Mayor Colin, Council Members
Cc: Clerk Lindsay Lara, DPW Director April Miller, City Manager Jim Schutz, Assistant City Manager Cristine Alilovich, DPW Analyst Stephen Acker
Bcc: San Rafael Tree Group
May 12, 2023
Mayor Colin and Council Members:
I'm again writing for the San Rafael Tree Group, a coalition of local environmental leaders who have been working with the Department of Public Works for the past two years to improve the City's Street Tree Ordinance and implement other urban forestry programs in General Plan 2040.
Following on our letter and testimony for your May 8 study session, and now that we have had the opportunity to review your draft "Goals & Objectives FY 2023-25" released that day for public comment, we recommend that you add the following objective as a Council budget goal:
Develop a comprehensive Tree Master Plan and Tree Preservation Procedures implementing General Plan policies to protect, maintain, and expand San Rafael's tree canopy.
The objective would complement several of the objectives in Goal B: Quality of Life (p. 13) Alternatively, it could be added to Goal A: Neighborhood and Economic Vitality (p. 12) or Goal D: Public Assets (p. 15). The objective moves forward key programs of the General Plan (Community Design and Preservation CDP-3.5A and Conservation and Climate Change C-1.17A.)
The title Tree Master Plan and Tree Preservation Procedures could be used for the Intensity/Cost chart (p. 18)
We continue to look forward to your pending action on the revised Street Tree Ordinance, an important FY2021-23 objective, and to the tree inventory now moving forward. We again emphasize that by implementing these various urban forestry policies together as a coherent whole, the City can achieve a comprehensive tree strategy for San Rafael in a coordinated, cost- effective, and timely manner.
Our group remains ready to help in the coming year. Thank you.
Yours truly,
Amy Likover
Convener, San Rafael Tree Group