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[Environmental Commission on September 13, 2023.]
EVERYONE.TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13TH, AND THE TIME IS NOW 5:37 PM I'M CHAIRWOMAN KATHERINE BAAN, AND I CALL THIS MEETING OF THE DALLAS ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION TO ORDER.
WE WELCOME YOUR PARTICIPATION IN OUR MEETINGS, IN THE LANGUAGE OF YOUR PREFERENCE.
AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST TRANSLATION OR OTHER ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE, PLEASE CALL 2 1 4 6 7 1 8 5 2 2 2 DAYS PRIOR TO THE MEETING.
OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE OCTOBER 11TH.
WE WILL BEGIN WITH OUR ANNOUNCEMENTS THIS EVENING, THIS FRIDAY, UH, MARKS THE BEGINNING OF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH.
UM, AND I WOULD INVITE YOU TO LOOK AROUND THE ROOM AND AT YOUR COLLEAGUES ONLINE, AND YOU WILL PROBABLY NOTICE SOMETHING MISSING FROM OUR MEMBERSHIP.
AND THAT IS THE EQUITABLE REPRESENTATION OF OUR NOW PREDOMINANTLY LATINO POPULATION IN THE CITY OF DALLAS IN THIS ROOM.
UM, WHILE WE HAVE SEVERAL VACANCIES ON OUR VOTING MEMBERSHIP, I WOULD PERSONALLY LOVE TO SEE THOSE POSITIONS FILLED WITH THAT EXPERTISE AND THE KNOWLEDGE AND THE LIVED EXPERIENCE THAT OUR LATINO NEIGHBORS, UH, BRING TO THE TABLE.
SO IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE THAT MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN COMMISSION SERVICE, PLEASE DIRECT THEM TO ERIN OR TO ME SO THAT WE CAN HELP THEM GET INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO JOIN CITY FORD SERVICE.
OUR COLLEAGUES WITH PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN WILL CONTINUE HOSTING OPEN HOUSES, BEGINNING WITH THE FORD, UM, FOR THE FORD DALLAS COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLAN.
AND THERE ARE SEVEN MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO HEAR ABOUT THE DRAFT PLAN AND TO GIVE FEEDBACK.
UH, YOU CAN FIND THOSE LOCATIONS AND DATES BY VISITING THE FORWARD DALLAS WEBSITE.
AND I CAN TELL YOU THERE'S ONE, UH, TOMORROW EVENING AT CORNERSTONE BAPTIST.
THERE'S ONE ON SEPTEMBER THE 18TH, WHICH IS MONDAY AT THE WEST ALICE MULTIPURPOSE CENTER AND ONE DOWNTOWN HERE AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY ON SEPTEMBER THE 20TH.
YOU GUYS RECEIVED AN EMAIL THIS AFTERNOON.
PLEASE PROVIDE YOUR INPUT ON THE MILESTONES THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR'S IMPLEMENTATION WORK PLAN FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE ACTION PLAN.
THAT IS ONE, I BELIEVE, OF THE CORE FUNCTIONS OF THIS COMMISSION.
SO THE PURPOSE OF THAT WORK PLAN IS TO PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE EFFORTS THAT ARE GONNA BE PLANNED FOR FISCAL YEAR 24.
YOU KNOW THAT THE CCAP CONTAINS A, UH, TOTAL OF 97 ACTIONS WITH THE EIGHT OVERARCHING GOALS.
SO, UM, EACH YEAR'S WORK PLAN OUTLINES MORE SPECIFIC MILESTONES THAT THE CITY'S GONNA TAKE TO GET US THERE.
UM, SO THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AND PROVIDE YOUR FEEDBACK, UH, TO AARON BY CLOSE OF BUSINESS ON SEPTEMBER 18TH.
SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE HEARD THAT THE FORMER, UH, ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE IS NOW THE PARKS, TRAILS AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE.
IT IS CHAIRED BY COUNCIL MEMBER KATHY STEWART AND VICE-CHAIR BY COUNCIL MEMBER JESSE MORENO.
THERE ARE NEW PRIORITIES FOR THAT COMMITTEES AS, AS THE MAYOR SETS HIS NEW PRIORITIES EVERY YEAR FOR THE VARIOUS COMMITTEES, AND I WANTED TO SHARE THOSE WITH YOU, UH, SO THAT WE CAN BEGIN TO DETERMINE HOW BEST TO INCORPORATE THOSE INTO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONS WORK.
SO THE FIRST IS TO LEAD DALLAS FURTHER DOWN THE PATH TOWARD BECOMING THE MAJOR CITY WITH THE BEST PARK SYSTEM IN TEXAS BY SUPPORTING THE EFFORTS OF THE MAYOR'S GREENING CZAR TO TRANSFORM VACANT, UNUSED, AND UNDERUSED CITY OWNED LAND INTO GREEN SPACE.
IDENTIFY WAYS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF DALLAS RESIDENTS WHO LIVE WITHIN 10 MINUTES.
UH, WALK OF A PARK, RECOMMEND WAYS TO INCREASE DALLAS'S RANKING ON THE PARK SCORE INDEX, EXPORT POLICIES TO SUPPORT THE MISSION OF KEEP DALLAS BEAUTIFUL, AND ASSESS THE EFFORTS BEING MADE TOWARD BREAKING GROUND ON THE HAROLD SIMMONS PARK AND SUPPORT SAID EFFORTS.
SO WE WILL BE TAKING A LOOK AT THOSE THROUGH OUR VARIOUS COMMITTEES ON HOW TO ADD THOSE PRIORITIES TO THE COMMISSION'S EXISTING PROS.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S GET INTO OUR ROLL CALL AND SEE WHO'S HERE.
STARTING WITH DISTRICT TWO, DISTRICT FOUR, CANDACE THOMPSON.
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DISTRICT 12.MARY LACKMAN, DISTRICT 14, ALL DAY DISTRICT 15.
MOVING ON TO OUR SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERS.
MR. WILKINS, DO YOU WANNA COME SIT? WE HAVE A EMPTY SEAT RIGHT THERE IF YOU WANNA, UH, MS. REAGAN.
OKAY, WE SEE YOU MS. GILL, PRESENT.
DID I MISS ANYONE? OH, MR. VE LET'S SEE.
MR. VE LET'S SEE IF WE CAN GET HIM UNMUTED.
OKAY, GO ON WHEN HE TURNS HIS CAMERA.
WE DON'T HAVE ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS THIS EVENING, SO WE ARE GONNA JUMP DOWN TO THE APPROVAL OF OUR MINUTES FROM OUR AUGUST 9TH COMMISSION MEETING.
IF THERE ARE NO CHANGES, I WILL TAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE.
ANY OPPOSED? THOSE MINUTES ARE APPROVED.
WE HAVE A VERY SHORT AGENDA THIS EVENING.
OUR FIRST ITEM IS A BRIEFING MEMO, UM, FROM THE OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY SUSTAINABILITY ON THE CITY'S WATER CONSERVATION FIVE YEAR COMMUNITY WORK PLAN.
ERIN'S GONNA PULL THAT UP AND LET'S SEE IF WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM.
SO THE CITY IS ESSENTIALLY UPDATING THE 2016 WATER CONSERVATION FIVE YEAR WORK PLAN, AND, UM, THINK PART OF OUR ROLE IS TO INCREASE PUBLIC AWARENESS AND ENGAGEMENT ON THIS.
SO IF WE CAN SHARE THIS OUT SO THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE INPUT VIA THE SURVEY THAT STAFF HAS, UH, CREATED, STAFF IS ALSO AVAILABLE TO MEET WITH THE COMMUNITY REGARDING THIS ISSUE.
AND YOU CAN FIND THE SURVEY@SAVEDALLASWATER.COM.
IT'S ALSO BEEN SENT OUT IN THE WATER BILL INSERT, AND THEY'VE BEEN DISTRIBUTING THE SURVEY AT THE BUDGET TOWN HALL MEETINGS TO, FOR DALLAS OPEN HOUSES AND OTHER EVENTS.
DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR STAFF ON THIS ITEM? ACTUALLY, I DUNNO THAT WE HAVE ANY STAFF HERE TONIGHT, MR. MARTIN? I DO.
I THOUGHT MAYBE MY FRIEND MR. MARCOS
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OVER THERE BEING THE WATER GUY COULD HELP WITH THIS QUESTION, WHICH IS JUST REAL QUICK, WHAT, WHAT IS THE BIGGEST SINGLE AND IF THERE'S A STANDOUT WATER CONSERVATION ISSUE OR PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE, IS THERE ONE THAT REALLY IS THE ISSUE? AND IF THAT'S A GIANT CONVERSATION, WE CAN HAVE IT ANOTHER TIME, BUT I'D APPRECIATE YOUR THOUGHTS.THANK YOU FOR THE, THE BIGGEST SINGLE ISSUE WE FACE IS THAT WE CONTINUE TO GROW AND DO THAT IN SUCH A WAY THAT, UM, UH, WE'RE ADDING DENSITY, WHICH IS GOOD, SO THAT, UH, WE CAN THEN FOCUS ON THE LONG-TERM PROBLEM.
THE LONG-TERM PROBLEM IS WE SPEND BETWEEN 35 AND 40% OF OUR WATER ON WATERING LAWNS.
WHEN DALLAS WAS BUILDING OUT IN WORLD WAR, JUST AFTER WORLD WAR II, DURING THE BABY BOOM, THE POSTWAR ECONOMIC BOOM, NORTH DALLAS, FOR EXAMPLE, WAS BUILT OUT IN 20 YEARS FROM 1950 AND 1970.
WE HAD AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF POPULATION IN THE CITY.
AND THE WAY THAT WAS DONE IS IT WAS EASY FOR BUILDERS TO TAKE ST.
AUGUSTINE GRASS IN ROLLS, ROLL IT OUT LAWNS AND UP THE FOR SALE SIGN, AND YOU HAVE A LAWN, AND THEN PEOPLE BEGIN TO WATER THAT LAWN.
AUGUSTINE IS A WEST AFRICAN SWAMP GRASS, TAKE SEVEN INCHES OF RAIN RAINING YEAR.
IN A GOOD YEAR, WE GET 35, WHICH MEANS NOW WE HAVE LAWNS ALL OVER TOWN THAT REQUIRE TWICE AS MUCH WATER AS WE GET IN RAINFALL.
SO WHEN WE WERE A CITY OF 400,000 PEOPLE, AN AVERAGE YEAR OF RAIN, WELL, WE COULD HANDLE THAT.
NOW WE'RE NOT THE CITY AND WE KNOW WE'RE HAVING MORE, UH, EXTREME WEATHER MEANS MORE DROUGHT, MORE PERSISTENT HEAT, UH, NIGHTS THAT STAY HOT.
SO AS A RESULT, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO SUFFER ON THE WATER CONSERVATION BECAUSE OF THE FACT WE'RE SPENDING SO MUCH TIME WATERING, UM, TYPE OF GRASS THAT DIDN'T BELONGING.
SO I DON'T WANNA OPEN SIMPLIFY THE PROBLEM.
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS WE NEED TO DO, UM, WHICH INCLUDES CONSERVATION AMONG BUSINESSES.
NOW, A LOT OF OUR BUILDINGS ARE MUCH MORE WATER SS AND THAT'S A GOOD THING.
SO WE REALLY NEED TO MOVE, UM, NOT JUST CITY OF DALLAS, BUT REGIONALLY, WE NEED TO MOVE TO MORE NATIVE PLANTS AND MORE NATIVE GRASSES.
THERE ACTUALLY WAS AN EFFORT MADE SEVERAL YEARS AGO, REGIONALLY, TO GET PEOPLE TO RESTRICT WATER TO TWICE A WEEK.
IN FACT, WE HAVE SUCH AN ORDINANCE IN THE CITY OF DALLAS NOW.
WE PASSED THAT IN 2012, JUST ABOUT A YEAR AFTER THE 2011 DROUGHT, THE DRIVE OF RECORD.
SO, UM, THEN WE TRIED TO DO THAT IN FORT WORTH AND GOT SOME PUSHBACK FROM CERTAIN ELEMENTS OF THE COMMUNITY THERE.
BUT WE DO KNOW THAT WE HAVE MAYORS IN PLACE THROUGHOUT THE REGION NOW WHO SEEN THIS IS REGIONAL ISSUE.
WE KNOW THE MAJOR, OUR WATER UTILITY EFFORTS, UH, UH, AND SUPPLIERS SEE THIS AS A REGIONAL ISSUE.
UH, WE KNOW THAT, UM, THIS ENTIRE WATERSHED IS TIED TOGETHER AND THAT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO FACE THIS ISSUE AT SOME POINT IN TIME WHEN WE TAKE ON, UH, THE ISSUE OF REGIONAL WATER CONSERVATION.
AND THAT SHOULD INCLUDE GETTING SOME PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE CAN NO LONGER SUPPORT THE LEVEL OF WATER THAT WE CURRENTLY PUT ONTO OUR LAWNS AS SOMETHING WE CAN DO LONG TERM, SOMETHING NOT SUSTAINABLE.
THIS IS AN INITIATIVE WE NEED TO TAKE.
AND THIS INFORMATION THAT CAN BE GATHERED THROUGH THIS COMMUNITY SURVEY IS ONE WAY TO BEGIN THAT.
NOW, THE DW OUR WATER SUPPLIER, IS MAKING AN EFFORT AND HAS FOR A LONG TIME HAVE WATER CONSERVATION PLANS.
AND WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT, NEED TO UP OUR GAME IN DOING THAT AND FULL STAFF SUPPORT FROM DW U O AND Q F TO DO THAT.
BUT THAT'S WHAT IT'S GONNA TAKE.
WE HAVE A GOOD WATER SUPPLIER.
WE HAVE A GOOD LONG RANGE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN.
WE PUT ONE INTO PLACE IN 2012.
LENOVO HAS COME, UH, ONLINE THIS YEAR, BUT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO FIGHT THIS BATTLE OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
WE SIMPLY CANNOT SUSTAIN THAT MUCH OF A PERCENTAGE OF OUR WATER GOING TO WATER OUR ALARM.
AND I'LL ADD TO THAT, I THINK THE UPCOMING BOND DISCUSSIONS ARE VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THE CITY NEEDS TO MAINTAIN ITS INFRASTRUCTURE AND MAINTAINING THAT INFRASTRUCTURE IS VITAL TO NOT HAVING INCIDENTS LIKE THE BROKEN WATER PIPE THAT LEAKED THREE, 4 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER INTO THE TRINITY FOREST.
UM, AND ADDRESSING THOSE ISSUES THROUGH REGULAR MAINTENANCE AND, AND UPKEEP OF OUR CITY'S INFRASTRUCTURE.
I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AS WELL.
I'D LIKE TO SUPPORT WHAT, UH, MR. MR. MARCUS WAS SAYING.
UM, THERE ARE SOME SIMPLE, SIMPLE THINGS THAT WE IN OUR, IN THE BUILDING COMMUNITY CAN TAKE A LOOK AT.
UM, THERE ARE OTHER GRASS TYPES THAT ARE AVAILABLE, BUT WE ALSO NEED TO REALLY EMBRACE, UH, PLANTING NATIVE PLANTS AND
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DROUGHT TOLERANT PLANTS.AND I ALSO MIGHT ADD, WE DO NEED TO DO RAINWATER CAPTURE, UH, QUITE HONESTLY, WHEN WE HAVE MOST OF OUR STORMS OCCUR AND WE'RE HAVING LARGE VOLUME RAIN AT ONE TIME, AND IT CREATES A TREMENDOUS STORMWATER RUNOFF PROBLEM FOR OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CITY.
AND AS A RESULT, THE WATER THAT COMES DOWN, THOSE STORMS IS NOT CAPTURED OR USED, AND IN A MATTER OF DAYS OR A WEEK, IT'S GONNA BE IN DEVELOPED MEXICO.
SO THE REALITY IS, IS THAT WATER IS A RESOURCE THAT WE'RE NOT USING.
AND SO, UH, ULTIMATELY THAT'S SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE, SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED ON SOME LEVEL.
AND THEN, UH, AND IT, AND IT HAS TO DO NOT JUST WITH TREE MITIGATION, IT HAS TO DO WITH WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY PUTTING ON THE GROUND ON A NEW CONSTRUCTION.
UM, AND THAT IS EXACTLY CORRECT.
UM, IN EFFECT, WE'RE GIVING WATER TO HOUSTON EVERY TIME WE RAIN, WE'RE BASICALLY SENDING OUT WATER TO, AND, UM, AS A RESULT, WE'RE BEGINNING TO GET MORE AND MORE PEOPLE NOW FROM THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AS WELL AS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY, HOMEOWNERS AND OTHERS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH OUR WATER.
AND LET'S REMEMBER ALSO OUR ABILITY TO DEAL WITH STORMS IS GOING TO HAVE TO, UM, REQUIRE MORE KNOWLEDGE AND MORE FORETHOUGHT.
THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS BUILDS WATER AND INFRASTRUCTURE TO DEAL WITH PROTOCOL 50 YEAR RANGE IN HUNDRED YEAR RANGE, 500.
IN THE LAST 10 YEARS, WE'VE HAD 20 EVENTS THAT WERE 50 OR 100 YEAR RATINGS.
SO OUR RANGE ARE BECOMING LESS FREQUENT, BUT MORE OF ILLUMINOUS WHEN THEY DO FALL.
SO AS A RESULT, WE HAVE LESS ABILITY TO DEAL WITH THOSE MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF WATER THAT FALL.
WE EVEN HAVE, WE CALLED FLASH DROUGHTS.
GROUND IS SO HARD AND SO CRACKED OPEN, IT CAN'T ABSORB THE WATER THAT FALLS ON.
SO MORE AND MORE WATER RUNS ON.
SO AS A RESULT, THESE ARE A NUMBER OF ISSUES THAT
WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THEM FROM ALL THESE DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW, BUT WE HAVE TO REMEMBER ALL THE CLIMATE MODELS SHOW WEATHER'S GONNA BECOME MORE EXTREME AND MORE UNPREDICTABLE.
SO WE HAVE MORE AND MORE STORMS THAT FAR EXCEED OUR 15 A HUNDRED YEAR RAIN LEVELS.
AND OUR ABILITY TO FIND SOME WAY TO ABSORB THAT AND USE IT WELL IS GONNA MEAN WE HAVE TO CHANGE THE WAY WE DEAL WITH WATER PRODUCTION.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? DR.
M MINE IS IN THE FORM, UH, UH, UH, OBSERVATION IN THE QUESTION.
SO I LIVE IN A NEIGHBORHOOD IN FAR FAR NORTH DALLAS WHERE I HAVE A LOT OF NEIGHBORS WHO HAVE BACKYARD POOLS, WHICH STRIKES ME IN A SITUATION WHERE YOU'RE DEALING WITH THE WATER CRISIS AS NOT THE MOST DESIRABLE USE OF OUR WATER RESOURCES, ESPECIALLY IN A NEIGHBORHOOD WHICH HAS A REALLY NICE COMMUNITY POOL.
UM, UH, AND, UM, I HAVE A, MY NEIGHBOR IN THE BACK OF ME PUT IN A PRETTY EXTENSIVE UNIT WHICH POOL, WHICH REMINDS ME AND SPAWN ALL THAT, WHICH REMINDS ME ABOUT WHAT'S THAT WATER USAGE.
AND THEN FINALLY THEY PUT A FOUNTAIN IN THEIR FRONT YARD.
AND EVERY TIME I GO BY THAT, I WONDER HOW MUCH WATER IS BEING WASTED GOING DOWN THAT.
AND SO WHERE, WHAT, MY QUESTION THEN IS HOW IS THAT REGULATED IN TERMS OF THE PERMITTING PROCESS? AND, UM, DO WE HAVE A SENSE OF WHERE OUR SAVEABLE WATER IS THAT THE PUBLIC COULD DO BY FILLING THE POOL LESS OFTEN OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT WOULD BE OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY.
UM, THERE IS NO REGULATION PROHIBITING BUILDING A
UM, THE CITY WILL HAVE TO GO INTO DROW STAGE TO REQUIRE, UM, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN KICKING INTO CERTAIN REGULATIONS WHERE YOU CANNOT NAVIGATE OR YOU CANNOT BUILD A POOL OR STOP, YOU KNOW.
BUT WE ARE NOT IN DROUGHT STAGE NOW REGARDING THE REGULATIONS ON THE BUILDING CODE.
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I, I WONDER BETWEEN YOU AND DAVID, PERHAPS, UM, DO WE KNOW WHAT THE AWARENESS LEVEL IS OF THE AVERAGE DALLAS CITIZEN THAT HAS A LAWN ABOUT TWO DAYS A WEEK? 'CAUSE MY SUPER INFORMAL SENSE IS A LOT OF PEOPLE CLAIM IGNORANCE AND THEY DON'T KNOW THERE'S ONLY A TWO DAY A WEEK RESTRICTION.AND I'VE, I'VE NEVER SEEN IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, I SEE VIOLATIONS ALL THE TIME AND I'VE NEVER SEEN OR HEARD OF A FINE.
I KNOW THEY PUT A A SHAME SIGN IN USUALLY RIGHT? AND SAYS, HEY, YOU CAN'T WATER AND ALL YOUR NEIGHBORS SEE IT.
MAYBE THAT'LL CHANGE YOUR BEHAVIOR, WHICH IS COOL.
BUT I KNOW WE'RE, WE'RE SHORT ON CODE STAFF.
SO IF THE, IF THE, IF THE STAFF IS SHORT, THEN I JUST WONDER WHAT WE CAN DO TO INCREASE AWARENESS SO THAT NEIGHBORS JUST KNOW.
'CAUSE I'M GONNA HOPE THAT NEIGHBORS THAT KNOW MIGHT DO BETTER ABOUT ABUSING, UH, THEIR WATERING OF THEIR LAWNS.
WE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CO COMPLIANCE DEPARTMENT AND WE PAY FOR TWO ACTIVITIES, THE VALUE OF TWO ACTIVITIES.
AND WHAT THEY DO IS THAT, PARTICULARLY DURING THE SUMMERTIME FOR MORE OF THE, UH, MISSING THE REGULATIONS COME ABOUT, RIGHT? HMM.
UM, WHAT THEY DO IS THEY, UM, SEND THEIR OFFICERS THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOODS, UM, TARGETED RIGHT.
UM, DURING NIGHTTIME, DURING VERY EARLY IN THE MORNING TIME SO THAT THEY CAN CATCH THE ONES THAT ARE NOT DOING IT AT THE RIGHT TIME.
UM, AND OF COURSE, ALSO DURING THE DAY, AND THEY GET CALLS, YOU KNOW, FROM PEOPLE THAT SEE THE VIOLATIONS AND THEY GO TO THOSE PARTICULAR, TO THOSE PARTICULAR, UH, ADDRESSES.
AND THEY HAVE THIS CAMPAIGN GOING ON DURING THE SUMMER.
AND WE KNOW FOR A FACT BECAUSE WE HAVE RECEIVED TWO, TWO INVOICES ALREADY FROM COMPLIANCE, SO THAT WE REIMBURSE AND, AND THEY GIVE US THE DETAILS OF ALL THE CODE OFFICERS THAT PARTICIPATED THE TIME IN THE DAYS.
AND, UH, THEY TELL US THE, UM, HOW MANY VIOLATIONS THEY, UM, THEY ADDRESSED, HOW MANY OF THE RESIDENTS, UH, CORRECTED THE VIOLATION AND IF NOT, HOW MANY TICKETS WERE ISSUED.
SO YES, IT'S, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO PUSH ON THE KNOWLEDGE TO TELL PEOPLE ABOUT IT.
AND, UM, SO WE DO, YOU KNOW, WE DO THE SOCIAL MEDIA, WE DO THE WATER BILL INSERTS, UM, THE CODE OFFICERS, IF IT'S, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S THE FIRST TIME AND YOU CORRECT THE VIOLATION BECAUSE THEY COME BACK TO CHECK.
AND SO IF YOU DON'T DO IT AGAIN, THEN YOU DON'T GET THE TICKET.
BUT IF THEY CATCH YOU DOING IT AGAIN, YES, YOU'RE GONNA GET A TICKET.
MR. MARKSON AND VICE CHAIR, UM, THANK YOU.
ONE OF OUR BIGGEST PROBLEMS, MICHAEL, IS THAT WE HAVE, UM, SO MANY COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES THAT HAVE LANDSCAPE CREWS THAT HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF, OF OUR WATER SITUATION.
AND THEIR ORDERS ARE TO GO OUT AND BLOW IT AND BLOW IT AND, AND WATER IT.
AND THERE CAN BE AT TWO O'CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON IN AUGUST DAY, AND MOST OF THAT WATER'S GONNA EVAPORATE.
IT'S NEVER GONNA TOUCH THE GROUND.
SO WE HAVE CONTINUING EFFORTS TO, UM, BRING CREWS, UM, AND OTHERS UP TO KNOWLEDGE SO THEY'LL KNOW.
NOW WE'VE HAD GOOD POLITICAL SUPPORT.
THE COUNCIL HAS ALWAYS VOTED FOR OUR CONSERVATION MEASURES.
THIS, SO THEY DID BACK IN 2012.
AND THIS CAN CONTINUE TO BE AN EVEN BIGGER PROBLEM BECAUSE, FOR EXAMPLE, GENERAL DROUGHT 2011 PLAYING ON FRIS HILL IN SOME OF THE DIFFERENT SUBURBS THAT DEPENDING UPON THE LAKE
YOU'LL FOLLOW THAT BACK TO THE RESIDENTS ISSUED TICKET.
SO I HOPE WE DON'T GET TO THAT POINT, BUT ORIGINALLY WE ARE AT THAT POINT ALREADY, ESPECIALLY AS WE CONTINUE TO PAVE OVER THE PRAIRIE GOING MORE.
SO WHAT WE CAN ANTICIPATE IS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO CONTINUE TO DO THIS WITH A PARTNERSHIP WITH DW AND O Q S AND COMPLIANCE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A 6% POPULATION LAST YEAR IN DALLAS CITY OF DALLAS.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO HAVE TO BE VIGILANT AND BE VERY PROACTIVE IN MAKING THESE PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT, UH, WATERING RESTRICTIONS.
'CAUSE DURING 2011 AND 2012, PEOPLE DID GET ON BOARD, 'CAUSE 2011 WAS THE DROUGHT OF RECORD PEOPLE GOT THAT THEY CUT BACK ON THEIR WATER USAGE.
WE'VE KIND OF GOTTEN AWAY THAT, 'CAUSE WE HAD SOME RAINY YEARS BETWEEN NOW AND MAYBE WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GET BACK TO THAT.
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THIS YEAR WAS HOT BUT WOULD, DIDN'T NEARLY COMPARE TO DROUGHT OF 21.SO WE'LL HAVE TO GET BACK TO THAT.
AND I THINK WE HAVE TO KEEP OUR EYE ON THAT OVER A PERIOD OF TIME.
BUT COMMERCIAL LANDSCAPING THAT BE PART OF IT.
WELL, VICE
I DON'T THINK THERE IS ANYBODY HERE FROM THE WATER DEPARTMENT TONIGHT, BUT I CAN CERTAINLY BRING THE, THE NOTE TO THE DIRECTOR, THE IN INTERIM DIRECTOR.
AND SO A MEMO WOULD BE OKAY, OR YOU WANT A BRIEFING? I, I REQUESTED BOTH A BRIEFING AND OR A BRIEFING MEMO.
AND SO I, I THINK IF THERE'S SIGNIFICANT INTEREST FROM OTHER COMMISSION MEMBERS, MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD, SIGNIFICANT INTEREST, INTEREST IN HEARING
WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED THERE.
SORRY, I, I, I THINK UNDERSTANDING, UM, HOW THAT HAPPENED, HOW LONG IT HAPPENED, I THINK THAT INFORMATION HAS BEEN MADE PUBLIC.
UM, BUT ALSO UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT AND WHAT MIGHT BE DONE TO MITIGATE THAT IMPACT.
BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY WE KNOW THAT DRINKING WATER, UM, IS TREATED AND SO CAN INJURE AQUATIC LIFE, UM, IN THAT NATURE AREA.
SO I THINK THAT THAT'S, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING ELSE, DR.
LACKMAN, UH, TO MR. MARCUS'S POINT ABOUT AND SEVERAL OTHERS ABOUT HOW PEOPLE DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW WHAT THEY CAN DO? HAVE WE THOUGHT ABOUT, OR DO WE HAVE SOMETHING LIKE A TOOLKIT THAT WE COULD USE? YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING WE COULD, I KNOW IN THE FIELD THAT I'M IN, IN HEALTHCARE AND PEDIATRICS, WE'VE DEVELOPED A LOT OF THOSE FOR PEOPLE TO USE.
AND, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED USE THEM AND THEY HAVE AN EFFECT.
I THINK DWS DID A GOOD JOB OF GOING OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY, PROVIDING INFORMATION ABOUT ZERO ESCAPEES, DOING WORKSHOPS, UM, PROVIDING INFORMATION.
SO THEY'VE BEEN PROACTIVE IN THAT REGARD.
BUT, BUT WE ALWAYS KNOW THEY'RE, WE CAN ALWAYS DO MORE.
BUT YES, DW HAS BEEN DOING THAT SOMETIME.
UM, AND, AND I WANNA REMIND EVERYBODY, THE SAVE DALLAS WATER.COM WEBSITE IS RICH ON, ON INFORMATION AND EDUCATION, UH, VIDEOS.
VERY NICE PRODUCED VIDEOS ON HOW TO SAVE WATER IN DIFFERENT AREAS.
UM, NATIVE PLANS, HOW TO DO WATER WISE LANDSCAPES.
UM, YEAH, SHORT VIDEOS ON, ON A LOT OF DIFFERENT TOPICS TO HELP RESIDENTS.
UM, THE SURVEY RIGHT NOW, IF, IF YOU CAN PASS THAT ALONG WITH YOUR, WITH YOUR CONSTITUENTS, UH, BECAUSE THE SURVEY IS, IS HOPEFULLY GONNA TELL US HOW MUCH PEOPLE KNOW OR DON'T KNOW WHAT PROGRAMS THEY HAVE, UH, UTILIZED OR NOT AND WHY.
SO IT'S A VERY SHORT SURVEY, UH, BUT VERY INSIGHTFUL.
IT'S GONNA BE VERY INSIGHTFUL FOR US AND FOR THE CUSTOMERS TO KNOW THAT, OH, WELL I, YOU KNOW, I CAN GO TO ST DALLAS WATER.COM AND I CAN GET A LOT OF INFORMATION IN THERE.
I THINK ALL OF OUR COMMISSIONERS ALSO CAN KNOW WE CAN INVITE SOMEONE COME BACK, BE DISTRICT A COMMUNITY EVENT.
I THINK BE HAPPY TO COOPERATE WITH THAT.
IF YOU WANNA SPONSOR ABSOLUTELY.
SPONSOR WITHIN YOUR COMMUNITY.
I THINK I YOU WANT US, YEAH, WE CAN BE THERE.
UH, LATELY WE'VE BEEN ATTENDING ALL THE, UM, FOR DALLAS MEETINGS, SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO TALK TO THE PEOPLE THAT COME.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY Y UM, YESTERDAY EVENING I AM, UM, ONE OF THE CHAIRPERSONS FOR SIERRA CLUB.
AND IN PLAIN ENGLISH I JUST FIND SPEAKERS, BUT I CALL IT THE CHAIR PROGRAM CHAIR.
BUT I HAD, UM, ONE OF OUR OWN MEMBERS WHO IS, UH, WITH THE WATER SENTENCE.
AND THAT'S A GREAT PLACE TO LOOK AT IT.
HE TALKED ABOUT T W BEING VERY INTERESTED IN IT AND AS FAR AS THE TOOLKIT FOR IT, THERE MAY BE SOME THINGS OFF THAT WEBSITE YOU CAN PULL OFF.
AND HE LEFT HIS CONTACT INFORMATION.
SO IT MAY BE THAT YOU COULD CONTACT HIM TOO AND SEE, UH, YOU KNOW, AND I'LL GIVE HIM, I'LL TELL HIM, CALL HIM BY PHONE TOO AND TELL HIM.
BUT THEY HAD A LOT OF INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT RESERVOIRS AND THINGS THAT THE, AGAIN, THE AVERAGE CITIZEN DOESN'T KNOW.
THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO GO THROUGH A CULTURE CHANGE.
AND WE GREW UP HAVING THE BIGGEST GREENEST LAWN LIKE DALLAS, THE SERIES DALLAS
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SO WE'RE HAVING TO GET OUT OF THAT.PE THAT'S THE BIG PROBLEM, IS PEOPLE ARE STILL NOT WANTING TO, THAT'S UGLY TO SOME PEOPLE TO PUT NATIVE PLANTS AND NOT HAVE THIS NICE BIG GREEN LAWN.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE PROBLEMS IS THE CULTURE CHANGE.
BUT CHECK OUT THE WATER SENTINELS AND THEY ARE LOOKING FOR A CHAIRPERSON RIGHT NOW.
I I JUST WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE COMMISSIONER ROBERSON'S POINT.
THAT WAS REALLY, I REALLY THINK THAT'S THE HEART OF A LOT OF WHAT WE HAVE TO LOOK AT WITH THIS ISSUE IS THE CULTURE CHANGE.
MY HAND WAS RAISED NOT FOR THAT.
JUST TO HIGHLIGHT ANOTHER RESOURCE THAT I THINK IS REALLY HELPFUL, UM, FROM THE RESIDENTIAL SECTOR PERSPECTIVE, WHICH IS WATER IS AWESOME.COM AND I KNOW D W AND TART REGIONAL SHARE AND PROBABLY SOME OF THE SAME RESOURCES ARE ON DALLAS WATER UTILITIES, UM, ON WEBSITE.
BUT I, I THINK IT'S A GREAT RESOURCE.
YES, WE PARTNER AND I DID HAVE A QUESTION.
UH, YES, BUT THANKS FOR MENTIONING THE WATER IS AWESOME.
WE PARTNER WITH
IS, UH, THE WEBSITE FOR THAT CAMPAIGN.
UH, YOU HAVE PROBABLY SEEN IT ON CABLE.
BILLBOARDS IS ALREADY OUT THIS SUMMER.
UM, AND SO THERE ARE VIDEOS IN THERE ON HOW TO DO LANDSCAPING THAT IS WATER WISE, THAT IS WATER SENSITIVE FOR WE DON'T HAVE TO USE AS MUCH WATER AND HOW IT CAN STILL LOOK VERY, PRETTY, VERY REGIONAL.
AND I GUESS THE ONE QUESTION, CAN I ASK MY ONE QUESTION PLEASE? OH, OKAY.
UM, I WAS ACTUALLY JUST WONDERING HOW LONG THE SURVEY WAS OPEN.
THE, THE LAST FRIDAY IN OCTOBER.
ALRIGHT, ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS ITEM? I DON'T SEE ANYONE ELSE.
SO LET'S MOVE ON TO OUR BRIEFING ITEM B.
ITEM B IS A QUARTERLY FORESTRY MASTER PLAN UPDATE.
AND YOU WILL NOTE THAT THIS, UM, MEMO CONTAINS THE PERCENTAGE COMPLETE OF EACH OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WITHIN THE FORESTRY MASTER PLAN THAT WAS REQUESTED BY THE COMMISSION.
SO THAT IS GOING TO GO BACK TO, UM, THE IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE AND THEY ARE GOING TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AND COME BACK, UM, TO THE COMMISSION AFTER THEY HAVE SOME TIME TO DISCUSS.
SO LET'S JUMP IN AND SEE, UM, WHO HAS QUESTIONS ON THIS ISSUE? COMMISSIONER HERETO.
UH, I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT OUR IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE IS GONNA HAVE ANOTHER LOOK AT THIS BECAUSE I THINK IT'S GREAT TO SEE THIS STATUS UPDATE, BUT I PERSONALLY WOULD'VE LIKED TO HAVE LINKS TO SOME OF THE PLANS THAT ARE NOTED AS A HUNDRED PERCENT COMPLETE.
UH, MOST NOTABLY, RECOMMENDATIONS EIGHT, NINE, AND 11 STRATEGICALLY PLANT AND CARE FOR TREES AND ENSURE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO TREE CANOPY ACROSS DALLAS.
THE DESCRIPTION THERE DOESN'T, UM, PROVIDE ANY DETAILS ON HOW EQUITY IS BEING ACHIEVED THERE, AND I'D LIKE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THAT.
UM, RECOMMENDATION NUMBER NINE, MONITOR AND ADDRESS, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS TO DALLAS' URBAN FOREST.
AND THE NOTE HERE IS ABOUT THE EMERALD ASH BORE.
I'M CURIOUS IF E A B IS THE ONLY RISK OR THREAT TO DALLAS TREES.
UH, AND THEN RECOMMENDATION 11, WHICH LOOKED LIKE, LOOKS LIKE IT'S ONLY 25% COMPLETE.
WE MIGHT HAVE SOME OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, GIVE FEEDBACK HERE.
FORMULATE A STRATEGY TO MANAGE WOOD WASTE AND IDENTIFY THE HIGHEST AND BEST USE OF WOOD FROM TREES REMOVED BY THE CITY.
UH, WOULD LOVE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND DETAILS OF THAT PLAN TOO.
DO WE HAVE ANYBODY FROM FORESTRY ED? ALL RIGHT.
UM, WE'LL GET THOSE QUESTIONS.
UM, AARON, WE'LL GET THOSE QUESTIONS TO OUR FOREST RESET.
UM, WE BEGAN TO WORK ON THE PRE CODE ARTICLE 10 YEARS AGO AND CONTINUES TO BE A MATTER OF DISCUSSION.
URBAN FORESTRY MASTER PLAN, UM, IN MANY WAYS WAS DEVELOPED BY THE TEXAS TREE FOUNDATION.
IT'S A SOLID PLAN, BUT WE NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE A FEW THINGS.
ONE IS THAT, UM, WE CURRENTLY HAVE FORESTERS IN THREE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY, IN THE PARK DEPARTMENT.
THE PARK DEPARTMENT HAS 20,000 ACRES OF LAND.
SO THEY HAVE THEIR OWN FREE GROUPS.
WE HAVE A, A DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY, UM, AND WE ALSO HAVE AN URBAN FORESTER THAT WORKS FOR SUSTAINABLE
[00:35:01]
DEVELOPMENT.SO WE'VE GOT URBAN, UH, CHIEF AIST, THE FOREST SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THAT WORKS IN THE BUILDING COMMUNITY ON WHEN THEY WANT TO TAKE TREES DOWN ON THE BUILDING PROJECT.
WE'VE GOT A FORESTER THAT TAKES CARE OF TREES ON CITY LAND.
WE ALSO BIG FORESTERS IN THE FOREST PARK.
SO THERE'S SOME QUESTIONS HAS TO BE ADDRESSED.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE WHEELS TRY TO BRING ALL THOSE INTO ONE FOUR STREET APARTMENT TO OVERSEE ALL THAT.
AND IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN WE REALLY DON'T SLAVE IT.
'CAUSE AFTER ALL, PARKS HAS THE MOST LAND.
SAME TIME WE HAVE THE GREAT TRENDY FOREST.
THE TRENDY FOREST IS MOSTLY OWNED BY DALLAS WATER UTILITIES.
ALMOST ALL OF US OWNED BY DALLAS UTILITY.
SO IF YOU WANNA LOOK AT FOREST ISSUES AND TREES OF THE CITY, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THIS IN A VERY BROAD SCALE.
WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THIS PLAN THAT'S BEEN PUT TOGETHER BY THE TEXAS TREE FOUNDATION AND DETERMINE THE WAYS TO MAKE IT WORK WITHIN THE STRUCTURE OF OUR CITY.
VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS HAVE THEIR OWN ENFORCEMENT WITH THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND HOW THEY INTERACT WITH, UM, THE ARBORIST ON WHAT TREES CAN AND CAN'T BE CUT DOWN AND WHAT YOU HAVE TO PAY IN FINES, UM, IF YOU CUT DOWN TREES ON A BUILDING SITE.
SO I'M GLAD YOU RAISED THIS, UH, COMMISSIONER HERETO, BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN THROUGH SO MANY TREE PLANS OVER THE YEARS, IT'S HARD FOR ME TO DESCRIBE TO YOU HOW MANY HOURS I'VE SPENT IN THIS BUILDING WORKING ON NOTHING TO TREE.
WE HAVE STUDY OF THE GREAT TRINITY FOREST THAT WAS MASSIVE THOUSAND PAGES, I THINK THAT WAS NEVER FULLY IMPLEMENTED.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE MIGHT DO AS A COMMISSION IS REALLY RECOMMEND AS A STRONG RESOLUTION THAT THE CITY MOVE FORWARD WITH THESE PLANS, MAKE SURE THEY'RE FULLY CARRIED OUT BECAUSE AGAIN AND AGAIN, WE STUDY THE TREAT, WE STUDY THE FOREST, WE STUDY URBAN CANOPY.
WE KNOW IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT NOW BECAUSE OF CLIMATE, BECAUSE WE'RE
AND YET AGAIN AND AGAIN WE HAVE MULTIPLE EFFORTS WITHIN CITY HALL AND HAVE MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS.
UH, WE HAVE NEW PLANS THAT COME OUT ON IMPLEMENTING.
SO IF WE WANNA TAKE A LOOK AT THIS AND ACT ON THIS AND COMMISSION, WE MIGHT WANNA RECOMMEND, UM, TO THE COUNCIL, TO THE CITY THAT WE HAVE A GOAL IN MIND FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE URBAN FORESTRY MASTER PLAN.
OTHERWISE, THERE'S, THERE'S GONNA BE ANOTHER PLAN SITS ON ANOTHER SHELF AND THAT WILL NOT GIVE US WHERE WE NEED TO GO.
THERE'S ALSO A VERY INTERESTING IRONY IN TRAGIC.
AND SO WHAT YOU ISLAND EFFECT IS MOSTLY IN NORTH AND NORTHWEST DALLAS.
THE SOUTHERN DALLAS IS MOSTLY PRE-AMP.
YOU KNOW, WHERE'S MUCH OF DEVELOPMENT GOING ON NOW IN SOUTHERN DALLAS, WE CAN LOSE A THIRD OF THE TREE CANOPY, THE CITY AS WE DEVELOP SOUTHERN DALLAS, A THIRD, A THIRD OF THE TREE.
CANOP IN THE CITY COULD BE WELL IN THE MAIN OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
AND I'M ALL FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
WE HAVE TO GO IN EYES WIDE OPEN.
IF WE DESTROY THAT THIRD OF THE PRE CANOPY AND ANOTHER PERCENTAGE OF THAT TREE CANOPY IS DESTROYED BY ANIMAL ANIMAL DASHBOARD, THEN WE'RE LOSING WELL OVER 30% OF THE TREE CANOPY, THE CITY IN A TOWN THAT WE CAN'T AFFORD THAT 'CAUSE WE'RE NOW THE THIRD FASTEST HEATING CITY IN AMERICA IN TERMS OF CLIMATE, UH, AND HEAT EFFECT NUMBER THREE IN THE COUNTRY, WE'RE WARMING THIRD FASTEST.
AND TREES ARE A HUGE ANSWER TO THAT PROBLEM.
SO IF WE, THE COMMISSION WOULD HAVE AN EFFECT ON THIS, WE, WE DO NEED TO REALLY GET THE CITY TO TAKE THIS INTO ACCOUNT, PAY ATTENTION TO IT, FIND WAYS TO ADDRESS THIS BECAUSE WE HAVE SERIOUS TREAT ISSUES THAT ARE COMING UP AND CAN CONTINUE, UH, TO PLAGUE US OVER A PERIOD OF TIME IF WE DON'T TAKE ACTION ON THIS PLANE.
WE'LL LOOK AT OUR SCREENS RIGHT NOW.
I'LL JUST NOTE, UH, A COUPLE OF THINGS TO YOUR POINT ABOUT THE DISTRIBUTION OF STAFF ACROSS SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS WHO'LL NOTICE SOME RECOMMENDATION.
TWO, IT SAYS 100% COMPLETE, CENTRALIZED THE CITY'S URBAN FORESTRY PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES.
SO LIKE YOU, I WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT HOW THAT'S NOW CENTRALIZED.
AND COMMISSIONER HARIMOTO, TO YOUR POINT AS WELL, HOW HAVE THE OTHER ITEMS, UM, BEEN COMPLETED? AND THEN, UM, I DID WANNA MENTION THAT WE HAD ALSO REQUESTED SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT ARTICLE 10.
WHERE ARE WE, WE'RE GONNA BE FOLLOWING UP ON THAT.
THIS, THIS BRIEFING, THIS, THIS MEMO THIS EVENING CAME FROM, IF YOU'LL REMEMBER THE REQUEST THAT THE COMMISSION MADE IN MARCH, THAT FORESTRY STAFF PROVIDE US THE PERCENTAGES OF COMPLETION FOR THIS SPECIFIC ITEM WITH THE INTENT THAT IT WOULD GO TO THE IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE SO THAT THEY CAN FURTHER TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND BRING BACK SOME RECOMMENDATIONS AND THOUGHTFUL, UM, CONSIDERATIONS THAT THE COMMISSION COULD POTENTIALLY PUT TOGETHER.
UM, AND I KNOW HOW LONG YOU'VE BEEN ADVOCATING FOR TREES IN OUR CITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR YOUR EXPERTISE AND WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA GET THERE.
[00:40:01]
ARE, WE'RE GONNA GET THERE.ONE OTHER VERY QUICK, UH, NOTE.
THERE ARE SEVERAL MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL WHO NOW INTERESTED IN, IN REOPENING ARTICLE 10.
AND WE, WHEN I SAY OPEN IT, IT'S CALLED OPENING THE CODE.
THE DEVELOPMENT CODE OF THE CITY OF DALLAS CONTAINS THE FREE CODE AND ARTICLE 10.
SO WHEN YOU OPEN THE CODE, IT GOES THROUGH THE ZONING ORDINANCE, ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THE PLAN, COMMISSION AND COUNCIL.
I MEAN, IT TOOK US YEARS DURING WRITE ARTICLE 10.
AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE AT THE TABLE.
THERE'S SO MANY PEOPLE INTERESTED IN.
SO AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS, UM, WE KNOW WE HAVE SOME FOLKS JUST ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS WALL.
AND IF THE HORSE HERE, THE CITY COUNCIL WHO ARE VERY INTERESTED IN THIS ISSUE, WHO WANT TO BE ADDRESS IT MEMBERS, THERE'S THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY BUILDING CAN, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THESE ISSUES 'CAUSE IT CONTINUES TO CHANGE.
SO THERE'S THE POLITICAL WILL TO DO IT.
I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS WE CAN DO IS CONTINUE TO MOVE THAT FORWARD AND KEEP THE DISCUSSION VIBRANT AND ALIVE UNTIL WE'VE GONE THROUGH ARTICLE 10, UM, REWRITE, UM, TAKE INTO ACCOUNT ALL THESE DIFFERENT FACTORS, UM, AND COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT'S WORKABLE FOR OR INVOLVED IT NEEDS, IT'S A LONG PROCESS.
AND WE ALSO REMEMBER WE HAVE AN URBAN FORESTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE APPOINTED BY LAURA MILLER, AND SHE WAS MAYOR 20 YEARS AGO.
AND THIS IS LONG ONGOING DISCUSSION, BUT A CRITICAL ONE BECAUSE WE ARE, I WANT EVERYBODY TO HEAR THIS ONE MORE TIME.
WE ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF OUR TREE CANOP IN THE CITY OF DALLAS, BUT WE CANNOT AFFORD THAT INEQUALITY.
WATER QUALITY, QUALITY OF LIFE, ENVIRONMENTAL, MEDICAL JUSTICE, ALL THESE THINGS, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, ALL THOSE THINGS DEPENDING ON A TREE CAN BE.
AND WE CAN LOSE LARGE PROCEDURE IF WE DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO THIS ISSUE.
UM, TAKE UP, UH, WE'RE, UH, DAVID'S DISCUSSING, UH, MR. MARCUS WAS DISCUSSING THE ARTICLE 10 AND ALSO THE CONSOLIDATION OF YOUR MENTIONED CONSOLIDATION OF THE RESOURCES OF ALL URBAN FORESTRY ISSUE.
UM, WE HAVE A HUGE ALLY WITH THE TEXAS TREE FOUNDATION AND THIS ISSUE MAY HAVE COMMISSIONED AND PAID FOR THE HEAT ISLAND STUDIES.
THEY, THEY'VE MEASURED HEAT ISLAND EFFECTS AT AROUND PARKLAND AND THE SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER AND HAVE TAKEN TEMPERATURES ON PARKING LOTS IN THE HEAT ISLAND AREA OF THAT AS HIGH AS 150 DEGREES, UH, TEMPERATURE IN CERTAIN AREAS OF THAT AREA BECAUSE IT'S JUST A GIANT ACRES UPON AC OF ASPHALT AND CONCRETE.
MY POINT HERE IS, IS THAT WE IN THE, AND I'M PART OF THE BUILDING COMMUNITY AND WE HAVE HELPED FUND DECREE FUND, ONE OF THE ISSUES WE'VE ENCOUNTERED OVER THE YEARS IS THE NOT SPENDING OF TREES FUND BECAUSE, BECAUSE THE FACT THAT WE DON'T HAVE WATERING TRUCKS AND WE HAVE NOT ENGAGED THE TEXAS TREE FOUNDATION, WHO OWNS WATERING TRUCKS, WHO WOULD PLANT THE TREES THAT WE NEED AND USE THE FUNDS THAT WE HAVE IN THE, IN, IN THIS TREE FUND.
SO ULTIMATELY, I MEAN, WE NEED, FIRST OF ALL, AND AND I, YOU KNOW, WE CAN THINK ABOUT PLANTING TREES FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS, BUT YOU KNOW, WE COULD HAVE 10 YEARS.
I PLANTED A TREE, SEVERAL TREES, A MILE LOT.
WHEN I BUILT MY HOME, IT WAS A TWO INCH, THREE INCH DIAMETER BOROUGH.
IT WAS 12 FEET TALL, TWO INCHES IN DIAMETER.
TODAY THAT TREE'S 45 FEET TALL AND IT'S ALMOST 14 INCHES IN BAY.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT WE DO WITH TREES.
AND IF WE MOBILIZE THE ABILITY, THEY USE THE FUNDS THAT WE HAVE IN THE, IN, IN THE TREE FUND.
AND IF WE DON'T WANNA BUY WATERING CUPS, LET'S DO A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TEXAS TREE FOUNDATION AND THEY WILL MOBILIZE THE, THE, THE SUPPORTERS OF THE TREE FOUNDATION AND MAKE SURE THESE TREES ARE PLANTED WHERE THEY'RE NEEDED.
AND GUESS WHAT? THEY KNOW WHERE THEY'RE NEEDED.
THEY KNOW WHERE THEY'RE NEEDED.
IF, IF I'M NOT, WE KNOW WHERE THERE'S A PLACE PLANTED EVERY TREE IN DALLAS, WE LITERALLY WENT THROUGH THE TEXAS TREE FOUNDATION IN COAST
WE HAVE ALL THIS INFORMATION, KNOWLEDGE, IT'S IN PLACE RIGHT NOW.
WHAT WE HAVE TO DO NOW IS MOBILIZING
AND THAT'S SOME OF THIS COMMISSION DO, BUT WE HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE AND WE HAVE THE MONEY.
WELL, AND THERE'S ANOTHER THING YOU CAN DO WITH THIS MONEY.
SOMEBODY WILL HAVE THE SPACE FOR INFORMATION.
THE TREE FUND ALLOWS YOU TO PLANT TREES, ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO BUY WOODED PROPERTY.
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DALLAS, WE USED TREE FUND TO BUY, TO BUY LAND AT THE INTERSECTION OF LOOP 12 AND I 35.
THERE'S AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF WOODED PROPERTY THERE.
AND SURE ENOUGH WE ONLY TAKE TAP THE TREE FUND AND GO BUY LAND THERE SO IT CAN BE SPENT TO PLANT TREES OF THINGS BE SPENT TO BUY WOODED PROPERTY.
[00:45:01]
POINT IN TIME AND THERE WAS SEVEN OVER $7 MILLION SITTING THERE.SO TEN ONE, YEAH, IT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT COST TO PLANT AN QUAKE, BUT IT'S NOT A TON.
I MEAN, WE COULD PLANT A MILLION TREES VERY QUICKLY AND, AND THE CITY IN BRAZIL, UH, OR NOT BRAZIL, IT WAS CHILLING.
IT WAS BACKING UP THE, IN THESE MOUNTAINS AND IT WAS OVERCOME WITH POLLUTION.
AND THE CITY DID A CONCERTED EFFORT AND DECIDED LET'S PLANT A MILLION TREES.
THEY SOLVE THEIR SMALLER PROBLEM DOING.
WE'VE GOT THE MONEY, LET'S MAKE THE DECISION TO PARTNER WITH THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE.
YES, THE, IT'S IT'S DEVELOPMENT SERVICES THAT NOT HAVE WATERING TRUCK.
THEY'LL GLADLY WORK WITH THAT FUND AND, AND GET THOSE TREES PLANTED.
UM, I GUESS I'LL, I'LL SAY ONE THING.
UM, I JUST GAVE A TALK JUST ABOUT THIS LAST WEEK.
YOU KNOW, PLANTING TREES IS A GREAT IDEA.
I'VE BEEN WATERING THEM ALL SUMMER LONG.
THE PROBLEM IS THAT'S 20 YEARS TO GET IT TO WHERE IT PROVIDES ANY KIND OF VALUE.
THE ONES THAT ARE IN THE GROUND ARE THE ONES THAT NEED TO BE KEPT IN THE GROUND.
THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE CARED FOR.
SO YOU CUT 'EM DOWN AND THEN YOU REPLACE 'EM.
SOMETHING THAT YOU TO TAKE CARE OF FOR THE NEXT, WHAT, AT LEAST THREE YEARS IN DALLAS OR THEY'RE GONNA DIE.
UM, YOU KNOW, SO I'M GONNA JUST PUT IT OUT THERE THAT THE EXISTING CANOPY HAS TO BE SAVED.
YEAH, YOU CAN MAKE THINGS BETTER IN 20 YEARS, BUT WHAT ABOUT TODAY? STOP CUTTING DOWN WHAT WE HAVE.
OR AT LEAST NOT EVERYTHING CAN BE SAVED, BUT WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB OF SAVING MUCH ALL YOU DESERVE.
IN ADDITION TO PROTECTING THE HEALTHY TREE CANOPY THAT WE HAVE, AND THIS IS OF COURSE SUPPORTED BY TEXAS TREES FOUNDATION IS PLANTING TREES IS ESSENTIAL AND IMPORTANT, BUT WE'VE GOT TO INVEST IN MAINTENANCE AND, AND COORDINATED MAINTENANCE FOR THE LONG TERM TO HAVE A HEALTHY TREE CANOPY.
UM, ANOTHER SORT OF QUESTION ABOUT THE INTERSECTION OF, UH, SEVERAL OF OUR AREAS OF INTEREST.
UM, RECENTLY, UM, I ADDED SOLAR TO MY HOUSE AND I WENT THROUGH AN INTERESTING PROCESS OF LOOKING AT DIFFERENT VENDORS, SOME OF WHOM CAME IN AND SAID, AND I HAVE A LOT OF TREES ON MY PROPERTY, REALLY NICE OLDER TREES.
WELL, WE'LL CUT DOWN YOUR TREES.
AND OF COURSE I SAID, NO THANK YOU.
UH, AND I, I FINALLY THE PER THE COMPANY, I SETTLED ON THE, THE GUY WHEN HE CAME TO LOOK AT THE PROPERTY HAD LOOKED AT THE GOOGLE MAPS AND HE BROUGHT HIS TREE PERSON WITH HIM TO ADVISE HOW TO PRESERVE THE TREES AT THE SAME TIME PROVIDING ME COVER.
AND PART OF THE REASON I PICKED THEM IS, IF YOU'RE THAT RESPONSIBLE ABOUT LOOKING AT MY TREES AND MY ENVIRONMENT, YOU'RE THE KIND OF COMPANY I WANNA DO BUSINESS WITH.
BUT THE NEXT, ONE OF THE NEXT PHASES WAS OF COURSE, THAT WE HAD TO GET A PERMIT FROM THE CITY TO DO THE CONSTRUCTION.
DOES THAT INCLUDE LOOKING AT TREE PRESERVATION? AND IF NOT, IT SHOULD.
I MEAN, THESE ARE LITTLE HOLES WE CAN PLUG REALLY EASILY IN WHAT WE DO.
THAT MEAN THAT WE WALK THE WALK AS WELL AS TALKING THE TALK.
I THINK COMMISSIONER, HI MOTO, YOU HAD A SIMILAR QUESTION, UH, REGARDING PRESERVATION OF TREE CANOPY WITH THE SOLAR INSTALLATION AND, AND I THINK THAT THAT WAS SPECIFIC TO THE CITY'S PROGRAM, BUT THAT THE ANSWER WAS NO.
SO THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT WE WANNA TAKE A LOOK AT, UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH ENCOURAGING HOMEOWNERSHIP, UH, HOMEOWNERS, UH, TO BE SOLAR OWNERS AS WELL.
UM, WHAT'S OUR CURRENT PERSPECTIVE FROM ANYBODY WHO MIGHT KNOW ABOUT THE WAY IN WHICH COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT IS TAKING OUT TREES AND THEN SAYING, SORRY, AND IT'S TOO LATE.
WE TALK ABOUT WE LOVE THE CITY OF CARROTS AND NOT STICKS, BUT I'M VERY WORRIED THAT IF OUR STICKS DON'T GET REALLY BIG AND SCARY, THAT THEY'LL SAY, I'M SORRY, I MAYBE PAY A FINE.
AND, AND THEN OUR NET STRATEGY WITH THE TREE PLANNING IS GONNA ALWAYS BE PLAYING CATCH UP.
SO IT ARE, IS DEVELOPMENT GETTING ANY BETTER? WHETHER IT'S RESIDENTIAL, ALAN, WHERE YOU WORK OR THE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT, I'M CONCERNED THAT IT'S NOT AND THAT THEY'RE COMING DOWN AND WHAT'S THE COST OF THEM DOING THAT? UM, UNLESS THEY'RE GOOD HEARTED PEOPLE THAT GO, WE SHOULDN'T DO THAT.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION FOR MR. IRWIN.
[00:50:01]
UM, AND WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT IT GETS TO HIM AND, AND FOLLOW UP WITH A RESPONSE.MR. ROBERSON, I'D JUST LIKE TO ADD, WHEN YOU, UH, APPROACH PHILLIP WITH THIS, UH, THERE'S A HISTORICAL TREE, UM, UHHUH THAT THE CITY HAS, BUT THERE'S NOBODY TO ENFORCE IT WHEN I TALK TO HIM, IS REALLY NOT SOMETHING ENFORCEABLE.
SO WHAT HAPPENS, ESPECIALLY IN OLDER PARTS OF OAK CLIFF, MY CHURCH IS AN EXAMPLE OF, WE, I HAD TO WALK THE PROPERTY WITH THESE PEOPLE.
I HAPPENED TO BE THERE 'CAUSE WE WERE HAVING TREES TRIMMED.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENS, THEY GO INTO THESE OLDER NEIGHBORHOODS AND IT'S NOTHING TO CUT DOWN A 75 YEAR OLD TREE IF IT'S IN THE WAY OF WHERE THEY WANNA BE.
SO I'D LIKE TO SEE SOME ATTENTION GOING.
THERE'S NO POINT IN HAVING A HISTORICAL TREE PROTOCOL POLICY OR WHATEVER, AND IT'S NOT BEING, YOU KNOW, ENFORCED.
I'LL, I'LL, UM, SEND IT BACK OVER TO YOU MR. MARQUIS IN JUST A, A MOMENT.
BUT I THINK THAT THAT'S THE INTENT OF REOPENING ARTICLE 10 IS TO TAKE A LOOK AT HOW EFFECTIVE, UM, IS THAT PROGRAM AND, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE WE ADMINISTERING AND OR ENFORCING, GO AHEAD.
THERE ARE INSTANCES WHERE THE CITY'S COME DOWN PRETTY HARD ON PEOPLE TO COME DOWN THROUGH, BUT NOT AS MANY INSTANCES AS I WOULD LIKE TO SEE.
UM, WE HAVE SUCH A BROAD VARIETY OF EXAMPLES.
IN SOME CASES, PEOPLE AND DEVELOPERS, HOME BUILDERS HAVE DONE THE RIGHT THING.
AND THERE WERE OUR PARTNERS WHO WORKED ON THE, AND IN OTHER CASES YOU'D SEE PEOPLE WHO GRAB IN THE DARK AT NIGHT AND LITERALLY KEPT THINGS DOWN.
THERE WAS AN EXAMPLE NOT FAR FROM WHERE I LIVE IN, IN KEYSTONE WESTMORE, WHERE A CHURCH HAD BOUGHT A LOT AND HAD NO IDEA THERE WAS A TREE CODE AND THEY JUST DIDN'T EVENLY BUY A LOT ON THE HILLSIDE.
SO THE FIRST TIME RAIN, THE MUD SL DOWN IN THE STREET.
SO THERE REALLY BAD EXAMPLES LIKE THAT.
UM, AND WAY TOO MANY OF THEM, I BEGIN TO WONDER IF PART OF THE, OF OUR LOOKING AT ARTICLE 10 NEEDS TO INCLUDE, UM, A GREATER PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN AMONG THE BUILDING COMMUNITY, UM, IN A GREATER PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN AMONG OUR CITIZENS.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE DOING MORE AND MORE PUBLIC SERVICE AND SURVEYS WITH WATER ISSUES.
MAYBE WE NEED TO TAKE A MORE HOLISTIC APPROACH TO TREES AND PRESERVATION TREES.
THOSE OF US SITTING THERE AT THE TABLE GET THIS.
WE KNOW THAT, BUT NOT EVERYBODY DOES.
SO MAYBE THERE'S SOMEONE NEED TAKE A LOOK AT HOW DO WE INCREASE THE LEVEL AND OF KNOWLEDGE AND CONSCIOUSNESS ABOUT TRUTH AND NOT, NOT EVERYBODY GETS THAT.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE TEND TO FORGET THAT KNOW WE'RE THE CHOIR, WE TEND TO PREACH THE CHOIR, BUT MAYBE WE NEED TO GO OUT AND AND PREACH TO SOME OTHER FOLKS TOO AS WELL AND GET THEM ON BOARD AS WELL BECAUSE YEAH.
'CAUSE THIS IS, I MEAN THIS IS, UH, I APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR COMMENTS AND YOU THANK ME A FEW MINUTES AGO, MISS BAAN.
BUT WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH THIS FOR DECADES IN DALLAS, TEXAS.
AND SO I'VE SEE MORE HOLISTIC APPROACH TO IT THAT COVERS EVERYTHING FROM BIGGER STICKS TO BIGGER CARROTS.
UM, 'CAUSE WE, WE HAVE REDEFINED WHICH TREES NEED TO BE SAFE MORE WITH THIS CURRENTLY AROUND PRECO CODE.
SO IT CONTINUES TO BE PROGRESS, BUT YOU ALWAYS, ALWAYS FIND SOMEBODY EITHER DOESN'T KNOW OR DOESN'T CARE AND GO OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND CUT DOWN TREES.
AND BY THE TIME FILLER ONE GETS THERE, TREES ARE GONE.
SO WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO IN THIS REGARD.
AND PART OF THAT IS TO RERUN THE PRE CODE.
PART OF THAT'S PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE AND PART OF THAT'S ENFORCEMENT.
I I WANT TO PIGGYBACK ON THAT.
I AGREE COMPLETELY BECAUSE WE DO HAVE TO RAISE PUBLIC AWARENESS AND IT'S REALLY NOT JUST A DEVELOPMENT TO ME THAT FALL
THE REALITY IS, IS, YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK ANYTHING BIG NORTH OF NORTHWEST HIGHWAY PRIOR TO 1930, THAT WAS COTTON FIELD.
NOW IT'S AN URBAN FOREST AROUND THOSE HOMES.
THOSE ARE PLANTED BY DEVELOPERS.
DON THOSE NOT, THEY DIDN'T SPONTANEOUSLY FIGURE IT.
SO THE REALITY IS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, A DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY OUTDOORS THAT HAVE DONE DEVELOPMENT.
THERE'S A LOT OF TREES THAT ARE PLANTED BY BIRDS.
UH, A LOT OF THE HACKBERRY, MOSTLY ALL OVER THE CITY ARE PLANTED BY BIRDS ALONG
AND, AND SO, AND WE ALSO NEED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT TREES, SPECIES WE USING THE HACKBERRYS ARE NOT VERY LONG.
THE TREES AND, UH, UH, AND, AND OFFER TREES, UH, OTHER THAN
AND SO PLANTING TREES IS ESSENTIAL.
WE MOBILIZE, DO A MILLION PREPLANNING.
WE'RE GONNA MATERIALLY IMPACT UPON 1 MILLION.
[00:55:01]
THAT IS NOT PART OF THE COMMISSIONER MURRAY.I AM GONNA COME TO THE DEFENSE OF THE ACT AREA.
IT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE TREES.
BIODIVERSITY, BIODIVERSITY, AND THEY'LL GROW ANYWHERE.
AND AS LONG IT'S NOT NEXT TO YOUR HOUSE, WE CAN FORGIVE IT.
AND IT'S NOT SUPER LONG LIVED.
AND I HAVE THE TALK, IF YOU HAVE A GROUP THAT WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT TREES, LET ME KNOW.
I'M READY BECAUSE IT'S GONNA TAKE, IT'S GONNA TAKE PEOPLE AT THE BOTTOM TO CHANGE THE TREE CODE.
THAT IS WHERE IT'S GONNA HAVE TO COME FROM IN DALLAS.
MR. MARTIN'S GONNA WRAP US, OR MR. MARCUS IS GONNA WRAP US UP.
THEY COME IN AND THAT THEY GET INTO THIS.
BUT I'M RATHER DO, UM, FIRST ABOUT
THEY'RE AN IMPORTANT PART OF WHAT'S CALLED FORCED SUCCESSION.
'CAUSE THEY SELF POLLANT THE, UH, THE BERRIES POP OUT THOSE SEEDS AND FALL THEIR GROUND.
AND SO BIRDS DO SKELET THOSE SEEDS, BUT THEY ALSO, UH, PROPAGATE THEMSELVES.
UH, BUT AGAIN, THEY'RE, THEY'RE SOFT WOOD.
THEY DON'T, UH, WHAT YOU WANT IS OAKS AND ELS ANOTHER PECANS AND SO ON TO COME UP AND THEN BASICALLY CROWD THAT VERY WELL.
WE DON'T HAVE DO TOO LARGE A ROLE.
I WANT TO NOTE REAL QUICK SOMETHING THAT JULIE SAYS FROM
THERE'S A LOT OF
WE NEED A GREATER VARIETY OF TREES.
AND SO THE SPECIES OF TREES THAT WE PLANT, UH, IS CRITICAL TO WHAT WE WANT TO ACCOMPLISH WITH, WITH TREES IN THE CITY.
AND, UH, I THINK AGAIN, WHAT WE CAN DO AS A COMMISSION IS TAKE INTO ACCOUNT OF THE FORESTRY MASTER PLAN AND THE COURSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TAKES THE TREE FOUNDATION, THE MATERIALS WE HAVE, WE CAN NOW GO FORWARD WITH.
AND SO WE WILL GO FORWARD AS A CONDITION TO DO THIS.
WE CAN LEAD TO THE PLAN OF MANY TREASON ANALYSIS, AND I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT ROLE CONDITION TO PLAY IN.
WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA GET THAT ON THE MICROPHONE HERE IN A MINUTE.
UM, I, UM, UH, AT THE PROMPTING OF CHAIRMAN BAZAN, UH, CHAIRPERSON BAZAN, I, UH, MET WITH THE TEXAS TREE FOUNDATION.
I WAS GONNA DO THIS IN MY DISTRICT REPORT, BUT WITH THIS TOPIC, I DECIDED TO DO IT NOW.
AND WE LOOKED AT AREAS IN DISTRICT 12, EVEN THOUGH DISTRICT 12 IS RELATIVELY WOOD UH, WOODED.
UH, THERE ARE AREAS WHERE WE STILL HAVE SOME ISSUES AND WE ADDRESSED HOW TO, UM, APPROACH THOSE.
UM, AND, UM, THAT HAS ME NOW ACTIVELY WORKING.
I ALSO WENT TO THE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD AND THERE WERE PEOPLE THERE WHO WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR TREES AS WELL, OR PLANTING TREES.
AND SO THERE'S ANOTHER RESOURCE.
AND THEN FINALLY, UM, UH, I'M INVOLVED WITH TEMPLE SHALOM AND WE'RE DOING A MASSIVE INCREASE OF OUR URBAN GARDEN FROM 12 BEDS TO 60.
AND AS A PART OF THAT, WE HAVE A TREE PLANTING PROGRAM.
AND SO I'M GOING TO BE DISCUSSING THAT TREE PLANTING PROGRAM AND LINKING IT UP TO, UM, WITH, UM, WITH THE, UH, TEXAS TREE PROJECT TO SEE IF IT, IF IT LINKS UP.
SO, YOU KNOW, I I, I'M PROBABLY COMPARED TO SOME OF YOU RATHER LATE TO THIS GAME, BUT IT'S AN INTERESTING PLACE TO BE IN TERMS OF THINGS WE CAN DO THAT ARE PRACTICAL.
WE'VE SPENT SOME TIME ON THIS TOPIC.
HOPEFULLY WE WILL, UM, HEAR BACK FROM THE IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE ON THIS WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS WITH SOME, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THEY CAN BRING FORWARD, UH, THAT WE CAN THEN MOVE FORWARD TO THE CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE.
WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO OUR DISCUSSION ITEMS. UM, AND THE FIRST ITEM IS THE APPOINTMENT OF TECHNICAL PANEL MEMBERS TO OUR SUBCOMMITTEE.
SO YOU MAY KNOW THAT WE HAVE TWO NEW TECHNICAL PANEL MEMBERS.
ONE OF THEM, THEM IS WITH US THIS EVENING.
JACK HAS REQUESTED TO BE APPOINTED TO THE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND INNOVATION COMMITTEE, UM, AND WITH THE BLESSING OF CHAIR HIRO MOTO, I'M GOING TO, UH, POINT HER TO THAT COMMITTEE.
UH, NEXT ITEM, ITEM B IS OUR MONTHLY SUBCOMMITTEE UPDATES.
WE'RE GONNA START WITH OUR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH COMMITTEE, CHAIRWOMAN THOMPSON, DO YOU HAVE AN UPDATE? UH, YES.
UM, HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING ON LAST THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7TH, UM, WHERE WE DISCUSSED THE T C E Q, THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY PUBLIC MEETING
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THAT WAS HELD ON THE 17TH OF AUGUST.UM, OUR WORK, UH, AS WE MOVE FORWARD IS, UH, WE'RE GONNA BE RESEARCHING, UM, MORE ABOUT THE LOCATIONS OF THE BATCH PLANTS 'CAUSE WE ARE AWARE THAT THEY'RE PRIMARILY, UM, LOCATED IN, UM, WEST AND AND SOUTHERN DALLAS.
BUT, UM, OUR GOAL IS TO BE MORE PROACTIVE, PARTICULARLY AS IT RELATES TO THE PERMITING, UM, AND BEING ABLE, UH, TO GET A, A, A HANDLE ON IT BEFORE WE EVEN GETS A PROBLEM.
UM, WE REALIZE THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, THE CURRENT ONE THAT'S, UH, OPERATING ON THE EDGE OF, UH, DISTRICT SEVEN AND EIGHT, UM, HAS BEEN OPERATING ILLEGALLY.
AND OUR GOAL IS TO, YOU KNOW, BE ABLE TO PERMIT THINGS IN THE BUD BEFORE, UH, THEY EVEN HAPPEN, OR TO HAVE SOME TYPE OF, UH, CONSEQUENTIAL, UH, CONSEQUENTIAL ACTION THAT TAKES PLACE.
UM, SO RECOMMENDATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, ARE FORTHCOMING, UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING SOON, TO PUT FORWARD THESE PRIORITIES FROM THE MAYOR REGARDING THE P T E AND WHERE EQUITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE WOULD INTERSECT WITH THOSE.
UM, SO SINCE I'M NEW TO THIS ROLE, UH, I HAVE TO ADMIT WE HAVE NOT MET, UM, AND I'VE TAKEN COPIOUS NOTES TONIGHT, UH, AND WOULD LIKE TO, I, I'LL BE IN TOUCH WITH YOU TO SEE IF YOU WANNA JOIN US, AND WE WILL DEFINITELY BE MEETING ON, UH, THE ISSUES BROUGHT UP TONIGHT.
WE APPRECIATE YOU JUMPING INTO THAT LEADERSHIP POSITION, AND GLAD TO, UM, JOIN YOUR MEETING AND JOIN THAT DISCUSSION.
ALL RIGHT, NEXT IS OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT.
UH, WE HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT LAST YEAR'S STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION AND THE GOALS THAT WE SET FORWARD, UH, INCLUDING, INCLUDING THE CREATION OF OUR OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT SUBCOMMITTEE.
UM, AND IN THAT DISCUSSION, IF YOU RECALL, WE, UH, AGREED THAT EACH OF US WITHIN OUR DISTRICTS WERE GOING TO HOLD AT LEAST ONE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MEETING.
UH, AND SO WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF AUDITING WHICH DISTRICTS HAVE HAD EVENTS.
UM, WE ALSO DISCUSSED, UM, THE FORM THAT THE COMMISSION HAS AVAILABLE TO IT THAT WE HOPE EVERYBODY IS USING TO REPORT THOSE EVENTS BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE YEAR, WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR PRODUCING AN ANNUAL REPORT.