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CRC confirms Flora resolution will go to City Commission March 13; members plan outreach and town-hall coordination
Summary
Committee members said the Flora tree-protection resolution approved by the Climate Resilience Committee will be sent to the City Commission on March 13. Members discussed outreach, possible town halls with district commissioners and asked staff to circulate the draft and public comments for additional input.
The Climate Resilience Committee confirmed that a previously approved Flora resolution related to tree protection and incentives will be presented to the City Commission on March 13. Committee members urged outreach to commissioners and district town-hall events, and asked staff to circulate public comments and a draft ordinance for additional review before the commission hearing.
Why it matters: the resolution offers a third option to address conflicts between tree preservation and private development rights while the larger Chapter 17 code rewrite is under development. Committee members said Flora could provide a stopgap mechanism to limit wholesale specimen tree removal and to incentivize replacement plantings when larger projects undergo review.
At the meeting a committee member said, "Flora is going to city commission next week, March 13," and asked committee members to contact their commissioners and help mobilize public comment. The committee recorded plans to coordinate with commissioners' offices to host outreach or informational sessions in council districts; one member said her office would discuss dates and suggested participating in district "constituent Tuesdays" and working with commissioners to host community forums.
The committee noted two separate buckets of concern raised in public comment and prior meetings: (1) administrative and permitting processes that could be streamlined to reduce unnecessary removals, and (2) property-owner incentives and costs that drive removal decisions. Members said they would circulate the Flora materials that are publicly available in the February CRC agenda packet and encourage public comment ahead of the commission meeting.
No formal committee motion was adopted at this meeting regarding Flora beyond confirming the commission schedule and encouraging outreach. Staff said the Chapter 17 rewrite remains on a separate calendar and that the Flora resolution and chapter changes will both be available for CRC review in coming weeks.
The committee also agreed to request staff circulate any revised Flora draft in advance of the CRC's April meeting so members may comment before the commission hearing.
