Urban Forest - July 21 2016
The Municipality is asking for your input on an Urban Forest Management Plan Survey. The survey however is not on the Municipality’s main website page or, for that matter on the Municipal menu page. It is located on the ”Parks and Recreation web page under “Contacts”/Community/Parks/Urban Forest Management Plan – item #12. Now the reason for not highlighting such an important community survey could be because the Municipality’s main page contains a, “Latest News” item - announcing the purchase of a residential $1.7 million property near Oak Bay Avenue, proposed to be used as a parking lot. If this proposal is adopted it would require the removal of a number of mature trees and paving over a large green space area - this is exactly what the Urban Forest Strategy is attempting to preserve.
Protecting our tree canopy has been assigned to the Parks Board - even though most of Oak Bay’s trees are on private land where most of our tree loss is occurring. What is also curious is there is no longer an Environmental Advisory Committee. This was disbanded in 2015 by Council in-camera - along with the Active Transportation Advisory Committee.
This illogical decision was not accepted well, particularly as Council’s current plan is to implement development sections of the new Official Community Plan (OCP) that has many many environmental and traffic implications. Council was criticized, not only for their decision to eliminate these two critical, impact committees, but also for preventing public input and the opportunity to hear the discussion and reasoning for preventing the EAC extensive, important, local consultation.
Here is what the British Columbia Ministry Of Communities Environmental Planning Guidelines has to say on this subject:
“Official Community Plans & Growth Strategies”
“Identifying and effectively addressing environmental issues does not happen in isolation. It requires working with an interdisciplinary team that has expertise in biology, planning, engineering and consulting”.
In 2015 The Municipality’s Chief Administrative Officer recommended to Council that, “the Committee be thanked for their services and the Committee disbanded” also, “That staff make use of targeted consultation on selected initiatives ……….on environmental sustainability staff see appropriate?
So it is highly unlikely the Environmental Advisory Committee would be reconvened for each initiative or that they would be “hanging around” in case they were needed again. A Provincial recommended interdisciplinary team also would not likely be available or work for free. So more than likely staff would go with the present policy of hiring consultants to do the “Specialized work” that seems to be required frequently in this Council term. It is reported the present consultant count is hovering around a dozen.
The Chairman of the Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) wrote a letter to Council on February 22, 2015 indicating:
He was, “somewhat pessimistic in reviewing the impact of the proposed committee changes” (the EAC being one of these). “I am concerned the loss of the EAC and the nature of the proposed structure has significant potential to dilute the central importance of environmental issues”. Also “Input during the Official Community Plan process reinforced the view that Oak Bay residents ………want to ensure that future development is consistent with the conservation and protection of both the natural and built environments”.
So far there has been just talk about tree protection but little action - this will not prevent deforestation. Our 33% tree canopy is a major part of our natural environment and habitat. Clear-cut lots, expanded building footprints and damage from all the development and demolitions have placed our trees and the community’s desirability in jeopardy. This will intensify as lots are covered with new and enlarged houses, and Council’s planned infill buildings. This in addition to paving our greenway lanes for lane-way housing will result in many trees being eliminated, severely impacting the Urban Forest.
So what do residents need to know before completing the Survey and what information should Council have provided?
* The UN has recognized urban trees are as an important infrastructure as roads, storm drains and sewer systems – they are a big part of maintaining the health of the planet and Oak Bay’s ecological environment.
* A strong enforceable Tree Bylaw is required
* Council must revisit the new Floor Area Ratio Regulations – are they strong enough to protect existing trees? Was too much development industry consultation allowed? Is approving much wider driveways removing too many trees? Should Council continue to allow removing trees that are not in the building footprint, just because they may be damaged during construction?
* An effective construction damage deposit system must be developed – if a tree is
damaged or removed the Municipality can use the substantial cash deposit to replace it.
This will eliminate the taxpayer paying for court proceedings that costs more than the
assessed fine.
* All mature trees must be protected whether native or not – they all make up our Urban
Forest. If currently the Municipality can protect a certain size of tree on private land –
then why not protect all mature urban forest trees? Do not allow subdivisions or
developments that require removing trees from garden areas.
* A reference to the Official Community Plan Landscape Guidelines Page #177 - these
contain many beneficial standards and practices.
* Many new developments have paved over surfaces that appear to be much more than
the 25% the Zoning Bylaw allows.
* The OCP explains our infrastructure is ageing and, “repair and replacement exceed the
available resources”. Trees contribute substantially to eliminating ground water that
would otherwise impact the storm drain system. New development and paving also
stresses remaining trees and impacts their health in a variety of other ways.
Oak Bay Watch urges you to fill out the Urban Forest Survey and review Community input in the Urban Forest Management Plan, Appendix B. In this Report resident’s put tree protection at the top of the list. Also residents that attended the first open house recommended many of the above tree protection initiatives.
Instructions for finding the Urban Forest Management Plan and Survey:
Use the search bar on the main Oak Bay Municipal Website, type in Urban Forest Strategy – the survey is the 3rd item down. Without this knowledge it is difficult to find.
Unfortunately Urban Forest Management Plan Consultation Report does not list the practical suggestions outlined in this newsletter. The Urban Forest Survey does not require respondents to identify if they are residents or work in Oak Bay and if not what is their interest in completing the Tree Survey.
Council must be aware that developers know restricting tree cutting reduces the massing and profit of new developments. If developers liked trees, there wouldn't be songs about, “paving over paradise” and Vancouver and Victoria wouldn't have cut most of their trees, they now have only 18% of their tree canopy remaining. Even this is in jeopardy with the new round of spin: “We need more housing supply to solve the affordability problem”.
The Official Community Plan (OCP) sends a very clear message regarding retainment and enhancement of trees on private property:
OCP Landscape Guidelines: Design the site layout and building locations to:
“Design the landscape to retain, and if possible to increase, the tree canopy on the site considering connectivity of green space with adjacent lots”.
Unless Council recognizes that if Oak Bay goes the same development route that most other Municipalities have taken - then paradise surely will be covered with cement.
The Municipality is asking for your input on an Urban Forest Management Plan Survey. The survey however is not on the Municipality’s main website page or, for that matter on the Municipal menu page. It is located on the ”Parks and Recreation web page under “Contacts”/Community/Parks/Urban Forest Management Plan – item #12. Now the reason for not highlighting such an important community survey could be because the Municipality’s main page contains a, “Latest News” item - announcing the purchase of a residential $1.7 million property near Oak Bay Avenue, proposed to be used as a parking lot. If this proposal is adopted it would require the removal of a number of mature trees and paving over a large green space area - this is exactly what the Urban Forest Strategy is attempting to preserve.
Protecting our tree canopy has been assigned to the Parks Board - even though most of Oak Bay’s trees are on private land where most of our tree loss is occurring. What is also curious is there is no longer an Environmental Advisory Committee. This was disbanded in 2015 by Council in-camera - along with the Active Transportation Advisory Committee.
This illogical decision was not accepted well, particularly as Council’s current plan is to implement development sections of the new Official Community Plan (OCP) that has many many environmental and traffic implications. Council was criticized, not only for their decision to eliminate these two critical, impact committees, but also for preventing public input and the opportunity to hear the discussion and reasoning for preventing the EAC extensive, important, local consultation.
Here is what the British Columbia Ministry Of Communities Environmental Planning Guidelines has to say on this subject:
“Official Community Plans & Growth Strategies”
“Identifying and effectively addressing environmental issues does not happen in isolation. It requires working with an interdisciplinary team that has expertise in biology, planning, engineering and consulting”.
In 2015 The Municipality’s Chief Administrative Officer recommended to Council that, “the Committee be thanked for their services and the Committee disbanded” also, “That staff make use of targeted consultation on selected initiatives ……….on environmental sustainability staff see appropriate?
So it is highly unlikely the Environmental Advisory Committee would be reconvened for each initiative or that they would be “hanging around” in case they were needed again. A Provincial recommended interdisciplinary team also would not likely be available or work for free. So more than likely staff would go with the present policy of hiring consultants to do the “Specialized work” that seems to be required frequently in this Council term. It is reported the present consultant count is hovering around a dozen.
The Chairman of the Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) wrote a letter to Council on February 22, 2015 indicating:
He was, “somewhat pessimistic in reviewing the impact of the proposed committee changes” (the EAC being one of these). “I am concerned the loss of the EAC and the nature of the proposed structure has significant potential to dilute the central importance of environmental issues”. Also “Input during the Official Community Plan process reinforced the view that Oak Bay residents ………want to ensure that future development is consistent with the conservation and protection of both the natural and built environments”.
So far there has been just talk about tree protection but little action - this will not prevent deforestation. Our 33% tree canopy is a major part of our natural environment and habitat. Clear-cut lots, expanded building footprints and damage from all the development and demolitions have placed our trees and the community’s desirability in jeopardy. This will intensify as lots are covered with new and enlarged houses, and Council’s planned infill buildings. This in addition to paving our greenway lanes for lane-way housing will result in many trees being eliminated, severely impacting the Urban Forest.
So what do residents need to know before completing the Survey and what information should Council have provided?
* The UN has recognized urban trees are as an important infrastructure as roads, storm drains and sewer systems – they are a big part of maintaining the health of the planet and Oak Bay’s ecological environment.
* A strong enforceable Tree Bylaw is required
* Council must revisit the new Floor Area Ratio Regulations – are they strong enough to protect existing trees? Was too much development industry consultation allowed? Is approving much wider driveways removing too many trees? Should Council continue to allow removing trees that are not in the building footprint, just because they may be damaged during construction?
* An effective construction damage deposit system must be developed – if a tree is
damaged or removed the Municipality can use the substantial cash deposit to replace it.
This will eliminate the taxpayer paying for court proceedings that costs more than the
assessed fine.
* All mature trees must be protected whether native or not – they all make up our Urban
Forest. If currently the Municipality can protect a certain size of tree on private land –
then why not protect all mature urban forest trees? Do not allow subdivisions or
developments that require removing trees from garden areas.
* A reference to the Official Community Plan Landscape Guidelines Page #177 - these
contain many beneficial standards and practices.
* Many new developments have paved over surfaces that appear to be much more than
the 25% the Zoning Bylaw allows.
* The OCP explains our infrastructure is ageing and, “repair and replacement exceed the
available resources”. Trees contribute substantially to eliminating ground water that
would otherwise impact the storm drain system. New development and paving also
stresses remaining trees and impacts their health in a variety of other ways.
Oak Bay Watch urges you to fill out the Urban Forest Survey and review Community input in the Urban Forest Management Plan, Appendix B. In this Report resident’s put tree protection at the top of the list. Also residents that attended the first open house recommended many of the above tree protection initiatives.
Instructions for finding the Urban Forest Management Plan and Survey:
Use the search bar on the main Oak Bay Municipal Website, type in Urban Forest Strategy – the survey is the 3rd item down. Without this knowledge it is difficult to find.
Unfortunately Urban Forest Management Plan Consultation Report does not list the practical suggestions outlined in this newsletter. The Urban Forest Survey does not require respondents to identify if they are residents or work in Oak Bay and if not what is their interest in completing the Tree Survey.
Council must be aware that developers know restricting tree cutting reduces the massing and profit of new developments. If developers liked trees, there wouldn't be songs about, “paving over paradise” and Vancouver and Victoria wouldn't have cut most of their trees, they now have only 18% of their tree canopy remaining. Even this is in jeopardy with the new round of spin: “We need more housing supply to solve the affordability problem”.
The Official Community Plan (OCP) sends a very clear message regarding retainment and enhancement of trees on private property:
OCP Landscape Guidelines: Design the site layout and building locations to:
“Design the landscape to retain, and if possible to increase, the tree canopy on the site considering connectivity of green space with adjacent lots”.
Unless Council recognizes that if Oak Bay goes the same development route that most other Municipalities have taken - then paradise surely will be covered with cement.