From: Jennifer Kerr
Sent: Monday, June 5, 2023 2:11 AM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]>; Eli Hill <[email protected]>; Mayor Kate <[email protected]>
Subject: Tree preservation plan
Dear Mayor, council members and city clerk,
My husband and I are Gerstle park residents. We moved here in 2014 from San Fracisco.
Over the past several years since the advent of the wildfires, we have observed so many of the beautiful heritage trees in our neighborhood and in surrounding areas decimated by careless and incompetent tree trimming, primarily at the hand of PG&E, who hires the most incompetent and cheapest “arborists” they can find. They have severely damaged many trees by top-heading them, which is essentially killing them slowly.
It is terribly disheartening to witness this, especially when the environmental impact is considered. Bird population has declined by a staggering 2.9 billion in the United States since 1970 according to a Cornell University study, due primarily to loss of habitat. That is one in four birds. Insect population has also severely decreased in recent years. Clearly we are at a crossroads in terms of climate change. Many studies have shown how trees mitigate climate change on many levels, by providing oxygen, preventing soil erosion, etc.
We urge you to help to protect and preserve one of our city’s most important remaining resources.
1. Develop a comprehensive Tree Master Plan and Tree Preservation Procedures implementing General Plan policies to protect, maintain, and expand San Rafael’s tree canopy.
2. Clarify the tree-related objectives in Goals A and D:
3. Goal A: Neighborhood and Economic Vitality "Prioritize the implementation of key General Plan 2040 programs, including neighborhood planning, economic vitality, tree inventory to guide other tree programs, and improving and preserving public assets."
4. Goal D: Public Assets "Develop an inventory of City assets, including buildings, infrastructure, parks lighting, open space and trees, and develop a strategic plan for asset management to identify and quantify unfunded liabilities and deferred maintenance costs. The inventory of trees shall be sufficiently detailed to guide other General Plan 2040 tree programs." The City should implement General Plan policies and programs on tree management in a timely and comprehensive manner, which we also believe is the most cost-effective manner. We seek your commitment to proceed seamlessly from
1) a tree inventory that provides the necessary data for 2) the tree ordinance
3) tree preservation, and
4) a tree master plan to guide implementation of 5) the remaining General Plan tree programs.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Kerr
Phil Milner
Jennifer Kerr
Phillip Milner
San Rafael, CA 94901
From: Lisa Hamilton
Sent: Sunday, June 4, 2023 7:43 PM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]>; Eli Hill <[email protected]>; Mayor Kate <[email protected]>
Subject: Request: June 5, 2023 San Rafael Budget FY 2023-2024 Vote Hello Mayor Colin and City Council Member Hill,
I am a resident of San Rafael District 2, and this message is regarding the June 5, 2023 planned vote on the San Rafael Budget Goals and Objectives. Specifically, I am writing about the singular tree-related goal presented by City staff for a 3-D inventory of trees.
This goal includes no reference to the San Rafael General Plan 2040 adopted August 21, 2021 (General Plan) which includes a Conservation and Climate Change Element specifically addressing trees in Section 6: Conservation and Climate Change.
San Rafael has a rich and diverse environment in a large part due to our trees, and I understand per the General Plan, you are responsible for their long-term protection.
Given the large amount of existing research indicating that trees reduce mental health and physical stress, anxiety, depression, and trees improve mood, cognition, and longevity, you can see that protecting trees will have a direct and powerful impact on the individuals and families in our city. In addition, trees help stop climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the air, storing carbon in the trees and soil, and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere.
Therefore, I am excited to be asking you to vote to:
• Develop a comprehensive Tree Master Plan and Tree Preservation Procedures implementing General Plan policies to protect, maintain, and expand San Rafael’s tree canopy.
• Clarify the tree-related objectives in Goals A and D:
o Goal A: Neighborhood and Economic Vitality "Prioritize the implementation of key General Plan 2040 programs, including neighborhood planning, economic vitality, tree inventory to guide other tree programs, and improving and preserving public assets."
o Goal D: Public Assets "Develop an inventory of City assets, including buildings, infrastructure, parks lighting, open space and trees, and develop a strategic plan for asset management to identify and quantify unfunded liabilities and deferred maintenance costs. The inventory of trees shall be sufficiently detailed to guide other General Plan 2040 tree programs." The City should implement General Plan policies and programs on tree management in a timely and comprehensive manner, which we also believe is the most cost-effective manner. We seek your commitment to proceed seamlessly from
a tree inventory that provides the necessary data for the tree ordinance
tree preservation, and
a tree master plan to guide implementation of the
remaining General Plan tree programs.
Thank you for caring for our city and citizens by protecting the trees in our lovely town.
Regards,
Lisa Hamilton
June 2, 2023
San Rafael City Council
1400 Fifth Avenue
San Rafael, CA 94901
RE: Tree Inventory in FY23-24 Budget Objectives
Honorable Mayor and Councilmembers,
Sustainable San Rafael welcomes the inclusion of a tree inventory in the Council's budget objectives for the coming fiscal year. We look forward to an inventory that includes sufficient data to support the remaining tree-related
programs in General Plan 2040.
The inventory is a first step to implementing these programs in a comprehensive, cost-efficient, and timely manner:
1. Complete the Tree Inventory called for by this
objective and the General Plan (CDP-3.5B).
2. Adopt the revised Tree Ordinance per last year's
budget objectives, which we understand was placed
on hold pending completion of the Tree Inventory.
3. Include Tree Preservation regulations in the Tree
Ordinance as called for by the General Plan (C-1.17A).
4. Develop and adopt a Tree Master Plan as called for by the General Plan (CDP-3.5A).
5. Implement the remaining General Plan tree programs
within the framework of the Tree Master Plan.
Since funding for a consultant to complete the Tree Master Plan may be available from State and/or Federal sources, we request that securing these funds be initiated in the coming year. Developing the scope for this work now would have the added benefit of assisting coordination of items 1, 2, and 3.
Proceeding with a comprehensive approach to caring for our trees is key to achieving San Rafael's climate goals. Trees cool our communities, reducing the impact of more severe heat waves. Trees sequester greenhouse gases, reducing the root cause of climate change as Marin moves towards zero net GHG emissions by 2045. And trees create a walkable environment, reducing driving, our single largest emitter of GHG.
For all these reasons and more, trees need our support now.
Sincerely,
William Carney, President
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
William Carney, President
Linda Jackson, Vice President
Stuart Siegel, Secretary
Arlin Benavides
Greg Brockbank
Kay Karchevski
Kiki La Porta
Annika Osborn
Howard Schwartz
415.302.0110