Members of the Shade Tree Commission said the committee should be considered for an advisory role on the proposed East 215th Street trail project after several commissioners attended a community outreach event on Aug. 11.

Chair Jody told the commission that the commission’s duties, as documented in a February 2007 statement of responsibilities, include advising the city on improving the health of the urban canopy and on green infrastructure. She said the city owns a parcel that floods and that “green infrastructure…would go a long way to reducing the flooding” if paired with a trail that also provides neighborhood benefits. Jody added that pairing benefits such as erosion control often helps secure public support for trails.

Why it matters: commissioners said linking trail design to stormwater-management benefits could make the project more acceptable to neighbors who worry that a new trail will attract outsiders and crime.

Project status and tree work: commission members reported that the East 215th Street Trail is in the conceptual/preliminary engineering phase and that a tree assessment for Heritage Park was scheduled, with additional ODOT regulatory and funding paperwork in progress. Commissioners suggested the commission could advise on pruning marginal trees, species selection for green-infrastructure plantings, and placement to balance safety and ecological function.

Public explanation: at public participation, an attendee described green infrastructure as shallow basins planted with native vegetation to collect and infiltrate storm runoff, sometimes by removing hardscape and amending soils to increase infiltration. The attendee described trees and native plants as part of that approach.

Next steps: commissioners said they would seek opportunities to provide input before community meetings when feasible and requested that planning staff consider the commission as a consultative resource on tree-related elements of the trail and related green-infrastructure proposals. No formal advisory appointment or policy change was made at the Aug. 21 meeting.

Limitations: the commission acknowledged that project involvement varies by project and administrative timeline and that not every project will allow pre-meeting consultation with the commission.