Tree board sends draft ordinance to city council, approves nursery plan and chestnut plantings

The Charles Town Tree Board voted on Sept. 4 to send proposed revisions to the city's tree ordinance to city council for review and discussed multiple implementation steps, including a temporary tree nursery at Evans Run and plans to plant 30 hybrid chestnut saplings this fall.

The board's chair (identified in the transcript as Chair) presented a drafted model ordinance intended to strengthen enforceability by defining street trees and hazard trees, prohibiting the new planting of specified invasive species, and authorizing fines and a replacement mechanism when healthy trees are removed without approval. "Right now, our tree ordinance provides really no enforcement mechanism at all for anybody who wants to chop down as many trees as they can or want," the Chair said, explaining the proposal would also allow the city, after warning, to treat and lien properties that fail to control invasive plantings that exceed property boundaries.

Katie, a tree board member, moved to send the draft ordinance to the city council for review; Scott seconded the motion and the board approved it unanimously. The board did not adopt the ordinance at the meeting; the motion sends the proposed revisions to council for formal consideration and referral to ordinance review.

Alongside the ordinance work, the board approved and discussed several operational projects. The council had already granted temporary use of the rear maintenance-yard area at Evans Run for a tree nursery; the Chair described a low-cost, mobile approach using IBC totes and a gravity-fed 500-gallon holding tank with moisture sensors to water saplings and keep the stock movable until long-term site upgrades are feasible. "These IBC totes will have them on pallets, can be moved, so they can be temporary," the Chair said.

The board also received 30 hybrid chestnut saplings from the American Chestnut Foundation (three varietals of 10). The Chair said the saplings will need caging to protect them from deer and suggested planting clusters in lower-traffic sites such as Happy Retreat, noting a $1,000 education component tied to the foundation grant to support protective materials and outreach. "These are genetically modified chestnut trees, like cyborg chestnut trees," the Chair said when describing their blight-resistant characteristics.

Members discussed fall volunteer projects, including a United Way "day of caring" that could supply roughly 20 volunteers for a morning of weeding and invasive removal at park sites and the skate-park hillside. The board agreed to prepare volunteer instructions (how to identify planted pollinator species versus weeds) and to mark invasives in advance.

The board reviewed a Viking assessment for Jefferson Memorial Park identifying several trees for trimming or removal. The Chair said Viking estimated the work at about $15,000 and recommended specialist bracing for one large white oak that could be preserved. Board members said the cost exceeds the tree board's budget and will require coordination with city parks and additional funding.

Other operational items included stump-grinding options (contractor estimates of roughly $250 per stump or a rental stump grinder at about $299 per day), coordination of the fall BMP tree purchase program (33 registrations but only seven completed orders at the time of the meeting), and an upcoming parks-board ribbon-cutting planned for Sept. 18 for the new bridge and mural. The board also noted the Earth Ground festival on Nov. 8 as an outreach opportunity.

Votes at a glance: Katie moved and Scott seconded approval of the minutes and the motion passed; Katie moved and a second carried to send the draft tree-ordinance revisions to city council for review; Katie moved and Scott seconded to adjourn and the motion passed.

The board did not adopt the ordinance at the meeting; next steps are staff and council review of the draft ordinance, finalizing nursery logistics at Evans Run, organizing volunteer outreach and site walkthroughs for chestnut-sapling planting, and further discussions about funding for the Viking recommendations at Jefferson Memorial Park. The tree board adjourned following the unanimous votes.