HomeMy Public PortalAbout06-19-2019 Minutes Tree Board Regular MeetingPage 1 of 4
Minutes
Tree Board
9 a.m. June 19, 2019
Town Hall Annex Board Meeting Room, 105 E. Corbin St.
Present: Chair Andrea Lewis, Frances Harris, Tim Logue, Phyllis Simon, Bryan Stuart, Liz Waters and Greg
Yavelak (ex officio)
Absent: Casey Collins
Staff: Planning Technician Taylor Perschau and Public Space Manager Stephanie Trueblood
Guests: Sarah Meadows and Dan Shatz
1. Call to order, roll call, and confirmation of quorum
Chair Andrea Lewis called the meeting to order at 9 a.m. Public Space Manager Stephanie Trueblood called the
roll and confirmed the presence of a quorum.
2. Agenda changes and approval
Lewis added a discussion about a holly tree that was removed on North Churton Street. Member Liz Waters
added distribution of a Bee City article. Member Bryan Stuart added a decision about the request to remove a
tree on East Tryon Street.
3. Minutes review and approval
Minutes from regular meeting on May 19, 2019.
Motion: Stuart moved to approve the minutes as presented. Waters seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
Changes: None
4. Review request from Dan and Angela Shatz for town to remove three Leyland cypress trees in the right of
way adjacent to 2101 Baycourt Trail
Trueblood introduced Dan Shatz. She said her best guess is that the developer planted the trees when the
neighborhood was built.
When asked if there was a budget for tree removal, Trueblood said the town sometimes asks the homeowner to
pay for removal of trees in the right of way; but if the trees are dead or dying, then sometimes the town pays. In
this case, she thought it would be appropriate for the town to remove the trees.
Motion: Stuart moved approval of the tree removal by the town. Member Frances Harris seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
5. Discuss the topic of no-mow or meadow lawns and potential recommendations for text amendments to the
town code in relation to ‘noxious growth”
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Trueblood said this would be an amendment to the Code of Ordinances. She said the code enforcement officer
has contacted people for noxious growth when grass reaches more than 8 inches in height according to the
current code. Code enforcement is usually complaint driven. Occasionally the town has paid someone to mow
grass that has been left unmowed and then has charged the property owner for the service.
Trueblood introduced Planning Technician Taylor Perschau, who sometimes handles enforcement of the Code of
Ordinances. Trueblood explained that Sarah Meadows, a Garden Club member who is keen on making
landscaping changes that are beneficial to pollinators, had submitted a letter to the town requesting she be
permitted to allow a portion of her lawn to grow to meadow height for pollinators.
Meadows said she and her husband would like to manage their half acre lot to benefit bees, birds and butterflies.
Meadows said they do not plan to just let the grass grow. They are mowing the edge along West Corbin Street,
around the existing planting beds and a few paths through the taller growth. In front of the house, they are
mowing 40 feet on either side of the walkway.
Meadows shared photos of the property and listed several pollinator-friendly plants that they have intentionally
planted. It was noted that they have a Monarch way station sign on their property which may help passersby
understand that the unmowed lawn is for a purpose.
Meadows said they plan to mow the meadow very short in the fall and then plant wildflower seed mixes.
Trueblood asked the Tree Board to think about parameters to recommend to the Board of Commissioners.
The board discussed parameters and concluded that the following parameters should be recommended:
• Small sign posted on property indicating “Managed Natural Landscape”
• Setbacks kept mowed from right of way, property lines, and structures
• Mow schedule of no less than once per year in December
The board talked about animals that are or may be perceived to be attracted to meadows and noted some public
education may be needed.
Perschau said she receives phone calls from neighbors who complain about unmowed grass. She likes the
suggestion of including language about the lawn being “managed.” She thought mowing a setback is a good idea.
Trueblood advised not requiring the full right of way to be mowed because rights of way are very wide on some
streets, which would not leave much habitat for pollinators. She acknowledged that the planning director had
suggested including language that the rights of way must be mowed.
Perschau and Trueblood recapped some conversation that took place at a Planning Department staff meeting
about mowing in the stormwater ditches.
It was informally agreed that staff would draft ordinance language to bring before the Tree Board.
6. 2019 Treasure Tree selection
Trueblood said the red oak suggested on Court Street is on Orange County property and is visible for the public.
Stuart offered to write the article for The News of Orange.
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Motion: Harris moved to approve the red oak on Court Street as the 2019 Treasure Tree. Member Phyllis
Simon seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
Added item:
Trueblood reviewed that after the last meeting she and some board members looked at the scarlet oak tree on
East Tryon Street and determined that trimming branches around the service line would be the appropriate
course of action.
A Tree Board member noted that Pam Turner seemed amenable to the town trimming the tree.
Motion: Stuart moved to deny the request from Pam and William Turner for the town to remove a scarlet
oak tree from the right of way on East Tryon Street and approve the town pruning branches away
from service lines. Simon seconded.
Vote: Unanimous
Lewis asked Trueblood for clarification on the town’s mowing responsibility in front of Hillsborough United
Methodist Church on East Tryon Street. Trueblood answered that the town maintenance only mows between the
sidewalk and edge of pavement. Behind the sidewalk is the responsibility of Hillsborough United Methodist
Church.
Lewis asked why the female deciduous holly was removed on the corner of North Churton and West Queen
streets. Trueblood said she did not know but the town did not remove it.
Trueblood informed the board that she had approved removal of two small trees at Turnip Patch Park and a
dogwood on North Churton Street that did not leaf out.
Lewis pointed out that a maple in front of the former Town Hall Annex building is also dying. Trueblood said she
would follow up to evaluate the tree and have it removed if it is in decline.
7. Updates
A. Hillsborough Garden Club
Harris said 400 visitors brought in $8,500 for the garden tour. Moving from a two-day event to a one-day event
worked well.
B. Bee City Subcommittee
Meadows and Simon shared their collaborative efforts for National Pollinator Week.
C. Staff and board updates
Trueblood reported that:
• Governor Roy Cooper had issued a proclamation for pollinator week on June 18.
• The hard, unplantable soil in Cates Creek Park close to the playground recently received compost
treatment in hopes of amending the soil. Compost blankets were added to the steep slopes in the park.
Also, the basswood tree is growing well.
• The cedar tree close to the Orange County Historical Museum building would be pruned to prevent
further roof damage.
• She has placed a large metal cart and four buckets behind the Police Department for downtown
watering.
• Simon’s pollinator-friendly gardening was featured in The Herald Sun and The News and Observer.
• She needed extra watering volunteers the second week in July.
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8. Adjournment
Lewis adjourned the meeting at 10:27 a.m.