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I DO WANT TO WELCOME EVERYBODY, UM, TELL[Parks, Trails & Environment Committee on September 3, 2024.]
YOU GOOD MORNING AND, UM, CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER AT 9 0 7.AND OUR FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS, AS ALWAYS IS TO APPROVE OUR PAST MINUTES.
DO I HAVE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL? FOR APPROVAL? SECOND.
LET ME JUST TAKE A MINUTE TO GIVE SOME CONTEXT FOR OUR MEETING TODAY.
OVER THE PAST YEAR, I HAVE SEEN AREAS OF OVERLAP BETWEEN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND OEQS.
ONE OF THOSE AREAS IS OUR TREES.
THEY'RE IMPORTANT TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN OUR PARKS, AND THEY'RE ALSO PROVIDING NECESSARY HELP IN BOTH COOLING OUR HEAT ISLANDS AND CLEANING OUR AIR.
MY FAMILY AND I LIVED FOR 20 YEARS, JUST HALF A BLOCK FROM FLAGPOLE HILL, AND WE NOTICED WHEN COMING HOME FROM WORK DURING THE SUMMER, WE COULD SEE THE OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE ON OUR CAR.
YOU KNOW, THERMOMETER DROPPED THREE TO FIVE DEGREES ONCE WE TURNED OFF NORTHWEST HIGHWAY ONTO THE LAU AND INTO WHAT WAS THE FLAG POOL, WHAT I CONSIDER THE FLAG POOL HILL PARK.
WE UNDERSTOOD, BEGAN TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF TREES FOR COOLING OUR ENVIRONMENT.
SO WE HAVE A LITTLE DIFFERENT APPROACH TODAY WITH OUR PRESENTATIONS.
ITEMS A, B, AND C WILL BE PRESENTED TOGETHER IN A PANEL FORMAT.
MY HOPE IS THAT WE WILL SEE HOW THESE AREAS OVERLAP AND PERHAPS GAIN SOME INSIGHT INTO WHAT WE AS COUNCIL MEMBERS CAN DO TO SUPPORT WORK IN THIS AREA.
SO I BELIEVE THE OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY IS SCHEDULED TO BE OUR PRESENT, OUR FIRST PRESENTATION.
AND SO I WILL, UH, TURN IT OVER TO OUR ENVIRONMENTAL COORDINATORS, AND I BELIEVE THEY'RE PRESENTING ON SOME URBAN HEAT STU STUDY RESULTS PERHAPS FROM BOTH AUGUST OF 23.
AND MAYBE WE DO HAVE SOME OF THE RESULTS FROM AUGUST OF 24.
I KNOW WE WERE CUTTING IT CLOSE THERE IN TIMING.
WELL, MORNING CHAIR STEWART AND MEMBERS OF THE PARK TRAILS IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE.
I'M AN ENVIRONMENTAL COORDINATOR THREE IN THE OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY.
I AM FILLING IN FOR, UH,
AND THEN WITH ME IS MARI FIGI, UH, COORDINATOR, UH, CLIMATE COORDINATOR TWO.
TODAY WE WILL BE PROVIDING A BRIEFING ON THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND STUDY THAT OCCURRED IN 2023 AND 2024.
DURING THIS BRIEFING, WE WILL TALK ABOUT THE PURPOSE OF THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND STUDY.
RECAP THE 2023 STUDY, GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF THE FIELD ACTIVITIES OF THE 2024 STUDY AND TALK ABOUT NEXT STEPS.
THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY IS TO IDENTIFY, UH, WITH DATA HOTSPOTS IN OUR CITY, SEEK EQUITABLE WAYS TO IMPLEMENT COOLING SOLUTIONS ACROSS THE CITY.
LOOK AT WAYS TO TAKE ACTION TO REDUCE HEAT.
LOOK AT WAYS TO TAKE ACTIONS TO REDUCE THE HEALTH IMPACTS OF EXTREME HEAT, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR MOST VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, AND TO PREPARE FOR FUTURE EXTREME HEAT EVENTS.
THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND STUDY HELPS MEET THREE GOALS OF THE CCAP GOAL SIX, TO PROTECT AND ENHANCE OUR ECOSYSTEMS. GOAL SEVEN, TO IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH AND ALLEVIATE ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS.
AND GOAL EIGHT, THAT ALL OF DALLAS CAN BREATHE CLEAN AIR.
IN 2023, OEQS APPLIED FOR A GRANT WITH, UH, THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION TO BE PART OF THE 2023 URBAN HEAT ISLAND CO COHORT.
WE WERE AWARDED A GRANT TO MAP 103 SQUARE MILES OF THE CITY.
KAPPA STRATEGIES PROVIDED THE EQUIPMENT THAT COLLECTED THE DATA, AND ALSO CONDUCTED THE DATA ANALYSIS AND MODELING ON AUGUST 5TH, 2023.
SEPARATE ROUTES WERE DRIVEN THROUGHOUT THE STUDY AREA INDICATED ON THE MAP.
EACH ROUTE WAS DRIVEN BETWEEN SIX AND 7:00 AM THEN AGAIN BETWEEN 3:00 PM AND 4:00 PM AND LASTLY, BETWEEN 7:00 PM AND 8:00 PM SENSORS WERE ATTACHED TO CARS DRIVING EACH ROUTE, WHICH COLLECTED AMBIENT AIR TEMPERATURE, HUMIDITY, TIME, LOCATION, AND HEAT INDEX DATA.
THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY SHOWED THAT, UM, THE HOTTEST AREAS, UH, IN 2023.
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HERE YOU CAN SEE ON, ON THIS MAP, I'M SORRY, THAT, UM, SHOWS THE HOTTEST, UH, AREAS, UH, AND THOSE RIGHT THERE HAVE FULL-TIME, UH, DAYTIME EXPOSURE.THE RESULT OF A STUDY SHOWED THAT THE HOTTEST AREAS IN 2023 WERE LEFT FIELD UPTOWN, OAK LAWN, DOWNTOWN, DEEP EL, THE DESIGN DISTRICT, AND THE STEMMONS MARKET CENTER AREA, AS WELL AS THE MEDICAL DISTRICT, WEST DALLAS AND BISHOP ARTS, WHICH HAVE COMMUNITIES WITH ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE CONCERNS.
THE STUDY ALSO SHOWS, UH, THAT HOMOGENEOUS BUILDING LAYOUTS OF INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL AREAS CONCENTRATE HEAT THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
NEIGHBORHOODS WITH MATURE TREES REDUCE A PERSON'S EXPOSURE, UH, TO HIGH TEMPERATURES AND LARGE NATURAL AREAS SUCH AS THE GREAT TRINITY FOREST PLAY.
AN IMPORTANT ROLE TO KEEP OUR REGION COOL THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
AN INTERACTIVE MAP OF A STUDY CAN BE FOUND ON DALLAS CLIMATE ACTION.COM, WHERE ONE CAN CHOOSE TO LOOK AT DIFFERENT MAP LAYERS, DEPENDING IF THEY'RE INTERESTED IN TEMPERATURE DATA OR THE HEAT INDEX OR HUMIDITY DATA FOR THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD.
IN 2024, WE AGAIN PARTNERED WITH KAPPA STRATEGIES TO CONDUCT THE HEAT ISLAND STUDY ON THE 245 SQUARE MILES, NOT COVERED IN THE 2023 STUDY ON AUGUST 10TH, 21.
ROUTES WERE DRIVEN THROUGHOUT THIS AREA'S, UH, THIS YEAR'S STUDY AREA.
I'LL NOW TURN IT OVER TO MARI FIGI, UH, TO GIVE THE SUMMARY OF THIS YEAR'S URBAN HEAT ISLAND STUDY.
SO, UM, LIKE FREDDY SAID, ON AUGUST 10TH, WE COMPLETED THE SECOND PART OF THE STUDY AND VOLUNTEERS DID THE SAME THING THEY DID IN AUGUST, 2023, WHICH IS TO DRIVE PRE-DESIGNED ROUTES THREE TIMES A DAY FROM SIX TO 7:00 AM THREE TO 4:00 PM AND SEVEN TO 8:00 PM AND WHAT THEIR SENSORS MEASURED WAS AMBIENT AIR TEMPERATURE, HUMIDITY TIME, LOCATION BY GPS COORDINATES AND HEAT INDEX.
AND THIS WAS MEASURED EVERY SECOND FOR THE HOUR THAT WAS DRIVEN.
SO ON THE LEFT YOU CAN SEE AN IMAGE OF A ROUTE THAT WAS DESIGNED.
IT COVERS ABOUT 20 MILES AND IT TAKES ABOUT AN HOUR TO DRIVE.
AND IN THE MIDDLE YOU CAN SEE TWO VOLUNTEERS THAT PARTICIPATED BOTH IN 2023 AND 2024.
THEIR NAMES ARE RUSS AND STEPH FRIZZLE.
AND ON THE RIGHT YOU CAN SEE THE SENSOR MOUNTED ON THE CAR.
SO THE TOP IS THE HEAD OF THE SENSOR, AND THAT IS WHAT MEASURES AND COLLECTS THE DATA.
WE PARTNERED WITH TWO ORGANIZATIONS FOR THIS STUDY.
FIRST IS THE TEXAS TREES FOUNDATION, AND THE SECOND IS THE SIERRA CLUB.
SO THE TEXAS TREES FOUNDATION, THEY HAD ABOUT 30 VOLUNTEERS THAT COLLECTED SURFACE TEMPERATURE READINGS.
SO THIS WAS DIFFERENT THAN OUR AMBIENT AIR DATA.
AND THEY COLLECTED READINGS ON PERMEABLE AND NONPERMEABLE SURFACES, INCLUDING DIFFERENT MATERIALS LIKE WOOD, CONCRETE, AND METALS.
AND, UM, THEY HAVE PRESENTED SOME INITIAL FINDINGS, BUT SINCE THE DATA WAS JUST COLLECTED A FEW WEEKS AGO, UH, WE'RE STILL WAITING ON THE FULL SET OF DATA AND ANALYSIS, BUT THEY HAVE SHARED THAT THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE RECORDED WAS 150 DEGREES, ABOUT 150 DEGREES, AND THEIR DATA WAS COLLECTED IN THE SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL DISTRICT AREA, WHITE ROCK, LAKE FAIR PARK, OAKLAND CEMETERY.
AND THESE ARE SOME OF THE AREAS THAT WE COVERED IN THE 2023 STUDY.
SO WE'RE HOPING TO BE ABLE TO COMPARE SOME OF THAT DATA BETWEEN AMBIENT TEMPERATURE AND UH, SURFACE TEMPERATURE DATA.
SO THEY MEASURED THIS WITH AN INFRARED DIGITAL THERMOMETER.
OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SIERRA CLUB IN DALLAS WAS THAT THEY DONATED $10 GIFT CARDS TO ALL VOLUN VOLUNTEERS EXCEPT CITY STAFF.
AND THIS WAS JUST AN INCENTIVE AND A THANK YOU MEASURE TO OUR VOLUNTEERS THAT HELPED OUT, WHICH WERE ABOUT A HUNDRED PEOPLE.
OUR NEXT STEPS OF PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION INCLUDE, UM, SHARING THE DATA.
SO THE DATA WILL BE AVAILABLE ABOUT 12 WEEKS FROM OUR STUDY DATE.
ALSO, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE EFFORTS.
SO WE USE THE EJ SCREEN TOOL TO IDENTIFY POINTS OF INTEREST TO DESIGN THE ROUTES, AND WE'RE HOPING THAT, UM, THIS DATA CAN ADD A LAYER TO THE EJ CONCERNS WITH, UM, BY IDENTIFYING HEAT EXPOSURE OF COMMUNITIES WEATHERIZATION TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY OF HOMES.
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LESS IMPACTS OF HEAT IN THOSE HOMES WITH URBANIZATION OR WITH WEATHERIZATION.WE'RE ALSO PART OF THE SMART SURFACES COALITION, UH, TO TRANSFORM URBAN SURFACES.
AND ONE EXAMPLE IS A COOL PAVEMENT PILOT PROJECT BY PUBLIC WORKS.
RECENTLY, WE ALSO HOPE TO IMPLEMENT A TREE PLANTING STRATEGY BY WORKING WITH THE TE TEXAS TREES FOUNDATION'S TREE EQUITY PLANTING MAP.
WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO DEVELOP A HEAT ACTION PLAN WITH THE OFFICE OF, UH, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT BY IDENTIFYING COOLING SHELTERS FOR HIGH RISK GROUPS.
DEVELOP RESPONSE STRATEGIES TO HEAT PUBLIC AWARENESS, EXTREME HEAT PROTOCOLS FOR THE CITY, INCREASE RESILIENCE OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS.
WE ALSO HAVE A JURISDICTIONAL SCAN PLAN FOR 2024, WHICH WILL ANALYZE ABOUT 30 DOCUMENTS THAT THE CITY HAS, INCLUDING THE CCAP URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN, STREET DESIGN MANUALS FOR DALLAS PLAN, RACIAL EQUITY PLAN, AND OTHERS.
AND SO WHAT THIS DOES IS SUM, UH, SUMMARIZE THE PLANS, CODES, POLICIES, AND OTHER DOCUMENTS RELEVANT TO HEAT RELATED PREPAREDNESS, MITIGATION, AND ADAPTATION.
AND THIS JURISDICTIONAL SCAN WILL SUMMARIZE GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE FUTURE BASE SOLUTIONS OF THE SCAN.
I'LL HAND IT OVER TO TEXAS TREES FOUNDATION.
UM, WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE PRESENTATION ON URBAN HEAT TREE EQUITY AND A PROGRAM OVERVIEW FROM TEXAS TREES FOUNDATION.
I BELIEVE WE HAVE JEANETTE MORES, UM, PRESIDENT AND CEO AS WELL AS ALYSSA IS MELIN CHIEF STRATEGY AND OPERATIONS OFFICER.
WANTED TO MAKE SURE I GOT YOUR TITLES CORRECT.
UH, WE ARE SO GLAD YOU GUYS ARE HERE TODAY AND WE WILL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
THANK YOU FOR INVITING US AT THE TABLE.
ALTHOUGH WE'VE BEEN WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS SINCE 1982.
IF YOU REMEMBER, WE WERE THE DALLAS PARKS FOUNDATION WHEN WE WERE FOUNDED BY ROBERT DECKARD AND TRAMMELL CROW.
SO WE'VE BEEN INVESTING IN THE CITY OF DALLAS FOR MANY YEARS.
UM, AND THE MISSION IS REALLY TO PRESERVE AND BEAUTIFY NOT JUST JUST THE THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAYS, BUT ALL OF THE CITY OF DALLAS AS WE'RE WORKING.
WE ALSO, AS WE WERE TWO SLIDES PLEASE.
AS WE DO OUR WORK IN THE CITY OF DALLAS, WE REALLY SHARE OUR GOALS WITH YOU.
WE LOOK AT ALL OF THE ORDINANCES, WE LOOK AT ALL OF THE POLICIES.
WE LOOK AT ALL OF WHAT WE HAVE IN THE CITY OF DALLAS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ALIGNING THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING IN THE CITY, UM, WITH THE WORK, UM, THAT YOU'RE DOING NEXT.
I THINK ALSO ONE OF THE IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER IS THAT WHEN WE LAUNCHED THIS STATE OF THE DALLAS URBAN FORESTRY REPORT IN 2015, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE SAW WAS THAT, UM, THERE WAS DALLAS WAS AN URBAN HEAT ISLAND, WHICH LED US TO, TO DO THE SECOND IN THE COUNTRY, URBAN HEAT ISLAND STUDIES.
UM, WE DID IT WITH GEORGIA TECH.
SO THAT IS STILL RELEVANT STUDY OF AROUND THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND, AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IN THAT, UM, YES, WE'RE GOING TO BEGIN TO REDO IT THIS YEAR, UH, TO SEE WHAT THE CHANGES ARE.
BUT IT DID TELL US THAT AT THE TIME, THE CITY OF DALLAS WAS THE SECOND HOTTEST CITY IN THE COUNTRY NEXT TO PHOENIX AND PHOENIX CAME TO DALLAS TO VISIT WITH US AND TOOK OUR, OUR, OUR PROGRAMS BACK TO, TO PHOENIX AND HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTING PROGRAMS THERE.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF SYMBIOTIC IN WORKING WITH THEM.
NEXT STEP, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
THE WORK WE DO, BECAUSE URBAN HEAT IS SO PREVALENT IN THE CITY OF DALLAS, IS ALL OUR WORK IS AROUND TREES AND HUMAN HEALTH BENEFITS.
IF YOU GET TREES AND HUMAN HEALTH BENEFITS, RIGHT, YOU'LL GET THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS, YOU'LL GET THE SOCIAL BENEFITS, YOU'LL GET THE ENVIRONMENTAL, YOU'LL GET ALL OF THE BENEFITS, RIGHT? BUT WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF DALLAS.
SO WHAT WE LOOK AT IS WE LOOK AT HOW THE, THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING BRINGS DOWN THE, THE CHOLESTEROL LEVELS, CORTISOL LEVELS.
HOW CAN WE IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND HEALTH FOR ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS IN THE CITY OF DALLAS? NEXT SLIDE.
THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND IN DALLAS
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IS, IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THROUGH ONE OF OUR PROGRAMS THIS SUMMER OR THE LAST TWO YEARS.AND THANKS TO, UH, COUNCILMAN, UH, MORENO, UM, THE SOUTHWEST MEDICAL DISTRICT HAS BEEN DOING STUDIES AROUND URBAN HEAT.
AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT WHAT WE'RE FINDING IN TERMS OF AMBIENT HEAT VERSUS SURFACE HEAT.
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE A 2-YEAR-OLD WALKING ALONG THE STREET AS OPPOSED TO A SIX FOOT TALL FATHER.
AND SO WE WERE DELIGHTED, UH, TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY THIS SUMMER TO WORK WITH OEQS, UM, ON THEIR STUDY AS MARITZA DESCRIBED.
AND REALLY, UM, WHAT YOU SEE IS EXACTLY WHAT JEANETTE IS DESCRIBING, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SURFACE TEMPERATURES AND AIR TEMPERATURES.
AND SO THE WORK THAT WE DID REALLY COMPLIMENTED, UH, THE CITY'S WORK IN STUDYING AIR TEMPERATURES.
SO I'LL QUICKLY TALK THROUGH THIS GRAPH FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT STATISTICALLY INCLINED.
UH, THE BLUE DOTS ON THE GRAPH ARE OF SHADED SURFACES.
SO SURFACE TEMPERATURES AT SHADED SURFACES AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF DAY.
UH, THE RED DOTS OF THE GRAPH ARE ON UNSHADED SURFACES.
AND SO WHAT WE SEE IS A HUGE SPIKE IN HEAT ON THE UN SHADED SURFACES IN THE EARLY AFTERNOON, JUST LIKE YOU MIGHT EXPECT IF YOU WERE WALKING ACROSS THE CITY HALL PARKING LOT IN THE AFTERNOON.
UH, AND THAT'S THAT 150 DEGREE TEMPERATURE SPIKE THAT, UH, THAT MARITZA DESCRIBED.
BUT WHAT'S FASCINATING IS THAT ACROSS THE DAY, EVEN WHEN YOU AVERAGE OUT TEMPERATURES EARLY EVENING OR EARLY MORNING AND LATE IN THE EVENING, THERE'S A 13 DEGREE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE SHADED SURFACES AND THE UNSHADED SURFACES.
AND SO THIS IS REALLY INDICATING ONE OF THE MAJOR BENEFITS OF TREES AND PROVIDING SHADE AND COOLING OUR ENVIRONMENT.
SO WITH THIS Y IN MIND, UH, WE'LL TRANSITION TO THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING TO BRING THE BENEFITS OF TREES TO DALLAS.
AND THIS IS A, UH, A VISUALIZATION OF OUR PROGRAM PORTFOLIO, WHICH REALLY LOOKS AT HOW WE CONNECT PEOPLE, EVERYDAY PEOPLE, TO THE BENEFITS THAT TREES PROVIDE.
AND SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF THIS SPECTRUM, YOU'LL SEE, UH, PROGRAMS THAT ARE REALLY FOCUSED ON TRAINING INDIVIDUALS IN THE CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF THE URBAN FOREST.
AND ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, WE SEE PROGRAMS THAT ARE FOCUSED ON TRANSFORMING PLACES THROUGH TREES AND NATURE TO BE HEALTHIER FOR PEOPLE IN COMMUNITIES.
SO WE'LL FOCUS ON THOSE FOR THE REST OF THE PRESENTATION.
BUT JUST A QUICK MENTION OF TWO PROGRAMS ON THE LEFT.
UM, FIRST, OUR WORKFORCE PROGRAM, WHICH WE LAUNCHED IN EARNEST THIS YEAR, UH, WHICH TAKES OUT OF WORK ADULTS OR ADULTS FACING BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINS THEM IN GREEN CAREERS, LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE AND OUR BORA CULTURE.
THESE ARE VERY IN DEMAND, UM, WELL-PAYING POSITIONS, AND WE ARE FACING A HUGE GAP IN THESE CAPABILITIES IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND WE'RE SO EXCITED TO BE WORKING WITH CITY STAFF TO LOOK AT HOW THIS PROGRAM, THIS TRAINING WE HAVE, CAN BEGIN TO FILL SOME OF THE FRONTLINE, UH, WORKFORCE NEEDS WITHIN THE CITY OVER TIME.
UH, MOVING ON TO OUR CONSULTING PROGRAM, JUST ONE TO THE RIGHT.
EVERYTHING THAT WE DO, AS JEANETTE DESCRIBED, IS ROOTED IN RESEARCH AND PLANNING, AND THAT REALLY DIRECTS WHERE TREE PLANTING AND WHERE OUR ACTIVITIES WILL HAVE THE GREATEST IMPACT, UM, THE GREATEST HEALTH BENEFITS TO COMMUNITIES.
SO YOU'LL HEAR FROM THE CITY LEADERSHIP TEAM IN A MOMENT ABOUT THE STATE OF THE URBAN FOREST, UH, REPORT THAT WE DID IN 2015, BUT ALSO THE URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN COMPLETED IN 2021.
AND THIS IS THE TEAM LEADING IT.
AND WE'RE NOW DELIGHTED TO BE WORKING ACROSS THE STATE IN 64 COMMUNITIES THAT ARE ALL CLIMATE JUSTICE COMMUNITIES, UM, HELPING EACH OF THEM FIGURE OUT WHERE TO PLANT TREES FOR THE HIGHEST HEALTH IMPACT FOR THEIR COMMUNITIES.
YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING? NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
AND SO WE'RE OF COURSE BEST KNOWN FOR OUR COMMUNITY-BASED VOLUNTEER TREE PLANTINGS.
IF ANY OF YOU HAVE BEEN OUT TO VISIT WITH US ON A WEEKEND, THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT YOU'VE DONE.
UH, LIKE THESE FOLKS HERE ON THE LEFT, THEY'RE A LOT OF FUN.
SO I HOPE YOU WILL JOIN US IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY.
UM, SINCE 2022, THE APPROACH THAT HAS UNDERPINNED THESE PLANTINGS IS OUR TREE EQUITY PLANTING MAP, WHICH I HAVE HERE, BUT IS ON OUR WEBSITE.
UM, AND THIS LOOKS AT A COMBINATION OF DEMOGRAPHIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY TO SHOW WHERE PLANTING TREES IS GONNA HAVE THAT HIGHEST HEALTH IMPACT.
UM, WE USE THIS ANALYSIS IN COMBINATION WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TO SELECT OUR PLANTING SITES THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE MAP ON THE RIGHT, WE DO PLANT TREES AND INVEST IN EVERY DISTRICT THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UM, A COUPLE THINGS I'LL POINT OUT ON THIS MAP.
SO FIRST, THE FILLED GREEN DOTS, IF YOU SQUINT, UH, THOSE ARE RECENTLY COMPLETED PROJECTS WITHIN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, AND WE ARE VERY PROUD TO HAVE PLANTED 620 SOMETHING TREES ALREADY THIS YEAR WITH MORE TO COME THIS FALL.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE HOLLOWED OUT DOTS, UM, THESE ARE OUR PLANNED PLANTING LOCATIONS FOR THE FALL OF 2024 AND SPRING OF 2025.
AND IF YOU KNOW A SITE THAT NEEDS TREES THAT'S NOT ON THIS MAP, PLEASE COME TALK TO US.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHY WE'RE HERE.
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UM, SO BOTH JEANETTE AND I WILL BE AVAILABLE AND OUR CONTACT INFORMATION IS ON OUR WEBSITE.AND THEN IF YOU LOOK AT THE HOLLOW DOTS THAT LOOK LIKE THEY HAVE A LION'S MANE OR A SUN'S RAISE, UH, THAT IS THE BRANCHING OUT PROGRAM THAT IS LED BY THE CITY OF DALLAS AND WHICH WE PROUDLY SUPPORT.
UM, AND SO THOSE, UH, PLANTING PROJECTS IN CITY PARKS ARE ALSO TAKING PLACE THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UM, TOGETHER, THE IMPACT OF ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS IS THOUSANDS OF TREES A YEAR, RIGHT? MEETING THE CITY'S CCAP GOALS OR BEGINNING TO MEET THE CITY'S CCAP GOALS.
UM, SO JEANETTE, AND I'LL NOW TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO TALK ABOUT, UM, SOME OF OUR MORE CAPITAL INTENSIVE PROGRAMS THAT ARE REALLY DIRECTLY FOCUSED ON URBAN HEAT.
UH, THE FIRST OF THESE IS OUR COOL SCHOOLS PROGRAM, WHICH IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN TEXAS TREES, THE CITY OF DALLAS AND DISD.
UM, THIS COLLABORATION WAS REALLY DRIVEN BY URBAN HEAT, NOTICING THAT, UM, IN OUR URBAN HEAT STUDY IN 2015 SCHOOL CAMPUSES WERE AMONG THE HOTTEST AND MOST TREELESS PLACES IN OUR CITY WITH AN AVERAGE CANOPY COVER OF ABOUT 7%, WHEREAS THE CITY IS LOOKING TO GET TO 32% OR MORE.
AND SO ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THIS IS WHERE OUR CHILDREN ARE SPENDING THEIR TIME IN THE HEAT, UH, WE WORK TOGETHER TO TRANSFORM 25 SCHOOL CAMPUSES.
TO DATE, WE HAVE FIVE MORE THAT WILL OPEN THIS YEAR, AND, UM, ANOTHER 15 IN THE WORKS.
AND SO FOR EACH OF THESE CAMPUSES, WHAT WE ARE PROVIDING IS ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING FOR ALL OF THE STUDENTS, UH, REALLY GEARED AT TREES AND URBAN FORESTRY, UM, TREE PLANTINGS OF A HUNDRED OR MORE TREES LOOKING TO GET THE CANOPY AT EACH SCHOOL NORTH OF 30% SO THAT THERE'S HEALTHY SHADE FOR CHILDREN TO PLAY IN.
AND THEN FINALLY, UH, CAMPUS TRANSFORMATION WORKING WITH PARKS, UM, TO CREATE PUBLIC PARKS AND PLAY SPACES THAT ARE ACCESSIBLE TO THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES.
AND AS OF NOW, THE 25 SCHOOLS COMPLETED SERVE 110,000 RESIDENTS WITHIN A 10 MINUTE WALK.
SO THIS IS REALLY HELPING THE CITY MEET ITS PARK SCHOOL GOALS.
UM, THIS IS A COLLABORATIVE PROGRAM THAT HAS OUTSIZED HEALTH AND LEARNING IMPACTS FOR THE TREES PLANTED BECAUSE OF THE WAY IT'S TARGETED RIGHT TO THESE HIGH NEED POPULATIONS AND IN PLACES THAT ARE GETTING A LOT OF USE.
UM, NEXT TALK ABOUT OUR SOUTH DALLAS GREENING INITIATIVE.
THIS IS, UH, A STRATEGIC HOLISTIC EFFORT, UM, TO IMPROVE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH IN SOUTH DALLAS AND ITS ADJACENT COMMUNITIES, SO INCLUDING MILL CITY, QUEEN CITY, UH, FAIR PARK, UM, JUBILEE AND OTHER ADJACENT NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, THIS STRATEGY REALLY LOOKS AT, UH, ADDRESSING THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH FACTORS IN THESE NEIGHBORHOODS THROUGH TREES.
AND SO IT'S A FIVE YEAR EFFORT TO INCREASE THE TREE CANOPY FROM 14% TODAY TO MORE THAN TWICE THAT 37%.
UM, IT'S SUPPORTED BY, UH, THE US FOREST SERVICE THROUGH AN IRA GRANT, WHICH MEANS NO COST TO THE CITY, UM, IN OUR ABILITY TO BRING THOUSANDS OF NEW TREES TO THIS COMMUNITY.
WE ARE IN THE VERY EARLY STAGES OF THIS PROJECT, LIKE FEW MONTHS, UH, INTO FIVE YEARS.
AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO WORK TOGETHER, UM, COLLABORATING TO ALIGN CITY OF DALLAS ACTIVITIES, TEXAS TREES, ACTIVITIES, AND COMMUNITY NEEDS AND DIRECTION SO THAT THESE TREES CAN HAVE THE HIGHEST IMPACT.
THIS IS THE ABOUT THE SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL DISTRICT.
AND, UH, TO PUT IN CONTEXT, TAKE A LOOK AT THE MAP THERE.
AND THE LIGHT GRAY IS URBAN HEAT THAT'S TELLING YOU THAT THIS IS ONE OF THE HOTTEST AREAS IN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
IT'S A BOOKEND BY LOVE FIELD IN DOWNTOWN DALLAS.
SOUTHWEST MEDICAL DISTRICT HAS THREE ADJACENT COMMUNITIES THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH, ESPECIALLY, ESPECIALLY ARLINGTON PARK, WHICH WE'VE MADE OVER A HALF A MILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT IN OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS.
THIS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL DISTRICT IS THE SECOND HIGHEST EMPLOYMENT AREA IN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
IT'S ONE OF THE HOTTEST IN AND UNHEALTHIEST AREAS IN THE CITY OF DALLAS BEYOND THE FOOTPRINT OF THE BUILDINGS.
UM, THERE ARE ACTUALLY 42,000 EMPLOYEES NOW IN THIS AREA, AND WE'RE WORKING, UM, ALONG THIS AREA.
IN 2016, IF YOU REMEMBER, WE DID A MASTER PLAN FOR THE AREA.
THE CITY, UM, HAS BEEN WORKING WITH US NOW TO, UH, CONTINUE TO LOOK AT ONE OF THE SECTIONS OF THE AREA IN THE DISTRICT TO MAKE IT COOLER, GREENER, CLEANER, AND HEALTHIER.
THIS IS A PROJECT THAT, UM, THERE IS NONE BEING DONE THAT WE KNOW OF LIKE THIS ONE, IT'S BASED IN ONE HEALTH, THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, THE PHYSICAL HEALTH, THE SOCIAL HEALTH, AND THE MENTAL WELLBEING OF PEOPLE THAT USE THE DISTRICT.
AND IT IS A MODEL THAT WE ARE SHARING ACROSS THE WORLD.
WE JUST PRESENTED THIS PRESENT, UH, THIS MODEL
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AT A, A CONFERENCE, AN INTERNATIONAL CONFIDENT CONFERENCE IN AUSTRALIA.AND WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF INTEREST AND A LOT OF, UM, OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING BECAUSE IT'S PINNED IN, IN RESEARCH AROUND URBAN HEAT.
AND THE URBAN HEAT IN THIS AREA, AS IN OTHER AREAS AROUND THE CITY OF DALLAS, IS INSTRUMENTAL IN OFFSETTING, UM, SOME OF THE GOOD THAT WE HAVE, UH, IN TERMS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL DISTRICT, YOU'VE ALL BEEN DOWN HARRY HINES, IT'S PRETTY BLEAK AND IT'S DANGEROUS.
AND IF WE'RE LOOKING AT URBAN HEAT, THIS IS NOT WHAT WE ARE WANTING TO SEE.
SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF TRANSFORMING THIS DISTRICT WITH, UH, FIELD OPERATIONS.
UH, THEY DID THE NEW YORK HIGH LINE AND THEY, UH, EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING, WE'RE DOING BASED IN RESEARCH AND EVIDENCE-BASED DESIGN.
THE RESEARCH IS COMING FROM PHA, WHICH IS A COMPANY OUT OF, UM, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, AND THEY'VE BEEN WORKING IN LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY AS WELL.
THE RESEARCH THAT WE'RE FINDING HERE IS, IS, IS GETS DOWN TO NOT JUST URBAN HEAT, BUT HOW URBAN HEAT EXACERBATES PARTICULATE MATTER AND HOW THE WIND THAT ACTUALLY GOES THROUGH THIS DISTRICT AND THROUGH THE AREAS THAT WE'RE, UH, DESIGNING AFFECTS, UM, THE URBAN HEAT IMPACT ON HEALTH AND HUMANS.
UM, THE SOUTHWEST MEDICAL DISTRICT, WE FOCUSED ON HARRY HINES, WHICH IS FROM MARKET CENTER BOULEVARD ALL THE WAY TO MOCKINGBIRD.
UM, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT IS THE INTERSECTION OF HARRY HINES AND INWOOD, UH, WILL BE A NEW PARK.
IT IS NOT A, UH, A PARK THAT IS GOING TO BE AN ACTIVATED PARK LIKE, UH, LIKE CLYDE WARREN OR EVEN SOUTHERN GATEWAY.
IT IS A HEALTH AND HEALING PARK WHERE THE HOSPITALS CAN BRING OUT THERAPY AND, UH, DOCTORS CAN BRING OUT INTERNS TO, TO DO TEACHING IN THERE.
IT IS A PARK THAT IS GOING TO BE QUIET.
AND WHAT I ASKED WHEN WE WERE DESIGNING THE PARK IS THAT IF SOMEBODY COMES OUT OF THE BUILDING AND THEY'VE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH THE TERMINAL ILLNESS, WHERE SHOULD THEY LAND? AND IF THEY COME OUT OF THE BUILDING AND THEY'VE BEEN CLEARED OF ALL OF THEIR TERMINAL ILLNESS, WHERE SHOULD THEY LAND? AND IT SHOULD BE IN A PLACE WITH NATURE AND NATURE BRINGS HEALING.
AND, AND THIS WAS, THIS WAS PERSONAL BECAUSE WHEN I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER, UH, BREAST CANCER, I WALKED OUT INTO A PARKING LOT AND I WAS DISORIENTED AND I WAS CONFUSED.
NOBODY SHOULD WALK OUT INTO ANYTHING BUT NATURE WHEN THEY NEED HEALING.
THE PARK IS THE BIGGEST PART OF THE PROJECT, AND IT IS, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THIS IS WHAT'S THERE NOW.
UM, IT HAS A BRIDGE THAT GOES OVER INWOOD AND, UM, YOU CAN SEE THE, THE CONNECTOR, THE UT SOUTHWESTERN CONNECTOR.
UM, AND WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE CAPPING OVER THIS NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, TO MAKE A 10 ACRE PARK.
UM, THIS PARK IS GOING TO HAVE MORE THAN THE, THIS PROJECT IS GONNA HAVE MORE THAN 3,500 TREES CLOSE TO, COULD BE CLOSE TO 6,000 TREES.
IT'LL DEPEND UPON THE FINAL DESIGN THAT WE CHOOSE.
BUT THIS IS ALL AROUND, IT'S CONNECTED TO O'DONNELL GROVE AND IT'S CONNECTED TO THE BIRD SANCTUARY.
SO THIS IS THE KIND OF CONNECTIVITY THAT YOU GET THAT BRINGS DOWN AMBIENT AIR AS WELL AS THE SHADING FOR, UM, THE, UM, THE STREETSCAPE.
I BELIEVE THAT THE PARK IS REALLY IMPORTANT, BUT I THINK THAT STREETSCAPE IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT IN TERMS OF URBAN HEAT AND HOW WE MITIGATE THAT IN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
THIS IS HOW THE PARK WILL LOOK WHEN WE'RE FINISHED.
UM, IT WILL, UM, THE, THE CONNECTOR WILL BE MOVED, UM, AND IT WILL HAVE SECTIONS THAT ARE IN, UM, THE PARK ITSELF FOR DIFFERENT KINDS OF USE.
SO THE, THE MEDICAL DISTRICT TO ME IS A BIG DISTRICT, IS A BIG PROJECT.
WE WILL GO TO PHASE ONE AT THE BEGINNING OF 2026, WHICH IS FROM BUTLER STREET DOWN TO MARKET CENTER BOULEVARD.
AND THE SECOND PHASE WILL BE THE PARK, WHICH WILL COME RIGHT AFTER THAT.
[00:30:01]
DOVETAILS INTO THE NEW CHILDREN'S PROJECT, THE NEW CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL THAT IS BEING BUILT.AND IT WILL TRANS, THIS WHOLE PROJECT WILL TRANSFORM THE MEDICAL DISTRICT FROM GREEN, FROM GRADE TO GREEN.
AND, UM, IT WILL BRING HEALTH AND HEALING TO THE, THE PEOPLE THAT USE THIS DISTRICT.
AND SO WE'LL JUST CLOSE REALLY QUICKLY WITH, YOU KNOW, TRANSFORMATION AT THIS SCALE IS REALLY ONLY POSSIBLE, UM, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY.
AND SO THANKS TO EACH OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF WHO ARE HERE TODAY IN MAKING THIS POSSIBLE.
UM, EACH OF THE MAJOR PROJECTS THAT WE DESCRIBED, UH, REQUIRES ITS OWN APPROACH TO COLLABORATION.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE PARK THAT JEANETTE DESCRIBED REQUIRES PARK DEDICATION AND COLLABORATION WITH THE PARKS TEAM AND PARK BOARD.
UM, WE ALSO APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE A PART OF THIS CONVERSATION ON HOW WE MEET THIS MOMENT, WORKING TOGETHER, UH, TO ADDRESS URBAN HEAT AND HOW EACH OF OUR EFFORTS LINE UP, UM, TOWARDS THE CITY'S BEST INTEREST AND NEED.
AND SO WITH THAT, WE WILL PASS TO THE PARKS TEAM.
SO NOW WE'LL MOVE ON TO, UM, MS. RENEE JOHNSON HAS GOT HER PRESENTATION.
AND LET ME MAKE SURE I'VE GOT THIS RIGHT.
UH, IT'S THE BIANNUAL URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.
WELL, I'LL LET YOU MAYBE INTRODUCE YOUR COLLEAGUES THERE AND JUMP IN.
GOOD MORNING, MADAM CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
I HAVE MY COLLEAGUES, TINA RICHARDSON, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION, OR TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS.
I KNOW WE HAVE SOME NEW NAMES AROUND THE CITY.
AND I ALSO HAVE EDUARDO VALERIO, WHO IS, UH, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WITH, UH, DALLAS WATER UTILITIES.
AND WE'RE HERE TO, UH, UPDATE YOU ON OUR MASTER PLAN URBAN FOREST EFFORTS.
UH, JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, I ALSO HAVE SOME VERY, SOME OTHER IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN THE ROOM WHO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN ON A DAILY BASIS, AND THAT IS THE FORESTRY TECH TEAM.
THEY'RE ALL SITTING BEHIND US, AND IF YOU HAVE SOME HIGHLY TECHNICAL QUESTIONS, THESE HIGHLY CREDENTIALED INDIVIDUALS WILL BE ANSWERING THOSE.
UH, SO JUST TO GO OVER OUR AGENDA FOR TODAY, UM, WE WILL PROVIDE YOU SOME UPDATES AND WE'LL TELL YOU ABOUT UPCOMING EVENTS AND NEXT STEPS.
SO WHAT WE WILL LET YOU KNOW IS THAT OUR PROGRESS IS ALL INCLUSIVE.
UH, IT'S HOLISTIC IN THE WAY THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY.
SO WE HAVE SO MANY PARTNERS THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH, OF COURSE, UH, TEXAS TREES, BUT WE HAVE AN ARRAY OF PARTNERS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE, UH, THAT WE MEET WITH THAT WILL HELP US WITH OUR URBAN CANOPY.
UM, SO I JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW HOW MANY GROUPS THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH, AND WE'RE GONNA COVER THAT JUST A LITTLE BIT.
SO, OUR MAJOR STAKEHOLDERS, OF COURSE, DO DALLAS WATER, PUBLIC WORKS, TRANSPORTATION, AND THEN THE PARK DEPARTMENT, BECAUSE WE MOSTLY MA UH, MANAGE AND MAINTAIN, UM, THE TREES IN PUBLIC AREAS.
AND SO WE'RE THE MAJOR STAKEHOLDERS, BUT WE ALSO WORK WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE LISTED HERE BELOW, UH, WITH DALLAS FIRE AND FIRE PREVENTION AND ALL THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
UH, WILDFIRES, UH, AVIATION, OEQ, OF COURSE, SANITATION.
SO THERE'S SO MANY GROUPS THAT ACTUALLY TOUCH, UH, THE CANOPY, UH, FOR OUR PUBLIC SPACES.
AND SO WE'VE TRIED TO CREATE A SPACE WHERE INDIVIDUALS CAN GO AND SEE, UH, WHAT'S GOING ON WITH OUR URBAN CANOPY AND OUR MANAGEMENT.
SO WE HAVE THE WEBSITE OF THE CITY OF DALLAS PARTNERS, AND YOU CAN UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT'S, WHAT'S COMING UP, WHAT'S HAPPENING, UH, WITH THE CITY, WHAT WE'RE GETTING ACCOMPLISHED, UH, ON A DAILY BASIS.
SO OUR PUBLIC PARTNERS, UM, UH, THESE INDIVIDUALS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO US.
WE'RE INCONSISTENT COMMUNICATION WITH THEM AS IT RELATES TO ANNOUNCEMENTS.
OF COURSE, YOU'VE SEEN, UH, MEMOS THAT COME OUT TO COUNCIL, UH, THAT WE'RE PROVIDING INFORMATION AND UPDATES.
AND SO, UH, JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALL KNEW, UH, SOME OF THE GROUPS, UH, THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, NORTH TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS, DALLAS COUNTY, UH, AND WHAT WE'RE HAVING THESE STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS EVERY QUARTER.
A LOT OF THESE GROUPS ARE PROVIDING UPDATES AS TO WHAT'S HAPPENING.
SO THIS HELPS US WITH OUR COMMUNICATION, UH, AS IT RELATES TO THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING WITH URBAN CAN, CANOPY AND CANOPIES ACROSS, UH, THE STATE.
SO OUR PUBLIC AND OUR NON-PROFIT PARTNERS ARE VERY IMPORTANT.
AND JUST TO SEE A LIST OF THOSE.
THE TEXAS TREES FOUNDATION, OF COURSE, GREEN SPACE, THE LOOP.
AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE LOOP, UH, THE PARK DEPARTMENT, WE HAD A RECENT FIELD TRIP, UH, TO, UH, FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS.
AND SO WE WANTED TO SEE THIS, UH, BEAUTIFUL TRAIL UP THERE.
UH, WE WENT UP THERE AND WE REALLY WANNA CONCENTRATE AS WE CONTIN CONTINUE TO DESIGN, UH, THESE TRAILS, OF COURSE, OF WHICH THE COUNCIL IS DEFINITELY ALWAYS MAKING AN INVESTMENT IN HOW CAN
[00:35:01]
WE KEEP THEM COOL.SO WE WANNA CREATE SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS.
AND SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DISCUSSED, UH, WITH THE LOOP WHEN WE WENT ON THAT FIELD TRIP.
SO EVERYONE, UM, YOU KNOW, IN PARTNERSHIP, EVERYONE HAS A VESTED INTEREST IN MAKING SURE THAT THE CITY, WE ARE KEEPING COOL SPACES AND CREATING COOL SPACES FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
AND YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE PARTNERS AND WHAT THEIR MISSIONS ARE.
ALL OF THEM ARE IN ALIGNMENT WITH WHAT WE DO AND WHAT WE WANT TO ACCOMPLISH, UH, WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS.
SO WE HAVE A LOT TO COVER, OF COURSE, UM, THE CITY, UH, WE APPROXIMATELY MANAGE ABOUT 35,000 ACRES OF PUBLIC OPEN SPACE, WHICH IS REALLY WONDERFUL IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT.
UM, WE HAVE DIRECT, YOU KNOW, OVERSIGHT.
UH, WE WORK ON, UH, PRE PRESERVATION AND MITIGATION EFFORTS, OF COURSE, AND THIS IS THAT WEBSITE THAT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE ALL OF YOU CAN U UTILIZE, AND PLEASE MAKE SURE TO PUSH IT OUT TO YOUR CONSTITUENTS SO THAT THEY KNOW WHERE THEY CAN FIND OUT INFORMATION IN REGARD TO THE URBAN FORESTRY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
SO, OUR FORESTRY TEAM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT EFFORTS.
UH, OUR INVESTMENTS, UH, OF COURSE WE'RE COMING TO THE COUNCIL, UH, LATER THIS MONTH.
THE INVENTORY IS A MUST IF WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO MANAGE OUR URBAN CANOPY.
AND SO WE'LL BE MAKING THAT REQUEST COMING UP SOON.
AND, AND TINA, THEY'LL TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, WITH ALL OF THESE GROUPS, ALL OF THESE CIVIC LEADERS, OUR GOAL IS TO ENGAGE RESIDENTS AND PRIVATE BUSINESSES AND PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS SO THAT THEY KNOW HOW THEY SHOULD MAKE INVESTMENTS AS WELL, UH, IN THE URBAN, UH, TREE SYSTEM IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO TINA RICHARDSON.
SHE'S GONNA TALK ABOUT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE URBAN FORESTRY PLAN.
OUR FIRST RECOMMENDATION IS TO COMPLETE A COMPREHENSIVE TREE INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT OF ALL RIGHT OF WAY AND PARKWAY TREES.
WE, THIS IS AN ONGOING EFFORT, AND THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATION YOU WILL SEE THAT SEVERAL OF THE ITEMS ARE ONGOING AND THEY, THEY ARE USUALLY COMPLETED IN, IN A YEAR ANNUALLY.
UPCOMING ACTIONS, UM, YOU WILL SEE A COUNCIL FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION, A FIVE YEAR AGREEMENT FOR INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT FOR PUBLIC TREES, WHICH IS FUNDED WITH, UH, OH, SORRY, FEDERAL GRANT, STORM WATER AND GENERAL FUND ALLOCATIONS NOT TO EXCEED $6.29 MILLION.
THIS TREE INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT IS A TOOL TO ADDRESS PUBLIC PROPERTY TREE COUNT AND CONDITION ASSESSMENT.
IT CREATES A WORK ORDER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO BETTER MANAGEMENT NEEDS OF THE URBAN CANOP TREE CANOPY.
MOST OF THESE TREES ARE THE ASH TREES, WHICH WERE INVENTORY FOR THE EAB ACTION PLAN, AND THOSE WERE INVENTORIED BY STAFF.
RECOMMENDATION NUMBER TWO IS THE CENTRALIZED THE CITY OF DALLAS URBAN FORESTRY PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES.
AND WE HAVE DONE THAT THROUGH THE CITY OF DALLAS FOR, UH, FORESTRY TASK FORCE AND THAT FORESTRY TASK FORCE.
THE PRIMARY, UM, DEPARTMENTS ARE DALLAS WATER, UTILITY PARK AND RECREATION PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS.
WE ALSO HAVE COLLABORATION, AS RENEE STATED WITH OTHER CITY OF DALLAS DEPARTMENTS SUCH AS THE FIRE AND RESCUE, UH, CODE COMPLIANCE, OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENT, QUALITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY AND SANITATION.
RECOMMENDATION NUMBER THREE, DEVELOP A STORM RESPONSE AND RECOVERY PLAN.
THIS IS 50% COMPLETED AND WE ANTICIPATE A FULL COMPLETION IN FY 25.
EACH CITY OF DALLAS DEPARTMENT HAS THEIR, HAS ESTABLISHED THEIR OWN STORM RESPONSE PLAN, AND THESE PLANS ARE CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW IN ORDER TO COMBINE A COMPREHENSIVE CITYWIDE PLAN.
RECOMMENDATION NUMBER FOUR IS TO STRENGTHEN AND SUPPORT EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS AND PARTNERS.
UH, WE HAVE ESTABLISHED ONGOING STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS, PARTNERSHIP TRAININGS, UM, WITH MULTIPLE CIVIC GROUPS AND NON-PROFITS.
UM, OUR NEXT STAKEHOLDER MEETING WILL BE SEPTEMBER 13TH.
UPCOMING PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS INCLUDE FALL TREE PLANTINGS, AND THOSE ARE WITH SOME OF OUR PARTNERS, UM, LISTED HERE.
YOU CAN SEE TEXAS AND AND FORESTRY SERVICE, DALLAS WALL UTILITIES, TEXAS TREES PARK AND REC TRINITY BLACK LANDS URBAN FORESTRY COUNCIL AND PEPSICO.
AND WE'RE, UM, DEVELOPING A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENTS WITH OTHER PARTNERS.
[00:40:01]
THAT DON'T, DON'T HAVE AN AGREEMENT UNDERWAY.RECOMMENDATION NUMBER FIVE WORKS TOWARD DEVELOPMENT OF A CITY URBAN FORESTRY MANAGEMENT PLAN.
AND THIS WILL REQUIRE TREE INVENTORY AND FUNDING.
OF COURSE, THIS INCLUDES INCORPORATION OF EXISTENCE, MAINTENANCE AND PLANNING PROGRAMS. AND WE'LL INCORPORATE TREE INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT DATA AS COMPLETED EACH.
UM, THE ANNUAL PLANTING PLAN IS A HUNDRED PERCENT IS COMPLETED PRIOR TO EACH, EACH PLANTING SEASON.
RECOMMENDATION NUMBER SIX INCLUDE DALLAS REGULATIONS.
BEST BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES.
GUIDELINES ARE IN PLACE TO SUPPORT TREE CANOPY, GROWTH, PROTECTION, AND PRESERVATION.
UM, ITEMS OF NOTE, UM, COMPLETED LANDSCAPE AND TREE MANUAL REVIEW AND UPDATES FOR THE ASH TREE, EMERALD ASH BORE CODE AMENDMENTS.
UM,
UM, ITEMS OF NOTE, THE CITYWIDE FORESTRY TASK FORCE GUIDES ANNUAL WORK PLANS, COLLABORATION, RESOURCE PLANNING WITH GRANTS FOR FY TREE INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENTS.
THIS IS A CONTINUAL PARTNER PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS.
RECOMMENDATION NUMBER EIGHT IS CREATE A PLAN TO STRATEGICALLY PLAN AND CARE FOR TREES TO ENSURE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO TREE CANOPY ACROSS DALLAS.
THIS IS ONGOING AND IT IS COMPLETED ANNUALLY.
THE PLANNING PLAN DEVELOPED ANNUALLY IS BASED ON NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY WITH THE, WITH THE CITY PUBLIC ON THE CITY'S PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAYS, ALL PLANNING PARTNERS WITH ALL PLANTINGS, PARTNER WITH VOLUNTEER CIVIC AND NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS.
I WILL NOW TURN IT OVER TO EDUARDO MALARIA.
I WILL CONTINUE WITH THIS PRESENTATION ON RECOMMENDATION NUMBER NINE, UH, WHICH IS TO CREATE AND IMPLEMENT A MANAGEMENT PROGRAM TO MONITOR AND ADDRESS ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS TO DALLAS URBAN FOREST.
WE ARE MANAGING CURRENT THREATS AND CONSTANTLY MONITORING FOR FUTURE THREATS AS WELL.
SO PART OF THESE EFFORTS INCLUDE THE EAB ACTION PLAN, WHICH I WILL EXPLAIN IN MORE DETAIL IN THE FOLLOWING SLIDES AND FEDERAL HEART TRAPPING.
WE HAVE TRAPS INSTALLED THROUGHOUT THE CITY AND PRI STORE INVASIVE REMOVAL AS WELL.
WE ARE WORKING ON A THIRD PARTY CONTRACT FOR ALTERNATIVE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT EFFORTS.
ON RECOMMENDATION, UH, NUMBER 10 TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT OUTREACH AND EDUCATION PLAN.
WE HAVE OUR FOREST, UH, FORESTRY MARKETING PROGRAM.
UH, WE INITIATED IN 2023, AND IT'S STILL GROWING.
UH, THE FORESTRY WEBPAGE HAS BEEN RENOVATED AND IT'S FULLY ACTIVE, UM, EAB AWARENESS CAMPAIGN ONGOING IN CONJUNCTION WITH COMMUNITY AND PRIVATE EAB PRESENTATIONS.
OUR TECHNICAL TEAM, UH, HAS DONE APPROXIMATELY 60 ENGAGEMENT EVENTS.
UH, THEY TAKE, YOU KNOW, EVERY OPPORTUNITIES THEY HAVE TO VISIT, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, COMMUNITY MEETINGS TO GET THE INFORMATION OUT.
RECOMMENDATION, UH, NUMBER 11, FORMULATE A STRATEGY TO MANAGE WOOD WASTE AND IDENTIFY THE HIGHEST AND BEST USE OF WOOD FROM TREES REMOVED BY THE CITY.
WE HAVE A WOOD RECYCLING PILOT PROGRAM.
UH, IT'S, UH, IS, IT IS DRIVEN AT A SMALL SCALE AND A STRICTLY CONTROL, AND THE GOAL IS TO MOVE TO INTERNAL GROUPS UTILIZING THIS PROGRAM.
RECOMMENDATION 12, STRENGTHEN WORKING RELATIONSHIPS AND PARTNERSHIPS WITH PRIVATE UTILITIES ORGANIZATIONS AND CONTRACTORS WHOSE ACTIVITIES IMPACT TREES BY INSTITUTING REGULAR DIALOGUE AND PROJECT COORDINATION.
I THINK WE HAVE, UH, WE MENTIONED IN THE BEGINNING OF THIS PRESENTATION THE IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEM.
AND WE HAVE OUR QUARTERLY STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS, AND WE'VE DONE A FEW OF THOSE, AND WE HAVE OUR NEXT ONE ON SEPTEMBER 13TH.
RECOMMENDATION 13, TO ENHANCE AND DEVELOP PROGRAMS THAT ENCOURAGE AND SUPPORT ACTIVE PARTICIPATION BY RESIDENTS AND VOLUNTEERS IN THE PLANTING AND CARE OF DALLAS URBAN
[00:45:01]
FOREST.THIS TASK IS ONGOING AND COMPLETED ANNUALLY.
UH, WE'LL CONTINUE TO ENGAGE THROUGH EXISTING PROGRAMS SUCH AS THE COMMUNITY FORESTERS.
WE HAVE THE BRANCHING OUT BRANCH OUT DALLAS, UH, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH EXTERNALS AND NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
WE DO ABOUT 3000 TREES PER YEAR, UH, ON THE BRANCH OUT DALLAS.
AND IN FISCAL YEAR 25, WE ESTIMATE THAT WE ARE GONNA PURCHASE ABOUT 3,500 TREES, UH, AND WILL BE PLANTED ON PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PROPERTIES.
UH, WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY AS THIS WILL, UH, BE ADDING TO THE TREE CANOPY AND CONSEQUENTLY, YOU KNOW, BE, UH, PROVIDING SUPPORT ON THE, UH, REDUCING, UH, TEMPERATURES AND, UM, WORKING IN THOSE EFFORTS.
AND BY THE WAY, THE, UH, BRANCH OUT ONLINE REGISTRATION STARTS TODAY.
SO WE'RE GONNA START WITH OUR MARKETING, UH, OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM TO GET ALL THAT INFORMATION OUT SO THAT WE CAN START THE REGISTRATION AT BEGINNING TODAY.
RECOMMENDATION 14 TO REVIEW AND UPDATE THE GRADE TRINITY FOREST MANAGEMENT PLAN.
I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THAT THIS LAND IS DIFFERENT FROM THE REST OF THE CITY.
PROPERTY AT IS ESSENTIALLY A FOREST AND IS NOT, UM, EASILY ACCESSIBLE AND IS REGULATED BY THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS.
SO WE HAVE, UH, A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM TO, UH, AS WE WORK THROUGH ALL THESE PROGRAMS THAT WE WORK HAND ON HAND WITH THEM.
UM, WE ARE SCHEDULED TO HAVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MEETINGS IN THE FALL SO THAT WE CAN, UH, GET THE COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AS WELL.
ON THE EAB UPDATE, UH, AS YOU KNOW, EAB CONTINUES TO BE OF A CONCERN TO HEALTHY ASHRY POPULATIONS THROUGHOUT THE US.
UH, CITY STAFF ARE TAGGING ADDITIONAL SIGNIFICANT ASH TREES, AND WE'VE DONE OVER 200 TREES THAT HAVE BEEN TREATED SO FAR.
AND THEN TREATMENT IS SCHEDULED, UH, FOR FISCAL YEAR 25.
AS YOU CAN SEE THE MAP ON THE RIGHT, WE HAVE A REPRESENTATION OF THE, UH, INVENTORY ALONG WITH THE, UH, THE DOTS IN YELLOW REPRESENTING THE AREAS OF TREATMENT.
AS FAR AS THE EAB TREATMENT, UH, OUR CRITERIA IS TO, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, TARGET THOSE TREES AT LEAST 15 INCHES IN DIAMETER, GOOD OR BETTER CONDITION, AND LESS THAN 30% CANOPY COVER LOSS.
THE PRODUCT, AS YOU CAN SEE THE PICTURE ON THE RIGHT OF THE SCREEN, UH, IT'S, IT'S A CLOSE INJECTION SYSTEM.
AND THE, UH, APPROXIMATELY COST FOR A 15 INCH TREE IS $217.
AND THE AVERAGE, UH, COST PER ASH STREET IS $300.
SO SOMETHING TO HIGHLIGHT ON THIS PROCESS IS THAT WE, UH, MUST RETREAT EVERY TWO, THREE YEARS.
AS FAR AS A EAB MONITORING, WE CONTINUE WITH THE, UH, INSTALLATION OF, UH, UH, TRAPS.
WE HAVE 16 LOCATIONS, AND THEN WE, UH, REPORT FINDINGS TO THE TEXAS A AND M FORD SERVICE.
UH, THE PICTURE ON THE LEFT, YOU CAN SEE A PHOTO OF THE TRAP AND THE SCREENSHOT ON THE RIGHT, YOU SEE EAB POSITIVE TRAP LOCATIONS.
AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE SCREEN, WE HAVE SOUTHWEST, NORTHEAST, AND ONE ON THE SOUTHEAST AS WELL.
SO FOR NEXT STEPS, WE HAVE A CONS, CONS CONSIDERATION FOR A FIVE YEAR CONTRACT FOR TREE INVENTORY ON SEPTEMBER 11TH, 2024.
THIS IS A CRITICAL ITEM FOR OUR TEAM SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE WITH THOSE EFFORTS.
AND, UH, SO WE REQUEST YOUR, YOUR SUPPORT, UH, FOR APPROVAL.
AND HERE WE JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THE NEXT, UH, THE, UH, THE UPCOMING FALL EVENTS THAT WE HAVE FOR THE FALL.
AND WITH THIS WE CONCLUDE OUR PRESENTATION AND WE'RE UP FOR QUESTIONS.
UM, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE AND PRESENTING.
I'M GONNA OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS FROM COLLEAGUES.
AND THANK YOU FOR PUTTING THIS, UM, THREE GREAT PRESENTATIONS BEFORE US.
UM, I WANT TO THANK ALL OUR PARTNERS,
[00:50:01]
THE SIERRA CLUB, DWU, PARK DEPARTMENT, CITY OF DALLAS, UH, BUT IN PARTICULAR JEANETTE AND THE TEXAS TREE FOUNDATION.THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO, NOT ONLY FOR DISTRICT TWO, BUT THE ENTIRE CITY OF DALLAS.
YOU'VE COMMITTED YOUR ENTIRE LIFE TO MAKING DALLAS, UH, COOLER MORE GREEN AND, AND ADDING SHADES.
I JUST WANNA THANK YOU FOR, FOR WHAT YOU DO.
UM, I WANNA START OFF ON PAGE, UM, FOUR OF THE FIRST PRESENTATION.
AND I THINK WE ALL HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE ARE A HEAT ISLAND AND THAT WE ARE IN DESPERATE NEED OF MORE TREES THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF DALLAS.
AND THEY'RE NOT ONLY TREES FOR TO SAY HOW BEAUTIFUL TREES ARE, BUT, BUT THEY PLAY SUCH A DETERMIN OR THEY, UH, GO AGAINST ALL THE DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS THAT ARE HAPPENING WITH WITH WATER RUNOFF.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S THE FIRST THING IS THAT WE HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE DO NEED MORE TREES IN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
SO I THINK WHAT WE'RE THERE, I, ON PAGE SEVEN, THE HIGHLIGHTED NEIGHBORHOODS ARE TYPICALLY TO ME WHERE, WHERE I'M LOOKING AT 'EM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE DENSE AREAS, THEY'RE, UH, NOT RESIDENTIAL AREAS.
SO CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHY THESE AREAS IN PARTICULAR ARE IN NEED OF MORE TREES? JUST A QUICK CLARIFICATION.
I THINK IT'S PAGE SEVEN OF THE OEQS OH PRESENTATION.
SO IT'S THE HOTTEST AREAS OF 2023.
JUST TRYING TO, BECAUSE I, I SEE EVERYBODY FLIPPING THROUGH, LIKE, WHERE AM I GOING?
I GUESS MY, WHAT MY QUESTION IS, THESE PARTICULAR IDENTIFIED NEIGHBORHOODS ARE DENSE, HIGHLY DENSITY, UH, DENSIFIED AREAS, UH, NOT YOUR TRADITIONAL NEIGHBORHOODS.
SO HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHY THESE AREAS IN PARTICULAR ARE THE HOTTEST AREAS.
WHAT MAKES THEM DIFFERENT FROM A SINGLE FAMILY NEIGHBORHOOD? ONE REASON IS THAT, UM, THERE'S NOT MANY TREES.
THERE'S A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT, UM, A LOT OF CONCRETE INDUSTRIAL AREAS AND FOR SOME REASON, UH, TREES, PARKS ARE, ARE FOUND LESS IN THOSE AREAS.
THAT'S ONE OF THE MAIN ONES, RIGHT? AND WITH ALL THE CONCRETE THERE IN IMPERIAL SERVICES, THEY HOLD ONTO THE HEAT THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT SO THAT IN TURN IN THE MORNING STILL HAVE THAT, THE HEAT ON THERE AND IT'S JUST RADIATES OUT FROM THERE TO THE OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS.
JEANETTE, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING? HEAT IS REALLY ABOUT, ABOUT WHERE THERE ARE TREES WHERE THERE ARE NOT TREES AND WHERE THERE ARE IS MORE IMPERVIOUS SURFACE.
THAT'S REALLY THE BOTTOM LINE TO URBAN HEAT.
UM, WE KNOW THROUGH RESEARCH THAT UNDER INVESTED COMMUNITIES HAVE FEWER TREES AND THEY HAVE HIGHER RATES OF, SO WE KNOW THERE'S A CORRELATION.
BUT AS WE'VE LOOKED IN THE, UM, IN THE EQUITY TREE PLANTING MAP IN WHICH THIS WAS INTERESTING BECAUSE WE DID THIS MAP NOT KNOWING THAT AMERICAN FOREST WAS DOING ONE FOR SEVERAL CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY.
WHAT WAS INTERESTING IS THAT, UM, OUR TWO STUDIES CAME OUT THE SAME.
OURS WAS MUCH MORE DETAILED IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU'RE ASKING BECAUSE WE WERE LOOKING AT SOCIOECONOMIC, WE WERE LOOKING AT HEALTH, WE WERE LOOKING AT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY HAVEN'T LOOKED AT.
SO WHERE THERE IS A HIGHER PERCENT OF TREES, THERE IS A LOWER PERCENT OF HEAT ISLAND.
UM, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT WHERE THERE'S PARKING LOTS, THAT'S A PROBLEM.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE ME MEDICAL DISTRICT, YOU HAVE DOWNTOWN DALLAS, WHICH IS REALLY HOT, AND THEN YOU HAVE THE AIRPORT, WHICH IS REALLY HOT.
AND SO IT, THAT AMBIENT AIR TEMPERATURE WHERE YOUR URBAN HEAT ISLANDS ARE, IT RADIATES OUT EVEN INTO THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE THEY HAVE TREES.
SO IT REALLY DOES CONTINUE TO LOWER THE TEMPERATURES.
UM, IN OUR PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN, DO WE HAVE ANY SORT OF CALCULATION ON AMOUNT OF ACRES ON, AND THEN HOW MANY TREES SHOULD BE ON THAT ACRE? IS THERE ANY SORT OF MATH? UH, ANYONE CAN JUMP IN THERE.
UH, MAYBE WE DON'T, I HAVEN'T SEEN THAT.
THERE HAS BEEN, UM, I HAVE BEEN WATCHING, UM, THEIR NEW, THE CITY HAS BEEN WORKING ON THE IMPERVIOUS SURFACE, UM, WHICH IS, I THINK IT'S GONNA BE REALLY IMPORTANT IN TERMS OF POLICY
[00:55:01]
AROUND THAT BECAUSE THE MORE IMPERVIOUS SURFACE YOU HAVE, THE HOTTER WE ARE.THE OTHER THING, THE CITY OF DALLAS HAS A LOT OF SIX LANE HIGHWAYS GOING THROUGH NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND, UM, AND, AND YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT, AT, UM, PLAN ZERO AND TRYING TO BRING DOWN THE, THE IMPACT, NOT OF JUST HEALTH, UH, AND URBAN HEAT, BUT THE, THE IMPACT OF ACCIDENTS THAT ARE HAPPENING AND HAPPENING.
WE KNOW THAT TREES ALONG THESE KINDS OF STREETS, UM, BRING DOWN, UH, THE, THE AIR TEMPERATURE.
THEY LOWER AND THEY SHADE, BUT THEY ALSO, WHENEVER YOU ENTER A STREET THAT HAS MORE TREES, YOU ACTUALLY DECELERATE.
IT'S JUST A WAY THAT YOUR BRAIN THINKS.
SO IF WE'RE LOOKING AT URBAN HEAT, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT IMPERVIOUS SURFACE, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO LOOK AT.
AND I'VE BEEN TRACKING THAT IMPERVIOUS SURFACE STUDY, BUT I I DON'T THINK IT'S GOTTEN TO A FINAL REPORT YET.
WELL, WELL THANK YOU FOR THAT.
AND, AND THAT, THAT'S KIND OF MY POINT OF THIS IS A GREAT THREE PRESENTATIONS, BUT IT TALKS A LOT ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO ON CITY OWNED PROPERTY, BUT I'M NOT SEEING WHAT WE CAN DO ON PRIVATE PROPERTIES.
AND, YOU KNOW, YOU TALK ABOUT, YES, THE NUMBER OF LANES AND IT'S GREAT TO HAVE THESE COOL STREET PROJECTS TO, UH, PAINT THOSE STREETS, BUT I WANT TO SEE MORE THAN THAT.
I WANT TO ACTUALLY SEE THAT CONCRETE BEING TORN OUT AND REDUCING THE NUMBER OF LANES RATHER THAN SIMPLY PAINTING OVER LANES.
I DO WANT TO THANK, UH, ANOTHER PARTNER, DDI AND THEIR COMMITMENT TO PLANTING 500 TREES IN THE DOWNTOWN, UH, CORRIDOR.
UH, BUT I, I DO WANT TO CHALLENGE OURSELVES, AND I KNOW YOU FOLLOW THE TREE, UH, ORDINANCES ACROSS THE COUNTRIES AND WE'RE AT A GOOD PLACE NOW, BUT IT CAN BE A LOT STRONGER.
UM, I KNOW THAT THERE'S SOME, UH, SUGGESTIONS IN HERE AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW TO GO OVER, UH, THOSE DEVELOPERS THAT COME IN OVERNIGHT AROUND THE WEEKENDS AND TAKE OUT THESE MAJESTIC TREES AND THEN REPLACE THEM OR, OR GO THROUGH THE PROCESS.
AND IT'S A VERY DIFFERENT THING TO GO FROM A A ONE INCH CALIBER, UH, MATCHING TO A TREE THAT'S BEEN AROUND FOR, FOR GENERATIONS.
THE THESE TREES IN THE LONG RUN WILL COME IN AND, AND, UH, PROVIDE THAT SHADE AND THE, AND THOSE HEALTH BENEFITS.
UH, BUT, BUT I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO REALLY TRULY LOOK AT OUR TREE ORDINANCE AND, AND OPEN THAT BACK UP AND, AND MAKING IT MORE FAVORABLE TO, TO OUR RESIDENTS AND TO THE CITY OF DALLAS.
UM, THANK YOU, UH, MADAM CHAIR.
I BELIEVE WE HAVE, UM, MR. IRWIN, YOU COULD GIVE US A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION ON WHAT WE WERE JUST DISCUSSING.
I KNOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO PLAY A BIT OF MUSICAL CHAIRS.
I'M PHIL IRWIN, CHIEF ARBORIST PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
UM, SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY CALCULATIONS ON WHAT SHOULD BE THE CANOPY COVER FOR PER ACRE OR SUCH.
UH, WE DO HAVE A, A GOOD TREE ORDINANCE LANDSCAPE REGULATIONS THEY WORK TOGETHER WITH IN THE DEVELOPMENT FIELD TO BE ABLE TO TRY TO MANAGE WHAT WE HAVE.
I THINK THE MAIN ISSUE IS THAT WE SEE A LARGE AMOUNT OF TREES REMOVED FOR DEVELOPMENT AND TRY TO DETERMINE HOW WE CAN PLANT THOSE TREES BACK IN THERE.
UH, AND SO WE, YOU HAVE CALCULATIONS AT HOW MANY TREE SITE TREES YOU MIGHT WANT TO HAVE AT ONE PER 4,000 SQUARE FEET OF LOT AREA.
THAT'D BE ABOUT 11 TREES AN ACRE, BUT THAT'S JUST THE GENERAL NUMBER THAT WE USE BY REGULATION.
MAY I ADD SOMETHING TO THIS? SURE.
UM, I THINK THAT, THAT WHEN WE'RE WORKING IN THE CITY, IT'S DIFFERENT THAN WE'RE WORKING ON THE URBAN FRINGE IN NEW CITIES AND THAT'S BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MUCH MORE INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND SO WORKING WITH BUILDERS AND DEVELOPERS IN DALLAS IS GONNA BE WORK DIFFERENT THAN WORKING ON THE URBAN FRINGE OR IN, IN, UH, NEW CITIES THAT ARE JUST STARTING TO, TO COME TO KIND OF COME TO LIFE.
I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I SEE IS THAT IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S ABOUT PUBLIC PROPERTY, BUT IT'S ALSO ABOUT PRIVATE PROPERTY.
AND WE HAVE TO DO BETTER I THINK AT PUBLIC EDUCATION.
SO WE HAVE ENTERED INTO A PARTNERSHIP WITH HINZ DEVELOPMENT.
WE'RE WORKING ON AN URBAN FRINGE PROJECT.
BUT I THINK THAT IF WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH DEVELOPERS WITHIN THE CITY, 'CAUSE WE DO WANT DEVELOPMENT, BUT WE DON'T WANT TO LOSE A LOT OF TREES THAT DON'T NEED TO BE LOST.
AND WE DO NEED TO PLANT LARGER TREES RATHER THAN ONE AND A HALF INCH CALIPER FOR THE VERY REASON YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
THEY'RE MUCH MORE BENE, THE LARGER TREES
[01:00:01]
ARE MUCH MORE BENEFICIAL.UM, AND THEY CAN, THEY CAN DO MORE WORK FASTER.
I THINK WE'RE GONNA GO ON TO, UH, CHAIR NEEVA.
UM, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE.
AND WE GO A LONG WAY BACK SINCE I'VE BEEN ON THE COUNCIL.
SO, UM, HEARING YOU TALK ABOUT THE TREE ORDINANCE, LIKE AS A FLASHBACK TO MY FIRST TERM, WORKING WITH THE HONORABLE SANDY GRAYSON TO UPDATE THAT AND YOU KNOW, WHAT IT TOOK FOR US TO DO THAT.
SO, UM, I, IT'S LIKE I FEEL LIKE EVERYTHING EVERYBODY SAID, IT'S LIKE, WOW, THIS GOES BEFORE I WAS EVEN ON COUNCIL.
SO, UM, THE FIRST THING I WANNA START WITH IS, UM, SOMEBODY MENTIONED, SO I I MIGHT'VE MISHEARD, BUT DID YOU SAY THAT PHOENIX IS, WE'RE THE SECOND HOTTEST CITY BEHIND PHOENIX? WHEN WE DID THE STUDY IN 2017, THE CITY OF DALLAS WAS THE SECOND CITY IN THE COUNTRY HEATING UP THE FASTEST BEHIND PHOENIX.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE, 'CAUSE I WAS WALKING IN, I WAS LISTENING TO IT ON MY PHONE AND LISTENING AND THEN WALKING IN AND THEN I GOT THE RADIO ECHO, SO I MISSED THAT PART.
SO THANK YOU FOR CLEARING THAT UP FOR ME.
AND THEN, UM, IT WAS MENTIONED THAT, UM, LOVE FIELD IS THE HOTTEST AREA IN DALLAS OR IT'S THE BIGGEST ISLAND.
IS THAT WHAT WHAT WAS SAID AS WELL? SO ONE OF THE LARGEST, UH, HEAT ISLANDS IN THE CITY OF DALLAS IS UM, UP 35 TO 6 35 IN THAT AREA AND DOWN THROUGH CITY OF DALLAS.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THAT 35 CORRIDOR, THAT'S ONE OF THE HOTTEST.
AND THE REASON IT'S THE HOTTEST, IT'S BECAUSE OF THE AMOUNT OF, OF CONCRETE REALLY.
AND IT'S, IT IS AN INDUSTRIAL AREA.
SO EVEN AS WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE DESIGNING INDUSTRIAL AREAS IN THIS CITY, LIKE, UM, INLAND PORT, INLAND PORT'S A GOOD EXAMPLE THAT THERE'S NO TREES, BUT IT'S AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WILL HAPPEN AND IT'LL BE AN URBAN HEAT ISLAND IF WE DON'T KIND OF START LOOKING AT THOSE KINDS OF PROJECTS IN THE CITY.
SO WE DON'T END UP WITH SOMETHING LIKE WE HAVE IN 35 ON THE 35 QUARTER.
AND YOU ANSWERED ALL MY QUESTIONS, I WAS GONNA SOFTBALL PITCH YOU ALL OF THAT AND YOU JUST, YOU DID IT AND I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO THROW THE PITCH.
UM, YEAH, IT'S NOT YOUR FIRST RODEO, YOU JUST SAID YOU'VE DONE THIS BEFORE.
UM, AND THAT, YOU KNOW, SINCE I REPRESENT THAT AREA, I CAN TELL YOU IT'S JUST NO TREE, IT'S JUST PARKING LOT AFTER PARKING LOT AFTER PARKING LOT.
AND UM, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ARE TRYING TO WORK ON AS A CITY, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY THOSE LARGE PARKING LOTS WHERE DART IS WHERE WE CAN, YOU KNOW, DO A PUBLIC PARTNER PARTNERSHIP.
AND I'M GONNA LET MR. WEST TALK MORE ABOUT THAT BECAUSE THAT'LL HELP SOME OF THAT HEAT ISLAND BY ACTUALLY PUTTING RESIDENTIAL AND, YOU KNOW, SOME GREEN SPACE IN PARKS.
SO THAT'LL HELP US AS WELL IN SOME OF THESE INDUSTRIAL AREAS.
AND IT MAKES SENSE NEXT TO, UM, MASS TRANSIT, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, MAKES SENSE TO GET PEOPLE, UM, NOT TO, UM, BE DRIVING IF THEY CAN USE THE MASS TRANSIT.
UM, IT WAS MENTIONED EARLIER ABOUT, UM, UM, WHAT WE'RE DOING IN ORDER TO PUT TREATMENTS ON STREETS.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S A COMBINATION.
WE GOTTA DO A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING, RIGHT? WE HAVE TO, UM, WE'RE TESTING A TREATMENT IN STREETS THAT, UM, WE, RIGHT NOW WE'RE PILOTING IT IN DISTRICT 11 AND YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T CARE WHERE WE PILOT IT.
WE GOTTA, WE GOTTA START SOMEWHERE.
AND THOSE RESIDENTS HAVE ALREADY SAID JUST BY TREATING THEIR STREET, UM, THEY'VE SEEN 10 DEGREE DROP ON THAT TREATMENT.
THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO IS, UM, ALREADY TESTING THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TREATMENTS AND FINDING HIGH SUCCESS.
NOW IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE DIFFERENCES OF THE TYPE OF SURFACE THAT THE STREET IS MADE OUT OF, RIGHT? SO THAT'S WHY IT'S BEING, UM, TESTED AND PILOTED.
BUT I HOPEFULLY THIS IN COMBINATION WITH TREES AND CANOPIES WILL HELP BECAUSE AS YOU SAID, THOSE SMALLER TREES, THEY CAN'T WORK AS HARD AS THE BIG GIANT TREES, RIGHT? AND THOSE TAKE 30, 40 YEARS.
AND HOW MANY TREES, UM, DID WE LOSE DURING THE TORNADO? 'CAUSE THAT'S ALL IN THAT, UM, NORTHWEST AREA, STARTING FROM WALNUT HILL AND 35 GOING LITERALLY ACROSS THE CITY, NINE MILES UP INTO THE CITY OF, THINK OF RICHARDSON.
SO, UM, HOW MANY TREES DID WE LOSE? I I, AND IT WAS THOUSANDS.
UM, AND THEY'RE STILL NOT REPLACED.
AND I THINK THAT THAT'S A GOOD EXAMPLE OF HOW WE CAN DO BETTER IN AN AREA AFTER A STORM.
STORM RESPONSE IS A BIG PART OF A OVERARCHING MASTER PLAN FOR, UM, FOR URBAN FORESTRY.
RIGHT? AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAD JUST PASSED OUR, OUR TREE, YOU KNOW, UM, UM, WHAT WE WERE GONNA DO, OUR TREE PLAN TO PLANT THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF TREES.
AND IT WAS JUST LIKE, THEN THE TORNADO HAPPENED.
I CAN'T REMEMBER HOW MUCH LONGER AFTER THAT.
IT WAS JUST LIKE, OH MY GOSH, OUR TREE PLAN IS JUST KINDA LIKE OUT THE WINDOW.
'CAUSE WE'RE BASICALLY REPLACING THE NUMBER OF TREES THAT WE LOST.
UM, SO IT'S LIKE, LET'S DOUBLE THAT.
RIGHT? SO, UM, AND I WANNA GO BACK TO THE PARKING LOTS.
SO, UM, AND DESIGN STANDARDS, AND THIS TOUCHES A LOT OF DIFFERENT PLACES.
CHAIR ON THE DESIGN STANDARDS, WE HAD NONE BEFORE FOR PARKING LOTS.
WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT NOW, BUT TREES ARE ESSENTIAL ON THESE PARKING LOTS,
[01:05:01]
RIGHT? BECAUSE I MEAN, WE, WE NOW KNOW WHAT BIG, GIANT, CONCRETE PIECE OF CON UM, PARKING.BUT AT THE SAME TIME IT'S LIKE IT HURTS US, RIGHT? SO, UM, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO, UM, ADD THESE TYPES OF TREATMENTS AS WE LEARN THAT THEY'RE GETTING BETTER? I KNOW WE'RE DOING PERMEABLE VERSUS NONPERMEABLE SURFACES, BUT IS THERE A TREATMENT THAT WE CAN USE AS WELL THAT UM, MAYBE WE CAN ADD SOME KIND OF A BONUS OR SOMETHING IF THE DEVELOPER, UM, DOES, DOES THIS, I, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER.
I'M JUST ASKING WHAT YOU ALL THINK ABOUT THAT.
WELL, THAT'D BE A HARD QUESTION TO ANSWER.
WE, OUR LANDSCAPE DESIGN OPTIONS ENCOURAGE MORE PLANTING, MORE DENSE, PLANTING LARGER LANDSCAPE AREAS IN PARKING LOTS.
BUT THEY HAVE, THE DEVELOPER ALSO HAS TO ADDRESS DO THEY HAVE ENOUGH PARKING, REQUIRED PARKING.
AND SO, UH, WE, I MEAN, OTHER THAN MAKING MORE DENSE REQUIREMENTS, MORE STRICT REQUIREMENTS FOR PLANTING THOSE, UH, LANDSCAPE ISLANDS, YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE.
BUT RIGHT NOW, AS INCENTIVES, THEY'RE GOING TO PURSUE THE MINIMUM AMOUNT REQUIRED.
AND I THINK THAT, I MEAN, WE KNOW DEVELOPERS ARE WANTING LESS PARKING, SO MAYBE IT'S, IF YOU TREAT IT AND YOU MAKE IT REALLY GREEN, MAYBE YOU DO GET A LITTLE BIT LESS, AND I DON'T KNOW, JUST AN IDEA, YOU KNOW, MAYBE YOU DO GET A, A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE LESS UNITS BECAUSE YOU ARE MAKING IT MORE GREEN.
UM, YOU KNOW, ADDING EV CHARGING STATIONS, I MEAN, THERE'S ALL KINDS OF THINGS THAT WE CAN DO TO INCENTIVIZE DEVELOPERS AND, YOU KNOW, TRUST ME, THEY, THEY DON'T WANT TO BUILD THESE PARKING SPACES 'CAUSE THEY'RE SO EXPENSIVE PER PARKING UNIT.
I THINK THEY'D RATHER PLANT A TREE, YOU KNOW, OR DOZENS OF TREES IN ORDER TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE UP FOR THAT, THAT ONE THING THAT COULD HELP US.
UM, THE OTHER THING THAT, UM, I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT, AND THIS HAS TO DO WITH TREES.
AND, UM, BEFORE I GET TO THE BIG INTERSECTION, THAT'S GONNA BE MY, MY GRAND SLAM, YOU KNOW, END OF THIS, END OF THIS ROUND CHAIR, IF YOU DON'T MIND, IS ON MEDIANS.
IS THERE, YOU KNOW, YOU SAID WE'RE COUNTING TREES AND WE'RE TRYING TO GET A, A, UM, INVENTORY OF THE TREES THAT WE HAVE IN THE CITY.
WE HAVE A TON OF MEDIANS, WE HAVE A TON OF, UM, RIGHT OF WAY WHERE WE DON'T PLANT.
UM, SOME OF THEM WE JUST CAN'T, YOU KNOW, THE MEDIANS, SOME OF THEM WE COULD.
UM, IS THERE ANY POSSIBILITY THAT WE CAN START LOOKING AT THOSE IN ORDER TO ADD TREES? DOES THAT HELP BY PUTTING THEM IN THE MEDIANS? DOES IT NOT HELP? UM, AND SO THAT'S THE FIRST QUESTION.
I DON'T KNOW WHO IS DOING THE INVENTORY OF THE TREES ON THE MEDIANS OR THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
I MEAN, WHERE MEDIANS ARE AVAILABLE TO BE PLANTED, THERE ARE CERTAINLY OPPORTUNITIES TO DO SO.
IT TAKES A LOT OF COMMUNITY EFFORT TO, TO DO THAT BECAUSE IT TAKES THEIR INITIATIVE TO CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN THEM THROUGH MOMENTUM AND SUCH TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THESE THINGS OPERATE OF OVER MORE THAN JUST A YEAR OR TWO.
AND MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO CHANGE INSTEAD OF MAKING THE COMMUNITY RESPONSIBLE.
IT'S LIKE WE, WE, WE, WE GET RESPONSIBLE WITH EACH OTHER AND BUILD THESE PARTNERSHIPS BECAUSE, UM, FOLKS WANT, I MEAN, THEY'LL DO IT IF WE WORK WITH 'EM.
'CAUSE YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE READY TO, I KNOW WE WERE WORKING ON ONE IN WEST DALLAS, SO
SO AS WE'VE BEEN WORKING IN THIS, IN THE MEDICAL DISTRICT, WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT AS WE'RE GOING TO, WE'RE DOING A REBUILD OF THE WHOLE STREET BECAUSE WE FOUND THAT THERE'S 80, AN 80-YEAR-OLD WATER PIPE THAT'S RUNNING DOWN SERVICING ALL OF THESE HOSPITALS.
BUT WHAT WE REALLY HAVE TO WORK WITH IS WHERE THE INFRASTRUCTURE CAN GO WHEN WE'RE DOING THOSE REDESIGNS.
BECAUSE WHAT WE'RE WORKING WITH NOW WITH, WITH THE PUBLIC WATER UTILITIES AND WITH, UH, TRANSPORTATION IS GETTING THOSE, UH, THAT INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE STREET RATHER THAN UNDER THE SIDEWALKS.
SO THERE'S A CONFLICT OF THAT AND THE TREES.
SO THESE, THESE ISSUES GET COMPLEX AND THAT'S WHY THE ORDINANCES IN LOOKING AT KIND OF POLICIES IS IMPORTANT FOR, FOR SIDEWALKS, FOR, UM, FOR WHERE THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS FOR PARKING LOTS.
UM, AND SO IT'S, IT'S NOT AS SIMPLE AS IT SEEMS. WE'RE WORKING WITH DOWNTOWN DALLAS INC RIGHT NOW.
WE JUST DID A COMPLETE TREE INVENTORY DOWN THERE AND THEY'RE LOOKING AT WHERE THEY CAN PLANT, WHAT, FIVE, 500 TREES.
THAT'S WHAT, SO, UM, WE'RE GONNA NEED TO TAKE OUT INFRASTRUCTURE, WE'RE GONNA NEED TO TAKE OUT CONCRETE, WE'RE GONNA NEED TO LOOK AND MAYBE SHIFT WHERE A TREE CAN GO BECAUSE OF INFRASTRUCTURE.
BUT IT'S COMPLEX AND IT'S COMPLICATED TO DO.
IT IS VERY COMPLEX AND COMPLICATED.
'CAUSE IF I CAN, YES, IF WE CAN JUMP IN, GO AHEAD TO THAT.
FROM A UTILITY STANDPOINT, YES, IT IS COMPLEX AS WE NEED, YOU KNOW, TO KEEP THE ABILITY TO MAINTAIN AND OPERATE OUR SYSTEMS. AND SOMETIMES, UH, TREES IN THE WAY MAY NOT BE
[01:10:01]
THE OPTIMAL, UH, SOLUTION OR, UH, YOU KNOW, THE IDEAL SCENARIO FOR UTILITIES.UH, WE HAVE ESPECIALLY SOME OF THOSE THAT ARE, UH, GRAVITY SYSTEMS THAT, YOU KNOW, REQUIRE CERTAIN DEPTH AND THEY'RE HARD TO ADJUST ON WHERE TO MOVE THEM.
UH, BUT YEAH, MOST DEFINITELY, WE'LL LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO PROTECT TREES AT ALL TIMES WHEN WE HAVE, UH, CAPITAL PROJECTS OR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN CONSTRUCTION.
AND ALSO IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE CHALLENGING OUR CONSULTING COMMUNITY TO THINK ABOUT STORM WATER, GREEN STONE, WATER OPTIONS.
SO THEY CAN TAKE THAT INTO THE, UH, THE, UH, ASSESSMENT PROCESS AND PROVIDE OPTIONS TO, TO THE CITY SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A MORE COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTION RATHER THAN JUST, UH, REPLACING A PIPELINE OR DOING AN EROSION CONTROL PROJECT THAT WE HAVE A MORE, UH, HOLISTIC SOLUTION FOR THE COMMUNITY.
ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, YOU KNOW, KEEPING IT GREEN AND ALL THOSE DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, DALLAS IS VERY CONGESTED FROM A UTILITY STANDPOINT.
NOT JUST WATER AND WASTEWATER AND STORM WATER, BUT YOU KNOW, ALL SORTS OF UTILITIES THAT ARE IN THE WAY.
AND, UH, BUT IN EVERY OPPORTUNITY THAT WE HAVE TO REPLACE A PIPELINE OR A STREET, YOU KNOW, WE COORDINATE, TRY TO, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVE A, A GOOD PRODUCT FOR THE COMMUNITY, UH, INCLUDING, YOU KNOW, THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND ALL THOSE COMPONENTS.
AND, AND Y'ALL HAVE REALLY IMPROVED ON THAT, WHERE A UTILITY, WE DON'T FIX THE STREET AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN UTILITY COMES IN 10 MINUTES LATER AND CUTS A, A BRAND NEW STREET ALL UP AND RUIN IT.
BUT REALLY QUICKLY ON MAINTENANCE OF THIS AREA, WE TALKED ABOUT THE MEDIUMS THAT WE MAYBE COULD DO, BUT LET'S TALK ABOUT THE, THE INTERSECTION OF RIVERFRONT AND, UM, UM, COMMERCE.
I MEAN, I'M SORRY, RIVERFRONT AND, UM, CONTINENTAL.
AND WE REDID THAT WHOLE STREET, THAT WHOLE INTERSECTION.
WE PLANTED ALL THIS BEAUTIFUL, UM, FOLIAGE, GRASSES, ZERO ESCAPE.
I MEAN, UH, I THINK MS. SCHULTZ WOULD HAVE THOUGHT LIKE WE WERE GOING AFTER HER YARD AND, UM, AND EXCEPT SHE TAKES CARE OF HERS AND OUR INTERSECTIONS, ALL THOSE MEDIANS, EVERYTHING'S DEAD.
AND YEAH, IT LOOKS LIKE A FOREST THERE NOW, BUT IT'S ALL WEEDS.
IT'S ALL DISGUSTING AND GROSS STUFF.
UM, WHO'S SUPPOSED TO MAINTAIN THAT? IF, IF WE DID IT? 'CAUSE THIS WASN'T INITIATED BY, BY THE, THE STAKEHOLDERS, IT WAS INITIATED BY US.
AND THAT WAS DONE LIKE IN 2018 AND HERE WE ARE 20, 24 AND EVERYTHING'S DEAD AND YOU KNOW, THAT'S GONNA NOT GONNA DO US ANY GOOD IF WE DON'T MAINTAIN AND TAKE CARE OF THIS.
SO WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE MEDIANS AND INTERSECTIONS WHERE WE DID ALL THIS LANDSCAPING? YEAH.
YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS AN ACTIVE CONSTRUCTION SITE CONTRACT WILL BE RESPONSIBLE TO KEEP IT CLEAN AND, UH, WELL THIS IS COMPLETELY NOT ACTIVE ANYMORE.
BUT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WATER'S GOING THROUGH A STORM TO REDO THINGS UNDERNEATH, BUT THAT WAS NOT THE CAUSE OF IT.
AND IF IT'S AFTER THE FACT, THE RESPONSIBLE, UH, CITY DEPARTMENT WILL BE, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES WE ARE IN A STATE RIGHT AWAY, TEXT DOT OR, UH, SOMETIMES IT'S PRIVATE OR UH, OR CITY PROPERTY.
AND THEN THAT'S WHEN WE NEED TO, UH, DIVE INTO THE LOCATION.
IT'S THAT INTERSECTION, THE TRAIL, EVERYTHING.
WE WILL TAKE A LOOK AT IT LATER.
UM, AND I WANNA JUST FINISH OFF WITH THE BIG TREE INTERSECTION.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR, FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.
BUT I HAVE TO GIVE A BIG SHOUT OUT TO MY FORMER COLLEAGUE, HONORABLE ADAM MEDRANO, WHO LITERALLY CHAIR AT THE, WHEN WE WERE RIGHT ABOUT TO PASS TO SEND TO THE VOTERS THE 2017 BOND.
HE TOOK A LEAP OF FAITH BECAUSE WITHOUT IT, THE PROJECT WAS GOING TO BE OVER AND DONE AND DEAD.
AND WE WOULDN'T EVEN BE SITTING HERE TODAY TALKING ABOUT IT.
AND HE DID A MOTION TO ADD $7.5 MILLION INTO OUR 2017 BOND ELECTION.
UM, BY INCREASING THE BOND ELECTION, I THINK UNBEKNOWNST TO THE CITY MANAGER OR ANYONE ELSE, WE INCREASED THE BOND TOTAL, I THINK BY 25 MILLION.
THERE WERE THREE OR FOUR PROJECTS THAT THAT WAS ONE OF THEM.
AND WITHOUT IT, WE WOULDN'T BE HERE TALKING ABOUT THE IDEA THAT CAME FROM THE HOUSTON HOSPITAL DISTRICT, WHICH IS GREAT, BUT THIS IS GONNA MAKE THAT LOOK LIKE THEY JUST PLANTED LIKE A COUPLE SHRUBS, YOU KNOW? SO, UM, THIS IS REALLY EXCITING.
AND THEN GETTING THE LAND BRIDGE, I MEAN, THIS IS JUST GENIUS AND I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR, UM, THE TEXAS TREATS FOUNDATION FOR EVERYTHING YOU ALL DO, BECAUSE LET ME TELL YOU, SOME OF THE FAVORITE DAYS IN MY DISTRICT ARE WHEN Y'ALL ARE PASSING OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, FREE LITTLE SAPLING TREES.
UM, THEY JUST DISAPPEAR IN MINUTES AND EVERYBODY LOVES TO PLANT A NEW TREE.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY NICE.
IT'S GOOD, UM, IF WE GIVE THEM THAT ACCESS AND, UM, LET'S KEEP DOING IT AND KEEP MAINTAINING THESE TREES 'CAUSE THEY ARE, UM, OUR BEST FRIENDS IN THIS.
SO I KNOW I WENT LONG CHAIR, BUT I AM DONE.
UH, CHAIR ARNOLD, DO YOU HAVE, EXCUSE ME.
[01:15:01]
A COUPLE OF THINGS QUICKLY.FIRST AND FOREMOST, I DEFINITELY APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR PRESENTATION AND INFORMATION, BUT STILL FROM THE LAST, UM, PRESENTATION, I STILL HAVE QUESTIONS.
SO WE, WE ARE GOING TO, UH, REACH OUT TO YOU, AND I KNOW THAT YOU ALL HAVE REACHED OUT TO US ON A NUMBER OF, OF SITU ON A NUMBER OF TIMES, A NUMBER OF TIMES TO TALK ABOUT YOUR TREE PLANTING.
BUT WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT, UM, THE DISTRICT FOUR, WHICH I, I NEED TO GET AN UNDERSTANDING, BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHY WE ARE NOT REALLY A PART OF A FOCUS, UH, PLAN.
BECAUSE I'M LISTENING TO YOU TALK ABOUT INDUSTRY AND DEVELOPMENTS AND I, AND SO HISTORICALLY, I KNOW WE HAVE SOME INDUSTRIAL AREAS THAT DO IMPACT, EVEN THOUGH WE REALIZE THAT IN OAK CLIFF WE HAVE SOME BEAUTIFUL TREES AND, UM, AND WE HAVE A KIND OF AN UMBRELLA, BUT I, LET ME, LET ME DO THAT SECOND.
I REALLY WANT TO, UM, BRING JUST A LITTLE MY HISTORY TO THIS CONVERSATION THIS MORNING BECAUSE, UM, I I, I AM PROBABLY ONE OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO WOULD, MAYBE YOU CALL ME A TREE FANATIC OR WHAT HAVE YOU, BUT IT IS, IT IS, IT IS A JOY TO HAVE TREES, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE, THAT ARE HEALTHY AND PROVIDE THE, THE HEALTH THAT WE NEED BENEFITS.
BUT WHEN I STARTED, I WILL SAY WE STARTED AT, UM, EARTH DAYS.
AND SO WE MET THE URBAN FORESTERS THERE AND AFTER I MET LARRY HOCHBERG THERE AT THAT EVENT, HE QUICKLY CAME OVER TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD BECAUSE WE, I SAID, OH, WELL, YOU KNOW, I, I WANNA, I WANNA MAKE SURE WE GET SOME OF THOSE FREE TREES.
AND I THINK HE WAS OVER THERE WITHIN 24 HOURS.
BUT OUT OF THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH LARRY HOCHBERG, WHO WAS MY FORMER PARK BOARD MEMBER, UH, MR. PHIL IRWIN, I THINK YOU CAME ALONG WITH THE PACKAGE WITH THE URBAN FORESTERS, AND I WAS A PART OF THAT.
THE, JUST THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A PLAN THAT WENT DOWN RED BIRD LANE WAS SO VERY KEY.
AND I THINK THE PRO, THE PROJECT HAS GROWN BECAUSE NOW WE HAVE A PLAN FOR WATERING THOSE TREES.
BUT I NEED YOU ALSO TO UNDERSTAND THAT FROM THAT RELATIONSHIP, WE WENT ON TO MARK TWAIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TO TRANSFORM THAT CAMPUS WITH TREES.
AND SO THE PARTNERSHIPS, UH, EVENTUALLY OWNED DAVID GRIGGS, ANOTHER ONE OF MY GOOD SUPPORTERS OF THE GREEN ENVIRONMENT.
IT JUST REALLY HELPED ME TO HAVE THAT INFORMATION AND TO HELP ME WITH THE ADVOCACY AROUND THE HORSESHOE.
BUT I DO WANNA COMMENT ON WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER MORENO SAID, AND THIS IS GONNA BE ANOTHER DAY CHAIR ABOUT OUR POLICIES.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE COMMUNITIES THAT CONTINUE TO NEED EDUCATION BECAUSE OFTENTIMES WHEN NEW DEVELOPMENT COMES IN AND TREES ARE GUTTED AND BUTCHERED, AND BY THE TIME THEY WAKE UP, IT'S LATE AND WE NEED TO BEGIN TO EDUCATE THEM.
I HEARD SOMEONE MENTION ABOUT THE LIFE OF A TREE.
THESE TREES, WHEN YOU COME TO OLD CLIFF, THOSE TREES DON'T GROW OVERNIGHT, NOT NOT THOSE TREES.
AND SO I THINK ALONG THE CITY LINE, WHEN WE BEGIN TO TALK ABOUT DEVELOPERS, WHEN THEY COME TO US, MAKING SURE WE UNDERSTAND, OF COURSE THE LEGALITIES OF THE CONVERSATION, BUT THEY REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT PUTTING IN THOSE TREES AND, AND WITH THE RIGHT DESIGN, YOU KNOW, I LIVE IN A NEIGHBORHOOD THAT'S OVER 60 SOMETHING YEARS OLD.
AND SO OF COURSE NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE THE GLEN OAKS AND CEDAR CREST, WE HAVE TREES THAT ARE UPROOTING SIDEWALKS BECAUSE OF THOSE PLANS THAT FOLKS DIDN'T REALIZE AT THE TIME HOW DEVASTATING THOSE ROOTS CAN BE.
AND SO WE'VE LEARNED, AND SO WE WANNA PASS THIS ON TO THE YOUNGER DEVELOPERS BECAUSE THEY DON'T REALLY KNOW.
UM, I, I THINK ANYWAY, THE BENEFITS OF TREES AND THE DEVASTATION THAT TREES CAN CAUSE, TREES NEED PARENTING BECAUSE TREES ARE LIKE CHILDREN.
AND I DON'T MEAN THAT TO BE FACETIOUSLY, BUT YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF THE TREES.
AND SO, UM, I WANNA PUT THAT SUPPORT BEHIND THAT STATEMENT ABOUT MAKING SURE WE BEGIN TO, TO HAVE, UH, A CHANGE IN POLICY AND MOST DEFINITELY STRONGER PENALTIES WHEN THOSE, THESE FOLKS COME IN HERE AND DESTROY TREES.
NOW, THANK GOODNESS FOR THE CITY.
WE HAD, I DON'T KNOW IF IRV YOU REMEMBER THAT WE HAD A CHURCH THAT WAS COMING IN ON THE HILL OFF RED BIRD LANE, JUST DEVASTATED, JUST DEVASTATED OUR TREES.
AND SO THANK GOD SOMEONE REPORTED THEM AND YOU ALL WERE ABLE TO GET ON.
AND OF COURSE THEY MOVED ON DOWN THE ROAD AND I THINK YOU PENALIZED AND WHAT HAVE YOU, BUT WE'VE GOT TO DO THAT.
UM, THE OTHER PIECE I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE PUT IN HERE, AND I JUST KIND OF COMPLIMENT BECAUSE I KNOW STAFF HAS BEEN DOING SOME OF THIS.
WE HAVE ANOTHER, UH, PARTNER ON 1111 WEST LED BETTER WITH THAT SHOPPING CENTER.
WHEN HE CAME TO THE CITY, ONE OF THE THINGS HE PROMISED WAS THIS LANDSCAPING.
AND IT IS GORGEOUS BECAUSE HE TRANSFORMED THAT ENTIRE SHOPPING CENTER.
I DIDN'T EVEN BELIEVE HE WAS GONNA BE ABLE TO DO THAT BECAUSE OF THE CONCRETE, BUT HE DID.
AND SO WHEN YOU DRIVE THROUGH, EVEN IF HE ADDS THOSE SAGE BUSHES AND TO SEE ALL THOSE
[01:20:01]
COLORS IS IT ADDS TOO.AND THAT'S WHAT WE NEED IN THE SOUTHERN SECTOR IS A PLAN BECAUSE YOU TALKED ABOUT ALL THESE ECONOMIC BENEFITS AND SOCIAL, WE'RE NOT GETTING THAT.
AND SO THAT'S WHY WE NEED TO SIT DOWN AND TALK TO YOU, UH, WITH THE TARGETED CONVERSATION AROUND THE SOUTHERN SECTOR AS IT RELATES TO, UH, DISTRICT FOUR.
AND THAT'S WHAT I WANT, WANNA SPEAK TO THAT.
SO BASICALLY I WANT TO, UH, JUST COMMEND COME IN, COMMEND YOU ON YOUR WORK, BUT I'M STILL NOT REAL COMFORTABLE WITH THE RESULTS AS IT RELATES TO THE COMMUNITY THAT I SERVE.
AND SO, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE A CONVERSATION.
SO WE'LL CHAIR, WE'RE GONNA SEND THAT IN INVITATION TO THEM TO COME TO OUR, UM, STAFF MEETING AND OF COURSE OUR COMMUNITIES BECAUSE WE WANNA GET SOME OF THOSE FREE TREES.
BUT AN EDUCATION COMES ALONG WITH IT.
SO THAT'S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, UH, THE PARKS, I THINK WAS YOU GO TO THESE SCHOOLS, SCHOOLS COOL, SCHOOL SOUNDS GOOD, BUT THERE WAS AN EFFORT TO COME TO, TO MARK TWAIN FOR AS A COOL SCHOOL THAT WE ALREADY TOLD 'EM.
WE ALREADY HAVE TREES FROM URBAN FORESTRY HAD TREES THAT THE MAVERICKS PUT IN AND THEY WANTED TO PUT IN 88 MORE TREES.
SO WITH THOSE PLANS, YOU ALL NEED TO MAKE SURE FOLKS, WE UNDERSTAND WHO'S ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEM WHEN THEY FALL, WHO'S GONNA PICK THEM UP, WHO'S GONNA PRUNE THEM, WHO'S GONNA FEED THEM.
WE CAN'T JUST PLANT TREES ON SCHOOL PROPERTIES.
AND I DID WORK WITH DISD TRUSTEE AND SO WE HAD TO GET A HANDLE ON THAT.
SO LET'S MAKE SURE WE ARE MOVING IN A DIRECTION THAT SPEAKS TO A HEALTHY CITY.
AND WE ARE JUST NOT PLANTING TREES BECAUSE WE CAN PLANT TREES.
SO CHAIR, THAT'S WHAT I WANNA LEAVE YOU ALL WITH TODAY.
BUT LET'S PLEASE KNOW MR. IWIN, YOU KNOW, I THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU WORKING WITH US IN, IN THE, IN THE BOTTOMS. YOU KNOW, WE JUST TRY TO WORK HIM TO DEATH.
BUT WE APPRECIATE YOUR PERSONALITY AND JUST YOUR OVERALL.
I KNOW THIS IS YOUR JOB, BUT YOU ALWAYS COME WITH SUCH A LOVE.
AND I'VE FORGOTTEN THE OTHER YOUNG LADY, WAS IT THERESA OR SOMETHING? TINA WHO WE WORKED WITH, TINA STANDFORD WAS HER NAME.
I GUESS THAT WAS BACK IN THE, THAT WAS BACK IN THE EARLY TWO THOUSANDS.
BUT ANYWAY, WHATEVER YOUR TEAM, WHOEVER'S ON YOUR TEAM, YOU ALL CAME VERY POSITIVELY WITH THE RED BERRY CORRIDOR.
AND OF COURSE WE ALSO GOT A GOOD DEAL OUTTA WALMART.
SO WE THANK YOU ALL FOR EVERYTHING AT THIS POINT.
AND OF COURSE THE PARKS, WE JUST LOVE ALL OF YOU.
BUT JUST KNOW THAT WE'VE GOTTA HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT DOING MORE IN FOUR AS IT RELATES TO HEALTH AND WELFARE OF THAT GREEN WEALTH OF THE GREEN MACHINE.
MAN, IT'S ALWAYS HARD TO FOLLOW CHAIR ARNOLD
UM, I WANNA ALSO THANK THE SECOND WHOEVER HAD THANKED THE CHAIR FOR COMBINING THE BRIEFINGS, MAKING THIS EFFICIENT.
UM, P APPRECIATE THE PASSION OF THE SPEAKERS.
LIKE EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO SPOKE, I CAN TELL YOU LOVE WHAT YOU DO AND YOU KNOW, YOU'RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE EVERY DAY.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, AS MY COLLEAGUE NEXT TO ME, UH,
IT REMINDED ME WHEN I WAS A KID, I WAS ABOUT EIGHT OR NINE, I PLANTED MY FIRST TREE AND MY PARENTS SOLD THAT HOUSE.
BUT EVERY TIME WE GO BACK, IT'S CLOSE TO OUR FARM.
AND, UM, I'LL GO LOOK AT THE TREE JUST TO SEE HOW HIGH IT'S GROWN.
AND IT'S, IT'S SO IT STARTS YOUNG, YOU KNOW, WITH THE PLANTINGS OF THE TREES AND, AND YOU NEVER FORGET IT.
SO I'LL START WITH THE, THIS IS KIND OF FOR EVERYONE, BUT IT, IT CAME OUT, THE QUESTIONS CAME OUT OF THE TEXAS TREES FOUNDATION BRIEFING.
UM, UH, THE SHADED LANDSCAPES, I HAD NO IDEA IT WAS 13 DEGREES COOLER THAT, THANK YOU FOR THAT SLIDE.
THERE'S A LOT OF PUBLIC HEALTH BENEFITS AS WE KNOW, BEYOND JUST COOLING THINGS DOWN, LIKE PEOPLE GETTING OUT AND RUNNING, BEING, YOU KNOW, WHICH, WHICH I DO WHEN IT COOLS DOWN ESPECIALLY.
AND I PLAN MY ROUTES BASED ON WHERE THERE'S SHADE VERSUS MINIMAL SUN, YOU KNOW, SUN EXPOSURE.
UM, LOVE THE COMMENTS FROM CHAIR MORENO ABOUT FOCUSING ON TAKING OUT PAVEMENT.
UM, WHERE WE CAN, UH, IN OUR ROADWAYS, BECAUSE YOU GUYS GOT INTO THAT ROADWAY DISCUSSION, I THINK THE CITY SHOULD DO, YOU KNOW, WE, IF IF WE WANT TO PUSH FORWARD OUR VISION ZERO GOALS, WE ABSOLUTELY SHOULD BE LOOKING AT MAKING OUR ROADS SAFER.
SO I APPRECIATE THE COMMENTS FROM JEANETTE ON HOW TREES CAN ACTUALLY SLOW DOWN CARS.
IF YOU HAVE DATA ON THAT OR ANYTHING THAT SUPPORTS THAT.
UM, AND THEN, UH, A CHEER ON OUR EYES', COMMENTS ABOUT THE BOULEVARDS AND THE PARKWAYS.
COMMENTS ON, I WROTE THAT HAD WRITTEN THAT DOWN TOO, THAT WHY WOULD WE NOT WANNA FOCUS ON THAT? SO I UNDERSTAND THE UTILITIES ARE AN ISSUE, BUT LIKE ON ILLINOIS AVENUE BETWEEN DISTRICT ONE, DISTRICT FOUR, THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, PARKWAYS THERE.
UM, WITH, WITH GRASS, UM, JEFFERSON BOULEVARD HAS GOT MASSIVELY WIDE PARKWAYS, WHICH THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL.
THERE'S LOTS OF OPPORTUNITIES TO PLANT TREES THERE.
[01:25:01]
AND THEN I AGREE WITH WHAT, UM, OMAR OR TURNER VICE WAS SAYING, CAN WE FIND A WAY TO PLANT THEM? AND THEN INSTEAD OF PUTTING IT ON THE BURDEN OF THE NEIGHBORS TO HAVE TO WALK ACROSS THE BUSY PARKWAY TO TO WATER THEM, CAN WE FUND THAT WHERE WE ACTUALLY WILL SEND THE WATER TRUCKS OUT AND, AND WATER THOSE PARKWAY TREES.'CAUSE I THINK THAT'S LOW HANGING FRUIT.
YOU'RE NOT IN, AND YOU'RE NOT GOING INTO PEOPLE'S PROPERTY.
YOU'RE NOT HAVING TO DIG OUT SIDEWALKS.
AND, UM, IF THE ONLY HOLDUP ON THAT IS REALLY JUST WHO'S GONNA TAKE CARE OF IT, THEN TELL US WHAT YOU NEED TO FUND THAT.
AND, UM, I'D LOVE TO FILL THOSE PARKWAYS WITH TREES.
AM I MISSING SOMETHING ON THAT OR DID I COVER THAT? OKAY.
I'M GETTING SOME NODS IN THE MIDDLE THERE.
UH, THE NUMBER, LET'S SEE, THE LAST BRIEFING, THE URBAN FOREST BRIEFING, UM, I HEARD A NUMBER, WE WERE PLANTING 20,000 TREES.
IS THAT RIGHT? 3,500 FOR FISCAL YEAR.
25 ON, ON AN AVERAGE IS ABOUT 3000 TREES.
AND WE HAVE ABOUT, UH, SIX DIS DISTRIBUTION CENTERS THAT WE HAVE ACROSS DALLAS.
AND IT'S A, IT'S A PRETTY FUN DAY FOR THE FAMILY AND THE KIDS AND, YOU KNOW, FOR THE COMMUNITY IN GENERAL TO DISTRIBUTE ALL THESE TREES.
WELL THAT, THAT GOES TO MY NEXT QUESTION ON METRICS THOUGH.
AND I DON'T WANT TO CAST ANY SHADOW 'CAUSE THIS IS A GREAT PRESENTATION TODAY.
BUT THE ONE THING I I WAS DISAPPOINTED AND I DIDN'T SEE WAS METRICS AND, AND HOW MANY TREES WE'VE PLANTED TO REACH ARE, I THINK YOU PUT IT ON ONE OF THE EARLY SLIDES, 40% TREE CANOPY COVERAGE BY 2050.
UM, WHERE ARE WE AT IN MEETING THAT GOAL? I HAVE A SLIDE ON MY WALL THAT'S FROM A FEW YEARS AGO THAT SAID WE WERE AT 32%.
HAVE WE GOTTEN ANY CLOSER TO 40%? I DON'T THINK WE ACTUALLY HAVE A NUMBER ON THAT AT THIS POINT.
UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT METHODS OF DETERMINING WHAT OUR CANOPY COVER CHANGE IS OVER THE YEARS, AND WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT, UM, TRYING TO FIND STUDIES BEING ABLE TO DETERMINE CANOPY CHANGE OR, BUT THE MOVEMENT TO 40%, WE'RE NOT SURE WHERE WE ARE IN THAT PROGRESS AT THIS POINT.
WHEN YOU SAY WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS THAT, IS THAT THE TREE INVENTORY? WHAT, HOW ARE WE WORKING TOWARDS THAT? TREE INVENTORY IS ONE FORM OF, UH, IDENTIFICATION.
UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, UH, AN ASSESSMENT FROM, UH, LOOKING AT A PLAN TO TRY TO BE ABLE TO DO MEASUREMENTS OF TREE CANOPY MEASUREMENTS FROM ONE TIME PERIOD TO ANOTHER TO SEE IN WHAT PROGRESS OUR URBAN FOREST CANOPY COVER IS TAKING.
IS IT, IS IT PROGRESSING OR REGRESSING? I I MEAN, AND THIS GOES TO MY SLIGHT FRUSTRATION WITH THE WHOLE, ALL OF THIS PRESENTATION TODAY IS I HEAR A LOT OF WORKING TOWARDS, UM, WHICH I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE METRICS ARE.
AND SO I REMEMBER MY FIRST TERM ON COUNCIL, WE WERE TALKING WHEN CCAP WAS PASSED, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE TREE INVENTORY.
AND I HONESTLY CAN'T RECALL WHEN IT WAS SET TO LAUNCH, BUT I FEEL LIKE WE'RE, I JUST FEEL LIKE WE'RE BEHIND.
I I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE HAVEN'T STARTED IT.
AM I MISSING SOMETHING? YEAH, I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE TO ADD, YES, THAT, THAT TREE INVENTORY IS CRITICAL AND, UM, UM, SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE FOUR YEARS AGO, UH, THE FORESTERS IN MY DIVISION HAVE BEEN JUST REITERATING HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS IN ORDER FOR US TO CREATE THIS MANAGEMENT PLAN, KNOW WHERE WE ARE, AND KNOW WHAT IT'S GONNA TAKE FOR US TO GET WHERE WE WANT TO BE.
SO, YOU KNOW, THIS MONTH WHEN WE HAVE THAT COME BEFORE COUNCIL AND WE NEED TO REALLY LOOK AT IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, BEING ABLE TO COMPLETE IT, THE FUNDING THAT IT'S GONNA TAKE, UM, ALL OF THAT IS REALLY CRITICAL FOR US TO COME UP WITH THE ANSWERS THAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR.
UM, WELL, YEAH, I'LL BE CURIOUS TO CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT PROGRESS.
AT YOUR BI THIS IS A BI-ANNUAL REPORT, RIGHT? IT COMES, YOU GUYS ARE GONNA REPORTING BI-ANNUALLY? YES, THAT'S CORRECT.
I'M TRYING TO WRAP IT UP HERE.
CCAP GOALS, UM, YEAH, AND I GUESS JUST THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A CONVERSATION ON SLIDE SEVEN OF THE FIRST BRIEFING, THE HOTTEST AREAS 2023, WHICH THAT WAS INTERESTING TO ME TOO, UM, ON HOW THE HOTTEST HEAT AREAS ARE IN THE, YOU KNOW, YOUR KIND OF URBAN CORE AND YOUR, YOUR CENTRAL AREAS.
I THINK THAT THIS PAINTS A PICTURE THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF URBAN AREAS, UM, IF YOU JUST LOOK AT THIS SLIDE ON ITS OWN IS, IS IT'S, IT'S WORSE TO HAVE DENSE AREAS, BUT I, I KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT OF DATA OUT THERE THAT SUPPORTS THE FACT THAT URBAN SPRAWL, WHEN YOU LOOK AT OVERALL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, IS ACTUALLY, UM, JUST AS BAD OR WORSE.
SO I WOULD JUST ASK THE CHAIR IF YOU'D CONSIDER HAVING A BRIEFING AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE ON THE PROS AND CONS, JUST COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN DENSITY AND URBAN SPRAWL.
[01:30:01]
POLITICAL, I KNOW IT'S AT ONE O'CLOCK TODAY, BUT, UH, I, I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL PIECE SHOULD BE BROUGHT INTO THE DISCUSSION OF LAND USE PLANNING.MAY I ADD SOMETHING TO THIS? WE, WE ARE GOING TO, THROUGH THE GRANT WE GOT FROM IRA, WE ARE GONNA DO A NEW TREE CANOPY STUDY THIS YEAR, AND WE'RE GONNA UPDATE THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND STUDY.
SO WE'LL BE, BE ABLE TO DO A COMPARATIVE THAT WAY.
UM, BUT I THINK THE INVENTORIES ARE REALLY IMPORTANT.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE'VE HAD TODAY A LOT OF RECOMMENDATIONS OUT OF THE URBAN FORESTRY MASTER PLAN.
AND I HOPE THAT WE CAN TAKE ALL OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AND PUT THEM INTO A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR HOW WE'RE APPROACHING URBAN FORESTRY IN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
AND THAT GOES BACK TO ALL OF YOUR COM COMMENTS ABOUT, UM, WHAT'S HAPPENING IN YOUR DISTRICT.
SO WHEN WE DID THE, UM, THIS, THE, UM, EQUITY TREE PLANTING, WE GOT A HOLD OF EACH ONE OF YOUR OFFICES AND ASKED FOR PROJECTS THAT YOU THOUGHT WERE IMPORTANT.
AND SO WE TOOK THOSE PROJECTS AS WELL AS THE ONES THAT WE SAW FROM THE URBAN FROM THIS MAPPING.
SO THOSE ARE, THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU THE METRICS THAT YOU WANT, IS TO BE ABLE TO, WE'RE RIGHT NOW IN THE PROCESS, AND LEMME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.
WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF INVENTORYING DOWNTOWN.
WE'RE INVENTORYING ALL OF DALLAS COUNTY PROPERTIES FOR TREES.
UM, WE'RE DOING ALL OF FAIR PARK NOW.
WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE IT.
SO THAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF WORKING TOGETHER IS SO THAT WE CAN COME TO, WE'RE SHARING INFORMATION, WE'RE WORKING COLLECTIVELY TOWARDS PRIORITIZED PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, UM, IN EACH DISTRICT.
AND I THINK THAT THAT'S IMPORTANT IF WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD TO GET TO WHAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR, COUNCILMAN WEST TO HAVE THE METRICS, BECAUSE THE METRICS IS WHAT'S GONNA DRIVE THE BUDGETS, IT'S GONNA DRIVE WHAT, UM, WHAT THE NEEDS WILL BE IN THE FUTURE, AND IT'S GONNA DRIVE HOW HEALTHY OF A CITY AND HOW THE QUALITY OF LIFE THAT WE HAVE IN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
I HAVE A LOT TO SAY ON THAT, BUT I'M MORE PEOPLE TO ASK QUESTIONS.
SO, UM, PUT THAT IN A LITTLE BUBBLE OVER HERE.
UM, THANK YOU AND THANKS FOR BRINGING THIS.
I THINK, UM, THIS IS KINDA LIKE GROUNDHOG DAY.
I THINK WE'VE HAD THIS PRESENTATION BEFORE.
WE'RE JUST NOW DOING THE INVENTORY ON THE TREE INVENTORY ON THE CITY SIDE.
WE'VE GONE THROUGH THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS, IT'S TAKEN A WHILE AND SOME NEGOTIATIONS, BUT YES, IT'S UPON US NOW IN ORDER TO GET IT APPROVED.
BUT THEN TEXAS TREES IS DOING ONE AS WELL, CORRECT? WE ARE DOING, UH, BUT NOW THE, THESE, THE ONES THAT WE'RE DOING ARE COVERED THROUGH INDEPENDENT FUNDING THROUGH, SO IRA DOWNTOWN DALLAS, INC.
SO YES, WE ARE DOING INVENTORY AND WE TYPICALLY WILL DO INVENTORY ON, ON ALL THE SCAR ON THE SCHOOLS THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH OR ANY OF THE AREAS THAT WE'RE WORKING IN TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE'RE DOING, WE HAVE BASELINE, UH, SO WE DON'T GET TOO MANY TREES ON A CAMPUS OR WE DON'T GET DIFFERENT.
THAT'S FINE, BECAUSE WE'RE KIND OF GETTING CLOSE TO TIME.
SO MY, MY QUESTION IS, IS HOW ARE WE COORDINATING BECAUSE WE DON'T WANNA DUPLICATE EFFORTS BE AND WE WANNA WORK EFFICIENTLY.
IS THERE COORDINATION? WELL, YEAH, SO OF COURSE WE ALWAYS HAVE COORDINATION BECAUSE WE WORK WITH, UH, TEXAS TREES FOUNDATION.
UM, THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS IS A PROCESS ON PLANNING SIDE, EXCUSE ME, ON THE PLANNING SIDE, BUT ON THE INVENTORY SIDE I GET, 'CAUSE I MEAN WE ARE, WE ARE 20 MINUTES AND I KNOW I THINK MS. SCHULTZ IS IN THERE AND WE'VE GOT SOME MEMORANDUM.
SO IT GOES BACK TO WHAT IS OUR VISION WITH THIS EXERCISE LIKE, I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT OUR NORTH STAR, WHICH LEADS TO OUR GOAL AND METRICS AND IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE GOING BACK, WE'RE GOING BACKWARDS VERSUS GOING, FIGURING OUT WHAT OUR OVERARCHING, UH, VISION IS AND, AND, AND OUR NORTH STAR AND THEN WORKING DOWN.
IT'S LIKE WE HAVE THESE TASKS AND WE'RE WORKING UP.
SO HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE EXERCISE OF WHERE WE'RE ALL GOING, HOW WE'RE GONNA GET THERE, HOW WE'RE GOING TO MEASURE IT, AND THEN WHO OWNS IT.
[01:35:06]
WHAT I WILL SAY TO THAT, MAY I, MAY I INTERRUPT? YOU WANNA COME OVER? OKAY.SARAH SANFORD'S COMING TO GIVE A LITTLE CONTEXT HERE ABOUT HOW WE ARE COORDINATING EFFORTS.
HEY, GOOD MORNING, SARAH STANDIFORD DALLAS WATER UTILITIES.
UM, I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING, WE HAVE OUR QUARTERLY STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS THAT TEXAS TREES PARTICIPATES IN ALONG WITH A NUMBER OF OTHER PARTNERS.
UH, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF REINITIATING A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT WITH TEXAS TREES.
WE TRIED TO DO THESE ABOUT A YEAR AGO.
WE'RE GONNA TRY AGAIN, RIGHT? UM, I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THE THEME, I'M KIND OF HEARING THAT FROM THE SIDELINES, RIGHT? IT'S ALWAYS EASIER ON THE SIDELINES.
THERE IS SOME, UM, LITTLE BIT OF CONFUSION.
SO LET'S TAKE TREE CANOPY COVERAGE, FOR EXAMPLE.
THAT'S PUBLIC AND PRIVATE, RIGHT? AND SO WE'RE GONNA GET THE DRONES UP AND FILLS COORDINATED WITH TEXAS TREES AND WE'LL MOVE FORWARD ON THOSE PIECES.
WHEN IT COMES TO INVENTORYING, WE'RE ONLY INVENTORYING AND CREATING THE ASSESSMENT ON CITY OF DALLAS PROPERTY.
SO IT ACTUALLY IS GONNA SERVE AS A WORK ORDER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ON THE BACKEND FOR STAFF.
SO WE WILL HAVE A PHYSICAL COUNT, IT'LL HAVE A CALIPER, IT'LL HAVE A CONDITION ASSESSMENT, IT'LL HAVE ANY TREATMENT PROTOCOLS.
IT THEN THAT BUILDS THAT ROADMAP.
RIGHT NOW WHAT WE'RE WORKING OFF OF IS A SAMPLING ACROSS 42 OF THE AREAS.
AND THAT'S WHERE MOST OF OUR NUMBERS COME AT THIS POINT.
SO AS YOU GO IN, WE'VE DONE A BRIEFING PREVIOUSLY AND WE'RE HAPPY TO KIND OF SHOW Y'ALL IN ANOTHER PRESENTATION.
UM, ON TREE KEEPER, WE'VE DONE ABOUT 8,500 TREE INVENTORIES AND ASSESSMENTS OF ACTUAL PROPERTIES ON CITY PROPERTY, RIGHT? WE HAVE THE TREES.
THIS NEXT STEP WITH THE CONTRACT HAS TAKEN LONGER THAN WE ANTICIPATED.
UM, WE HAD HOPED THAT WE WOULD'VE BEEN TO YOU ALL A YEAR AGO, AND THAT JUST DID NOT HAPPEN WITH THE PROCUREMENT.
OKAY? SO WHEN WE GET TO YOU GUYS ON THE 11TH FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, THEN THAT ALLOWS US TO LAUNCH THE TEAMS, HAVE THE COORDINATION MEETING WITH THE VENDOR ALREADY SET UP FOR THE FOLLOWING WEEK SO THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD.
UH, WE WILL MOVE FORWARD WITH ABOUT A $750,000 FEDERAL GRANT AT THAT POINT, AND THAT'LL GET US MOVING IN THAT RIGHT DIRECTION.
UM, WE'VE ALSO TRAINED SOME OF TEXAS TREES FOUNDATION THAT THEY'VE JUST HIRED ONE OF OURS AWAY, RIGHT? WE HIRED THEM AND THEN THEY HIRED 'EM BACK.
THERE'S A SMALL COMMUNITY, WE'RE GONNA TRADE BACK AND FORTH SOMETIMES.
UM, THEY ALSO HAVE ACCESS TO THE ABILITY TO UTILIZE THAT, UM, TREE KEEPER INVENTORY AND THEN YOU CAN SEE IT ON A FORWARD FACE.
AND WE DID NOT HIT LIVE LINKS FOR YOU ALL IN THE BRIEFING.
'CAUSE WE'VE FOUND THAT EVERY TIME WE TRY A LIVE LINK IN THIS ROOM, IT DOESN'T LIKE THE LIVE LINKS, BUT BURIED AND EMBEDDED IN THE PRESENTATION, YOU CAN SEE ALL THAT WORK PRODUCT.
SO GIVEN THAT WE'VE GOT A WHOLE GROUP OF YOU SITTING THERE, WHO OWNS THIS PLAN? AND IT, IT, I MEAN, IS IT THE, UH, THE ADVISORY GROUP? I MEAN, AND WHO, I MEAN WHO OWNS IT? BECAUSE AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW WHAT OUR VISION IS, OUR GOAL, WE DON'T HAVE METRICS.
UM, WE HAVE CONTINUING HAVING THESE STORMS WHERE EAST DALLAS GOT BASICALLY KILLED IN MAY WITH TREE CANOPY AND THEN WE HAVE DEVELOPMENT GOING ON.
AND SO I'M JUST WONDERING WHO OWNS IT SO THAT WAY WE HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE.
SO IN 2021, YOU ALL APPROVED THE URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN, UM, AND ASKED US TO IMPLEMENT THAT PLAN, RIGHT? IT INITIATED IN FY 22.
THE BRIEFING THAT YOU WERE SEEING IS A BRIEFING THAT GOES OVER EACH OF THE METRICS THAT ARE LISTED IN THE BACK OF THE URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN THAT CHECKS OFF WHERE WE ARE IN THOSE PROGRESS POINTS.
UM, THE CITY MANAGER IN 22 ASSIGNED DWU AND PARK AND RECREATION BECAUSE WE'RE THE LARGEST LANDHOLDERS TO ACTUALLY WORK WITH THAT TECHNICAL TEAM.
AND WE ESTABLISH THE TASK FORCE.
SO THAT TASK FORCE MEETS EVERY OTHER WEEK AND THEY GO THROUGH THE ANNUAL ACTIVITIES THE CITY WILL DO.
AND THEN WE MEET MONTHLY AS AN EXECUTIVE TEAM TO PUSH THOSE FORWARD TO MAKE SURE WE'RE FUNDING THINGS WHEN THEY NEED TO BE FUNDED AND HOW WE CAN IMPLEMENT BEST PRACTICES.
RIGHT? AND THEN ON A STAKEHOLDER BASIS, EVERY QUARTER WE'RE MEETING WITH THE NONPROFITS, LOCAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
UM, FROM A PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT STANDPOINT, THOSE ACTIVITIES AND INITIATIVES ARE GONNA BE RUN OUT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
SO EACH PERSON HAS A PIECE IN IT.
AND THEN AS PART OF OUR CCAP GOALS, WE REPORT ALL OF THE PROGRESS BACK IN TO THOSE.
AND THOSE ARE PRESENTED TO YOU ANNUALLY AS WELL.
SO AGAIN, WHO OWNS IT AT THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AND PARKS AND, OKAY, DW OWN IT PARK BECAUSE DW AND PARK ARE VERY TWO DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS AND WITH TWO DIFFERENT MISSIONS, RIGHT? AND SO I'M TRYING, AND YOU OWN PART OF IT JUST BECAUSE YOU OWN SO MUCH LAND.
AND SO I'M JUST TRYING, 'CAUSE BELIEVE ME, TREES MAKE LIFE EASIER COMING FROM WEST TEXAS WHERE WE HAD NO TREES TO EAST TEXAS WHERE THERE ARE TREES.
IT IT, WHEN YOU'RE WALKING YOUR DOG, EVEN IN THE HOTTEST DAY, IT IS, IT IS, IT IS MORE THAN BEING EXPOSED TO COMPLETE, UM, YOU KNOW, SUN.
SO GIVEN THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HAVING THESE MORE VIOLENT STORMS, THE DEVELOPMENT THAT'S HAPPENING,
[01:40:01]
THIS IS GOING TO BE BECOME A HOT TOPIC.AND WE JUST NEED TO FIGURE OUT LIKE WHAT IS OUR, WHAT, WHAT ARE WE ALL TRYING TO DO? AND MAYBE WE DID A MASTER PLAN BEFORE WE DID A STRATEGIC PLAN BECAUSE I BELU DO BELIEVE THERE WAS THE NOTION OF WE NEED TO GO THEN DO A STRATEGIC PLAN.
AND, AND SO I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW DO YOU WRAP IT UP SO EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS WHERE WE'RE GOING AND EVERYBODY SITTING AT THE TABLE KNOWS THEIR PIECE AND THAT WE ARE ALL MOVING AND MEASURING IT.
BECAUSE IF YOU CAN'T MEASURE IT, THEN YOU CAN'T DO IT.
AND, AND SO, UM, THAT, THOSE ARE MY QUESTIONS.
I KNOW WE GOT 13 MORE MINUTES BEFORE THE END OF THE MEETING.
I, I, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THIS KEEP COMING BACK EITHER IN A MEMO OR SOMETHING, BUT WE, WE NEED TO UNDER, I NEED TO UNDERSTAND THIS BETTER BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING AND MAYBE WE HAVE A SEPARATE ONLINE CONVERSATION, BUT, UM, IT, IT IS KIND OF SCATTERED AND WE NEED TO TIGHTEN IT.
UM, THANK Y'ALL FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
A LOT OF WHAT HAS BEEN SAID, I WON'T REPEAT, UM, BUT I WILL GO IN A LITTLE HARDER.
UM, I WANT TO JUST SAY THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE NEEDS TO REIGN THIS IN.
UM, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE ARE A LOT OF, UH, PARTIES INVOLVED.
UM, AND THEY'RE SPINNING THEIR WHEELS, UH, BUT NOT ALL IN THE SAME DIRECTION.
UM, THE METRICS PIECE IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, IS MORE THAN NEEDED.
IN FACT, IF YOU LOOK AT THE PLAN FROM DW WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, IT'S AS AMBIGUOUS AS A PLAN COULD BE.
HOW DO WE GIVE YOU FEEDBACK ON THE SUCCESS OR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A PLAN THAT HAS NO MEASUREMENTS TO BE, UM, UH, GUIDED BY? UM, I, I KNOW THAT MY COLLEAGUE'S GONNA HAVE A SUGGESTION.
I'LL JUST SAY, UH, UM, UH, I'LL JUST PREFACE THAT WITH MS. WITH WHAT'S, WITH WHAT MS. SCHULTZ WILL BRING FORWARD.
I DO BELIEVE THAT SILOS NEED TO BE BROKEN DOWN.
I THINK THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A MUCH CLEARER UNDERSTANDING.
AND I ALSO THINK THAT THE CITY MANAGER DOES NEED TO OWN THIS.
THAT WAS THE ANSWER ULTIMATELY FROM MS. BLACKMAN'S.
I UNDERSTAND ALL OF Y'ALL TRYING TO BE AS POLITICALLY CORRECT AS Y'ALL CAN HERE ON THIS PODIUM, BUT THE, THE REIGNS NEED TO BE PULLED IN AND THE CITY MANAGER NEEDS TO OWN THIS IN THE WAY THAT, UH, ANY OTHER, UM, MAJOR PLAN THAT TOUCHES MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS, UM, WILL, WILL BE OWNED.
AND I WOULD LIKE FOR THE ACCOUNTABILITY TO BE VERY CLEAR BECAUSE I, I HONESTLY DON'T KNOW WHO WE'RE SUPPOSED TO HOLD ACCOUNTABLE RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND THAT MAKES IT VERY HARD AS POLICY MAKERS.
I THINK THAT, UH, WHEN WE HAVE SHARED GOALS, UM, THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, GIVEN TO US AND THEN WE HAVE MULTIPLE YEARS LATER TO SEE ESSENTIALLY THE SAME THING, EVERYONE'S WHEELS ARE STILL TURNING.
NONE OF THE GOALS HAVE BEEN MET.
UH, WE ARE NOT ANY CLOSER TO GETTING TO, UH, A BETTER PLACE.
IT'S LIKE WE'RE GONNA ACT LIKE THIS IS A PRIORITY, BUT WE'RE NOT REALLY GONNA PRIORITIZE THIS.
THE CITY OF DALLAS DOES THIS VERY WELL.
SO I THINK THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE TO IDENTIFY THIS, GET TO THE CORE OF THE PROBLEM.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT BE FROM THE CITY MANAGER OWNING THIS, PUTTING INTO, UH, UH, IMPLEMENTATION A VERY CLEAR AND CONCISE PLAN THAT'S GOING TO OUTLINE NOT ONLY WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT, HOW THEY WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE AND WHAT MEASUREMENTS, UH, THE COUNCIL WILL HAVE, UM, TO, TO GO FORWARD, UM, TO MEET OUR GOALS.
I JUST WANTED TO, IN PREPARING FOR THIS MEETING, I PULLED OUT MY NOTES FROM APRIL 22ND OF 22 AND IT'S THE EXACT SAME CONVERSATION WE'RE HAVING TODAY, BUT THE DIFFERENCE IS IN 2022 THERE WERE SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT CREATING A CENTRAL DEPARTMENT THAT WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR URBAN FORESTRY.
IT TALKS ABOUT HOW WE WOULD BUILD IN, FINISH THE INVENTORY, UM, INTO THE 2223 BUDGET FOR THE TREE INVENTORY.
SO I THINK MADAM CHAIR, WHAT I'D LOVE TO SEE Y'ALL, UH, ASK, SIMILAR TO WHAT, UM, UH, MR. BASIL DOA SAID IS THAT WE GET A COMPREHENSIVE, WE GET A TASK FORCE THAT HAS THE VOICES OF ALL OF THE DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS IN THIS TO ADDRESS THE MASTER PLAN COORDINATION WITH TEXAS TREES FOUNDATION REGARDING EVERYTHING THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED IN THIS FROM EAB TO THE CAP ORDINANCES DEVELOPMENT STREETS.
WE NEED ONE PLAN THAT'S SIMILAR TO THE CAP AND THE REP.
IT'S INTERESTING, I THINK THAT TEXAS TREES FOUNDATION AND OUR OWN CITY DEPARTMENTS BOTH HAVE URBAN FOREST MASTER PLANS, BOTH OF THEM URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN.
AND SO WE ARE REALLY IN A STATE OF CONFUSION.
[01:45:01]
THAT THE REASON, PART OF THE REASON FOR THIS IS BECAUSE TREES DON'T HAVE VOICES.AND SO WE'VE GOT LOTS OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THESE TREES AND WE OUGHT TO BE LISTENING TO THE PEOPLE WHO THAT IS THEIR JOB IS TO SPEAK FOR THE TREES IN THIS AREA.
SO I KNOW THAT THERE'S GOOD HEART IN ALL OF THIS.
UH, THE CHALLENGE THAT I SAID, EVEN BACK THEN THAT I'LL SAY AGAIN, IS THAT OUR REALLY DEAR DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE WORKING SO HARD FOR THE CITY HAVE A MULTIPLICITY OF RESPONSIBILITIES.
AND IT'S NOT FAIR TO YOU ALL TO ASK YOU TO TAKE ON THIS MASSIVE, WE HAVE, I THINK IT'S AT LEAST OVER 2 MILLION TREES JUST IN OUR URBAN FOREST.
LIKE YOU'RE NOW RESPONSIBLE FOR MORE THINGS THAN THERE ARE PEOPLE HERE AND, AND AT THE SAME TIME DO EVERYTHING ELSE.
AND SO WE REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT THIS IN A DIFFERENT WAY, WHETHER WE OUTSOURCE OUR TREE MANAGEMENT, OUR URBAN FOREST MANAGEMENT, WHETHER WE REALLY CREATE A PROPER PLAN THAT'S GONNA MOVE FORWARD, BUT TWO YEARS WITH NO MOMENTUM IS NOT ACCEPTABLE AND IT'S NOT FAIR TO THE TREES.
UH, I DO HAVE ONE MAKE QUESTION IF I MAY.
AND THAT IS, UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT THE INVENTORY RIGHT NOW IS ONLY OF OUR ASH TREES.
LET ME PROVIDE SOME, NO, I THINK THAT WAS SAID EARLIER THAT WE'VE INVENTORIED THE ASHT TREES.
WAS THAT THE OTHER, I SO WE'VE INVENTORIED ALL OF OUR PUBLIC PROPERTY.
SO LET ME, LET ME, SO LEMME PROVIDE A LITTLE CLARITY AROUND THAT.
AS PART OF THE INVENTORY EFFORTS THE STAFF TOOK ON, AND WE SAID IT WAS GONNA BE A FIVE YEAR PROCESS IF WE, IF WE DID IT INTERNALLY AND THAT WE WERE BRINGING IN THE CONTRACT, RIGHT? THE 8,500 TREES ARE NOT JUST ASH TREES.
THEY HAVE GONE OUT AS PART OF OUR EAB EFFORTS AND ADDED ADDITIONAL ASH IN THERE.
EVERY TIME WE GO OUT, THEY'RE ADDING THOSE.
SO THE INVENTORY IS NOT JUST INCLUSIVE OF ONLY ASH.
SO CAN TEXAS TREES DO THE INVENTORY FASTER? I MEAN, THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS ON THE SEPTEMBER 11TH AGENDA, WE'LL PULL THAT FORWARD.
I THINK, UM, WE'VE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT FUNDING THAT IN THE FUTURE WITH ADDITIONAL FUNDS AS APPROPRIATED, WE'VE GOTTA MAKE SURE THE CONTRACTOR THAT'S COMING ON BOARD CAN DO THE WORK THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW.
AND IT'S THIS, AND THEY'RE A, IT'S A, IT'S A CONTRACTOR THAT DOES THIS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
SO WE'RE GONNA SEE HOW FAST THEY CAN GO.
DEEP BREATH,
UM, WE CLEARLY HAVE SOME CHALLENGES.
UM, AND WE ARE NOT GOING TO SHY AWAY FROM THIS BECAUSE THAT'S NOT WHAT THE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM I KNOW WOULD DO.
SO WE'RE GONNA DIG IN, ROLL UP OUR SLEEVES AND WE, I, AT, I THINK WE'LL START WITH PERHAPS A QUARTERLY, UM, REPORTS.
BUT I THINK MOVING INTO THE TASK FORCE, THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE OUT THERE IS GOOD, RIGHT? BUT WE NEED TO MOVE TO THE NEXT STEP, WHICH IS THE, THE STRATEGIC PLAN, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THE ACTUAL STEPS THAT CAN BE MEASURED.
AND SO THAT IS, HAS GOT TO HAPPEN.
WHATEVER'S GOING ON WITH THE MOU, IF WE COULD JUST PRIORITIZE THAT AND GET THAT DONE.
UM, I KNOW THERE'S JUST A LITTLE BIT OF CONFUSION OVER THAT, BUT I THINK THAT IS, HAS BEEN SITTING OUT THERE FOR A EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME AND IT COULD BE HELPFUL TO GET THAT, BRING THAT FORWARD AND GET THAT WORKED OUT.
SO, UM, THIS WON'T BE THE LAST TIME WE MEET
I, I, I WANT TO SAY THIS, EACH OF YOU HAS A CRITICAL ROLE.
I MEAN, EACH INDIVIDUAL PERSON SITTING HERE TODAY, EACH OF YOU DOES THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
THANK YOU FOR BRINGING US DATA.
THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING FROM COOL SCHOOLS TO THE MEDICAL DISTRICT INVENTORIES TO THINGS ALL OVER THE STATE.
YOU DO HAVE MANY, MANY OTHER TO DO ITEMS ON YOUR WORK LIST EVERY DAY.
AND THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING FOR TREES.
BUT WE, WE WE'RE A LITTLE DISJOINTED AND WE'VE GOT TO PULL THIS TOGETHER AND MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER.
SO, ALRIGHT, CHAIR LIZ, THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, AND I JUST WANNA THANK COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR THE COMMENTS AND ALSO OUR DEPARTMENTS AND OUR, AND OUR PARTNERS HERE.
UH, WE CERTAINLY HAVE, UH, OUR JOB CUT OUT FOR US IN TERMS OF COMMUNICATION.
I DON'T WANT TO, UM, UNDERCUT THE GREAT WORK THAT'S BEING DONE ACROSS MULTIPLE, UH, MULTIPLE STREAMS. I THINK WE NEED OUR COMMITMENT IN THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.
YOU HAVE MY COMMITMENT AS THE LIAISON FOR ELT, FOR EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM HERE TO SUPPORT AND, AND COMMUNICATE.
I, YOU KNOW, I HEARD SOMEBODY SAY THAT, UM, WE HAVE TWO URBAN FORESTRY MASTER PLANS, YOU KNOW, UM, TEXAS, IF I, IF I AM CORRECT, TEXAS TREE FOUNDATION, UH, WAS OUR PARTNER IN THAT EFFORT, BUT THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED THAT PLAN.
SO THAT JUST TELLS ME THAT WE NEED TO BE BETTER AT COMMUNICATING AND WE WILL AND WE'LL BE PROVIDING THOSE, UM, YES, THOSE QUARTERLY MEMOS TO YOU ALL.
THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
MM-HMM,
[01:50:01]
MEETING ADJOURNED AT 10 57.