Tree Commission gets the axe
The Office of the County Executive is calling for a number of boards and commissions to be dissolved, including the Fairfax County Tree Commission and the Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC).
Those entities would be replaced by a new Environmental Commission. Some of the Tree Commission’s responsibilities might be shifted to the Urban Forest Management Division in the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services.
The Tree Commission is an advisory body that provides advice, support, and community education regarding urban forest conservation and preservation. EQAC advises the Board of Supervisors on air and water quality, land use, energy, and climate.
Merging the two advisory bodies is expected to save the county staff time and planning costs. It’s another example of county government streamlining land use matters that results in reduced opportunities for citizen input.
The Board of Supervisors will hold a hearing on the proposal on Aug. 25, although it appears to be moving forward. EQAC is holding a farewell celebration on Aug. 12. Kevin Holland, the Mason District representative on the Tree Commission, said, “The decision has already been made.”
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Both Holland and Barbara Ryan, the chair of the Tree Commission, declined to discuss the merger. Ryan noted her concerns are outlined in a June 30 letter to Brianne Fuller, countywide coordinator in the county executive’s office.
Moving the functions of the Tree Commission into the new Environmental Commission “is likely to significantly reduce the attention given to trees,” Ryan wrote. The focus of the Environmental Commission, as outlined in its draft bylaws, “will leave trees as one of many environmental topics it must consider and address.”
Members of the Tree Commission have expertise in tree preservation and deep knowledge of the county’s Tree Conservation Ordinance. That would no longer be the case with the new Environmental Commission, Ryan said, as the bylaws would reserve just one seat for a member with forestry and natural resources experience or expertise.
“Severing the connection between the Tree Commission and the Ordinance will reduce the attention given to how the county implements the Ordinance,” Ryan says. “The timing of this is particularly unfortunate given citizen angst about tree loss resulting from residential infill development across the county, how the Ordinance is being implemented, and overall confusion about the county’s tree preservation rules.”
The draft bylaws don’t include many of the provisions in the Tree Commission’s charter, Ryan said, such as its goal to advise the Board of Supervisors on actions to protect and expand the urban forest, and they don’t address the outreach activities carried out by the Tree Commission.
“If the BoS decides to proceed with dissolving the TC,” Ryan wrote, “we recommend that the EC bylaws contain an improved BoS advisory function that ensures that our urban forest and natural resources receive the priority they need and merit.”