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Bexley forms study group to rewrite tree commission ordinances, aims for draft in months
Summary
The Bexley Tree Commission and city officials said they will launch a study group to update the city's tree ordinances, review history and protections, and produce a draft ordinance within months for commission review before going to council.
The Bexley Tree Commission and city staff said they will form a cross-agency study group to review and rewrite the city's tree ordinances, with a goal of producing a draft within months.
Commission chair Susan said the group will start with a review of the commission's history and current ordinance language, then move to identify changes the commission and council want to see. Mayor Kessler and city staff described the group as a mix of commission members, council liaisons and staff intended to avoid creating a quorum of council.
The study group will be co-chaired by Susan and the mayor, and participants named during the meeting included commission members Jim Wilson and Grant Archer; council representatives Troy and Alex Silverman; and city staff including Matt Klingler. The group will pull in City Attorney Mark Fischel as needed for legal guidance, the mayor said.
Speakers emphasized the group's scope: document the existing ordinances, define where the ordinances should change (for example, tree protections and prohibited species lists), and explore the 'art of the possible' for tree protections and planting standards. The mayor said the effort is intended to avoid an open-ended process: the commission hopes to have a draft within four months and to finish the project in roughly six months.
Commissioners and staff said the Tree Commission will be the first board to review the draft and provide feedback before it moves to City Council for possible adoption. Participants discussed avoiding a quorum of council members on the working group so the study meetings do not trigger open-meeting public-notice requirements; the mayor and staff clarified the study group is not itself a decision-making body.
The commission did not take any formal vote at the meeting on ordinance language; members instead agreed to staff the study group and begin the review process. The mayor and staff said they will report back to the commission as the group meets.
Ending: The commission expects to circulate a meeting schedule for the study group and to report progress at upcoming commission meetings, with a first draft anticipated within months for commission review.
