Encinitas council approves two UFAC appointments, directs city to review committee ordinance and transparency practices

The Encinitas City Council on Tuesday appointed two new members to the Urban Forest Advisory Committee and voted to ask staff to return with proposed changes to the committee’s ordinance and administrative practices.

Council members said they supported the appointees but raised concerns about how the committee is organized, how public correspondence is handled and whether the contracted city arborist should be subject to the same public-records processes as city staff.

"We are not getting our information," Councilmember Jim O’Hara said during the discussion, urging that the committee be restructured so the public has clear access to agendas, minutes and liaison emails. O’Hara moved to approve the two appointments, suspend further UFAC meetings pending administrative fixes and direct staff to realign the committee and its advisor; the council approved the recommended appointments immediately and then separately directed staff to return with code changes.

The motion to appoint two candidates to fill unscheduled UFAC vacancies passed unanimously. Later, the council approved a motion to direct staff to bring back the municipal code language relating to UFAC for review and possible amendment; that motion passed 4-1, with Deputy Mayor Lyons voting no. Council discussion centered on three transparency issues: (1) public comment emails for UFAC had been routed to a contractor address rather than to the city until the address was changed this spring; (2) UFAC minutes and audio had not been published consistently to the city’s Granicus site; and (3) the committee’s relationship to a contracted city arborist — who is not directly a city employee — could create real or perceived conflicts.

City Manager and staff said the UFAC’s secretary and the superintendent now attend meetings, and the UFAC email has been changed so it routes to a staff member in Public Works. Staff also told council that agendas and minutes are being worked into Granicus and that if council wanted the liaison role changed (for example, to designate a city staff member rather than the city arborist in the municipal code), that change would require ordinance readings and a 30-day implementation period.

Community members who spoke during public comment supported the two appointees and urged the council to preserve the committee’s work on trees while improving transparency. One prospective appointee told the council the committee currently has a narrower purview than many residents realize and said volunteers want to help improve tree management and public access to information.

The council instructed staff to prepare ordinance language and administrative steps to address the issues and return for council review in the coming months.