Seattle Urban Forestry Commission Off to a Fast Start

The newly formed Seattle Urban Foresrty Commission held their first meeting in December. Since then the original 8 members have selected the 9th Commissioner, elected a Chair and Vice Chair, reviewed and approved their operating bylaws, held a half day briefing retreat and agreed to start reviewing Seattle’s  tree regulations in preparation for new legislation. The Commission is taking their charge seriously and are getting down to business.

The Urban Forestry’s next meeting is this Wednesday Feb 3, 2010 from 3 PM to 5 PM in the Seattle Municipal Tower, Room 1940. Regular meetings of The Urban Forestry Commission will be held on the first Wednesday of each month.  Meeting dates and locations are posted on the Urban Forestry Commission website. 

 Responding to public comment in their drafting of byalws, the Commission will allow 15 minutes at the beginning of their monthly meetings for public comment. Individuals will be limited to 3 minutes. Written comments will also be accepted.

The Commission also agreed to the posting of their meeting minutes and agendas on the internet, and most importantly, also posting of meeting handouts and briefing papers on their website. You can view these by going to Meeting Documents page. In particular two documents dealing with previous city review of its tree protection laws are available and will be discussed at their next meeting.  These are:
Emerald City Task Force Recommendations - 2007
Environmental and Tree Advocates Recommendations -2008

Below are the names of the nine Commissioners and the positions they represent on the Board. Elizabeta Stacishin-Moura, a landscape architect,  was elected the Commission Chair and Matt Mega of the Seattle Audubon was elected the Vice-Chair. They will each serve a term of one year in their positions.

1: Wildlife Biologist  – Kirk Prindle

2: Urban Ecologist – John Small

3: Natural Resource Agency or University Representative – Gordon Bradley

4: Hydrologist or Similar Professional  – Peg Staeheli

5: Arborist – John Hushagen

6: Landscape Architect – Elizabeta Stacishin-Moura

7: NGO Representative  – Matt Mega

8: Development Community or Utility Representative – Jeff Reibman

9: Economist, Financial Analyst, Realtor or Similar Professional  – Nancy Bird