Tree Board requires recent photos for Flower Award nominations

The Wellington Tree Board on Tuesday voted to require that Flower Award nominations include two to three recent photos taken within the past 90 days, a change members said will help verify curb appeal and the overall condition of nominated properties.

The motion was made by Speaker 6, who said, "So my motion is to add the wording for it to be a recent photo within the past 90 days." The board amended the language to require "photos" (plural) and voted by voice; Chair (Speaker 1) declared the motion carried.

Board members debated how to handle nominations from gated communities and whether photos should be taken by a city liaison or by board members. Speaker 4 emphasized that the awards scoring includes curb appeal and a minimum percentage of native landscaping, saying the evaluation must capture the "whole picture" rather than a tightly cropped view. Speaker 6 suggested a city liaison could take wide-angle, recent photos so judges can see trash or overall appearance.

Some members said in-person visits remain important. Speaker 1 said he would "not vote an approval of a property I could not see," while others argued that photo submissions accompanied by recent metadata could be adequate for some judges.

The board also discussed outreach: Speaker 4 confirmed she had submitted an article to the town-crier and communications department, and Speaker 6 said the Greater Wellington Chamber of Commerce will circulate information about the business category to its members.

Next steps: the updated application language will be posted and staff will accept nominations under the new photo requirement ahead of the Flower Award deadline in February.