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2007-26456 ResoRESOLUTION NO. 2007-26456 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ADOPTING THE ATTACHED REFORESTATION PLAN, PREPARED BY THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT'S GREEN SPACE MANAGEMENT DIVISION, TO SERVE AS THE CITY'S GUIDELINES FOR THE SYSTEMATIC REPLACEMENT OF TREES; IMPROVING THE DIVERSITY OF TREE SPECIES, AGE AND SIZE PLANTED WITH THE GOAL OF SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCING THE CITY'S URBAN FOREST; AND THE VALUABLE ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL BENEFITS REALIZED FROM A FULLY PLANTED COMMUNITY. WHEREAS, the City of Miami Beach has many potential tree planting locations that currently lack trees; the storms of 2005 destroyed at least 2,500 trees on City property and several times that number on private property; and WHEREAS, given the valuable environmental, economic and social benefits of urban trees, the City will be greatly rewarded by supporting the development of a "fully planted" urban forest; and WHEREAS, the City's reforestation efforts during 2006/2007 will focus on parks and on streets that are not scheduled for General Obligation (GO) Bond projects; and WHEREAS, in subsequent years, tree planting in parks, swales and other City properties will continue until fully planted status is reached; and WHEREAS, the major goals of the Reforestation Plan are to bring the City's urban forest to a "fully planted" status within #+ve-(53 four 4 years, and to maintain this "fully planted" status by the systematic replacement of annual tree losses; and WHEREAS, the attached Reforestation Plan is a direct result of the City Commission's authorization for the Administration to employ an Urban Forester, and is just one of the documents to be developed in the City's process to establish a Comprehensive Urban Forest Management Program; and WHEREAS, the Plan was presented to the Neighborhood/ Community Affairs Committee on January 11, 2007, by the City's Urban Forester, Dr. Chris Latt; and WHEREAS, following the presentation and discussion there was unanimous support by the Committee for the Reforestation Plan, with the recommendation it be forwarded to the Commission for adoption, with the caveat that future plantings be coordinated with other public and private projects to reduce costs and avoid duplication of services; and WHEREAS, on January 16, 2007, the Plan was presented to a group of interested citizens who have worked with Greenspace Management staff on several tree related issues; they were very supportive of the Plan and their input has been incorporated into the attached document; and WHEREAS, the Plan was also developed with the assistance of the Planning Department, and will be closely coordinated with Public Works and the Capital Improvements Projects Office when implemented; and WHEREAS, this document will be a component of a more comprehensive Urban Forestry Management Plan that is being developed by the Green Space Management Division, and many of the Reforestation Plan's recommendations will serve as the basis of future revisions to the City's Tree Ordinance; and WHEREAS, the Plan will be made available to the general public on the Greenspace Management's section of the Parks and Recreation Department's Web site, and WHEREAS, the first year's budget, funded in Fiscal Year 06/07, includes $500,000 from the Capital Investment Upkeep Account (CILIA), and $57,000 from a Florida Department of Agriculture, Urban and Community Forestry Grant; and WHEREAS, the cost per tree, including installation, mulching, staking, watering for six (6) months, and aone-year warranty, will be approximately $450, for two applications of fertilizer, and an initial structural pruning will add $100 to the cost per tree; and WHEREAS, approximately ten percent (10%) of the budget funds will be held for contingencies, the total budget for the first year is $557,000. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED THAT THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA hereby approve the attached Reforestation Plan, prepared by the City Parks and Recreation Department's Green Space Management Division, to serve as the City's guidelines for the systematic replacement of trees; improving the diversity of the tree species, age and size planted with the goal of significantly enhancing the City's urban forest; and the valuable environmental, economic and social benefits realized from a fully planted community. PASSED and ADOPTED this 14th day of Februarv 2007. A~~ ~~ ~ CITY CLERK MA OR APPROVED AS TO FORM & LANGUAGE 8~ FOR CUTION /i~~ V ey ~" 1 COMMISSION ITEM SUMMARY Condensed Title: A Resolution adopting the Parks and Recreation Green Space Management Division's Reforestation Plan. Intended Outcome I Maintain Miami Beach oublic areas and rights-of-wav esoecially in business districts I Issue: Shall the Ma or and Cit Commission a rove the Resolution? [em The attached Reforestation Plan is a direct result of the City Commission and Administration's goal of establishing a comprehensive urban forestry management program. The storms of 2005 destroyed at least 2,500 trees on city property and several times that number on private property. Even without these losses Miami-Dade County, with an average tree canopy cover of only 10%, has fewer trees than most urban areas in the United States. Given the valuable environmental, economic and social benefits of urban trees, the city will be greatly rewarded by supporting the development of a "fully planted" urban forest. The reforestation effort presently will focus on parks and on streets that are not scheduled for GO Bond projects. Every section of the city will receive trees during the first year. In subsequent years, tree planting in parks, swales and other city properties will continue until fully planted status is reached. The plan was presented to the Neighborhood/ Community Affairs Committee on January 11, 2007 where it received unanimous support with the recommendation it be forwarded to the full Commission for adoption with the caveat that future plantings be coordinated with other public and private projects to reduce costs and avoid duplication of services. Additionally, the plan was presented to a group of interested citizens who have worked with Greenspace Management staff on several tree related issues where it again was very positively received and supported. The adoption of this plan ensures ourcommunitywill enjoy the many benefits of a well managed urban forest now and in the future. Finan Source of Amount Account Funds: 1 $500,000 011.9509.000676 CIUA FY 07/08 2 $ 57,000 196.6155.000349 3 4 O I Total Financial Impact Summary: Trackin Sign-Offs: i Department Director Assistant Cit anager City Manager M JMG T:\.4GENDA\2007\feb1407\COnsent\Reforeslation Plan summary.doc M1~111 BEACH u AGENDA ITEM G~ DATE oZ~ '~ m MIAMIBEACH City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139, www.miamibeachfl.gov COMMISSION MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor David Dermer and Members of the City Commission FROM: Jorge M. Gonzalez, City Manager /~ DATE: February 14, 2007 SUBJECT: A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ADOPTING THE ATTACHED REFORESTATION PLAN PREPARED BY THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT'S GREEN SPACE MANAGEMENT DIVISION TO SERVE AS THE CITY'S GUIDELINES FOR THE SYSTEMATIC REPLACEMENT OF TREES; IMPROVING THE DIVERSITY OF TREE SPECIES, AGE AND SIZE PLANTED WITH THE GOAL OF SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCING THE CITY'S URBAN FOREST AND THE VALUABLE ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL BENEFITS REALIZED FROM A FULLY PLANTED COMMUNITY. ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATION Adopt the Resolution. FUNDING $500,000 011.9509.000676 (CILIA FY 07/08) 57 000 196.6155.000349 (Urban and Community Forestry Grant) $557,000 BACKGROUND The attached Reforestation Plan is a direct result of the Commission's authorization forthe Administration to employ an Urban Forester and is just one of the documents to be developed in City's process to establish a comprehensive urban forest management program.. It should also be noted that to the best of our knowledge no other municipality in Miami-Dade County has developed such a reforestation plan. The City of Miami Beach has many potential tree planting locations that currently lack trees. The storms of 2005 destroyed at least 2,500 trees on city property and several times that number on private property. Even without these losses Miami-Dade County, with an average tree canopy cover of only 10%, has fewer trees than most urban areas in the United States. Given the valuable environmental, economic and social benefits of urban trees, the city will be greatly rewarded by supporting the development of a "fully planted" urban forest. The reforestation effort during 2006/2007 will focus on parks and on streets that are not scheduled for GO Bond projects, which will bring construction disturbance to the swales. Every section of the city will receive trees during the first year. In subsequent years, tree planting in parks, swales and other city properties will continue until fully planted status is reached. City Commission Memorandum -Reforestation Plan February 14, 2007 Page 2 of 2 The major goals of the reforestation plan are: • To bring the City's urban forest to a "Fully Planted" status within 5 years, and to maintain this "Fully Planted" status by the systematic replacement of annual tree losses. "Fully Planted" means that trees occupy all tree planting spaces in the right-of-way that can be filled, and that the tree cover in parks and other city properties is maintained at an optimal level based on each property's uses and priorities. • To improve the diversity of the urban forest with respect to tree species, age and size in order to improve long-term aesthetics and reduce the potential for devastating losses to diseases and pests. The first year's budget funded in the FY 06/07 includes $500,000 from the Capital Investment Upkeep Account (CILIA) and $57,000 from a Florida Department of Agriculture, Urban and Community Forestry Grant. The cost per tree, including installation, mulching, staking, watering for six months, and cone-year warranty, will be approximately $450. Two applications of fertilizer, and an initial structural pruning will add $100 to the cost per tree. Approximately 10% of the budget funds will be held for contingencies. The total budget for the first year is $557,000. If adopted, it is anticipated the implementation of the Reforestation Plan will begin the third quarter of this fiscal year. The plan was presented to the Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee on January 11, 2007, by the City's Urban Forester, Dr. Chris Latt. Following the presentation and discussion there was unanimous support by the Committee for the Reforestation Plan with the recommendation it be forwarded to the full Commission for adoption with the caveat that future plantings be coordinated with other public and private projects to reduce costs and avoid duplication of services. Additionally, on January 16, 2007 the plan was presented to a group of interested citizens who have worked with Greenspace Management staff on several tree related issues. They were very supportive of the plan and their input has been incorporated into the attached document. The plan was also developed with the assistance of the Planning Department and will be closely coordinated with Public Works and the Capital Improvements Projects Office when implemented. This document will be a component of a more comprehensive Urban Forestry Management Plan that is being developed by the Green Space Management Division. Furthermore, many of the Reforestation Plan's recommendations will serve as the basis of future revisions to the City's Tree Ordinance. The plan will be made available to the general public on the Greenspace Management's section of the Parks and Recreation Department's Web site. CONCLUSION The Administration recommends that the Mayor and City Commission adopt the attached Reforestation Plan prepared by the Parks and Recreation Department's Green Space Management Division to serve as the City's guidelines for the management of the City's urban forest. T:WGENDA\2007\feb1407\Consent\Reforestation Plan.com. memodoc.doc h'i z ,~,,' z2 a~ ;P "~ ~ '~ ;~FORES -~ P ~~ v ..~ ,_., ~~`<° ~ FY -;~.,~ _. ' A- ~:_~ _ ' DISTRIBUTED UNDER A ?~ SEPARATE COVER r ,} ~.,; ., { ~, _ .:, bh. ~'.. ~ ~ t_ °{ i p ~µg •~ ~ i :.}~...y>X .. .m^.. ~e } ty"' ~_ Cify of Miami Beach, 2100 Meridian Ave., Miami Beach, Florida 33139, www.miamibeach(I.gov PARKS AND RECREATION GREENSPACE MANAGEMENT DIVISION Tel: 305-673-7730, Fax: 305-673-7725 & ' y v ~` ~k~ ~. M