to Duffy’s;

·        the parking lot next to the train station to replace the Bradford Pears;

·        the area between Farmer’s Market and Kirkwood Road.

VII.            Adjourn: the meeting was adjourned at 9:35 pm.

Next meeting: May 22, 2007. Roger Vonder Bruegge asked to be excused from that meeting.

The City is interested in effective communication for all people. Upon request, these minutes can be made available in an alternate format, such as audio tape, by calling 314-822-5894.