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Home My WebLink About2019-03-01 Arborist Advisory Committee minutes ARBORIST ADVISORY COMMITTEE c/o Office of the Mayor, 25 Aupuni Street, Suite 2603 Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 ARBORIST ADVISORY COMMITTEE MARCH 1, 2019 MEETING MINUTES HAWAI‘I COUNTY BUILDING, PUNA CONFERENCE ROOM – HILO 25 AUPUNI STREET, SUITE 1501, HILO, HAWAI‘I ATTENDANCE Committee Members Present: Leonard Bisel Bobby Camara James Boyd Friday Jonathan Sudler Roy Takemoto Carol Wyban ___ also present: Dennis Kauka, Jr., Office of the Mayor Amy Self, Deputy Corporation Counsel CALL TO ORDER Planning Director Designee Member Roy Takemoto called the meeting to order at 10:09 a.m. OATH OF OFFICE Each Committee Member signed the County oath of office. The oaths are on file. INTRODUCTION OF COMMISSIONERS  Leonard Bisel – landscape architect, practicing for 27 years, previous Chairperson of County Arborist Advisory Committee  Bobby Camara – retired naturalist from Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, horticulture degree, interest and background in native plants  James Boyd Friday – U.S. Forest Service Extension forester, focus on forest conservation, one of the researchers of rapid ‘ōhi’a death  Jonathan Sudler – Vice President of East Hawai’i Outdoor Circle, whose focus is outdoor beautification, particularly trees and signage; health of Banyan Drive trees is a recent focus  Roy Takemoto – Planning Director designee to Arborist Advisory Committee, Executive Assistant to Mayor Harry Kim  Carol Wyban – active in aquaculture, author and illustrator of a book on ancient Hawaiian fishponds, began illustrator career with trees Arborist Advisory Committee March 1, 2019 meeting minutes STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC There were no members of the public present. Staff directed the Committee’s attention to email testimony from Rene Siracusa who stated two points which will be placed on the next agenda: 1) status of Pohoiki Mango Grove and 2) signage (plaques) for designated exceptional trees. OVERVIEW OF THE SUNSHINE LAW Deputy County Corporation Counsel Amy Self provided an overview to the Committee on applicable Sunshine Law, Hawai’i Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 92. The PowerPoint presentation “Sunshine Law Overview” conducted by Corporation Counsel is on file. Main areas that apply to the Committee include:  public's right to know, transparency – Committee is open to public scrutiny  agenda – posted on County website at least 6 calendar days in advance of meeting  permitted interactions among members outside of a scheduled public meeting: o communication relates to Committee business defined as within the body’s authority and on or could be on current or future agenda o 2 member limit  cannot commit to vote  cannot seek commitment  cannot use serially (meet or call another member on same board business)  investigations by a subcommittee  composition must be less than quorum (6 total members for this Committee; quorum is majority, which is 4)  3 meetings: o Meeting 1: define scope of investigation and membership o Meeting 2: present findings and recommendations o Meeting 3: deliberate and decide o if members want to share information among each other between meetings, best approach is to send the information to staff, who will then transmit to members  holding limited meetings when public attendance is impracticable o need OIP concurrence o 2/3 vote o video-record meeting and show at next meeting o no decisions made  if videoconference meeting are held: o audio and visual interaction at all locations o notice where Committee members will be o meeting must end if audio becomes inoperable  meeting packet with documents provided to Committee Members must be provided to public upon request 2 Arborist Advisory Committee March 1, 2019 meeting minutes OVERVIEW OF ARBORIST ADVISORY COMMITTEE DUTIES Duties of the Committee as defined by Hawai’i County Code Section 14-59 are limited to exceptional trees:  inventory – nomination procedures are described in the “Procedures for Exceptional Trees” page of the “Exceptional Tree Nomination Form”. A flowchart, “Exceptional Trees Nomination Process” reviewed by the Committee is on file.  preservation and enhancement– advise property owners  protective measures – examples: ordinances, regulations, procedures  review actions that endanger Additional duties accepted by the committee:  provide recommendations for county landscape maintenance of trees within County rights-of-way, County trails, and County open space property purchased with Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Commission (PONC) funds – examples: what department should be responsible, job descriptions and positions  provide recommendations for street tree specifications in coordination with the Planning Department's development of complete street standards and Department of Public Works. The Committee seeks to clarify the definition of "biotaxy" as it appears in HRS§ 58-3, which describes the Counties’ Arborist Advisory Committee’s powers and duties. ELECTION OF OFFICERS (Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson) Chairperson – Committee Member Friday nominated Committee Member Leonard Bisel. Committee Member Camara seconded. No other nominations were made. The Committee voted unanimously in favor of Mr. Bisel as Chairperson. Vice-Chairperson – Committee Member Wyban nominated Committee Member Jonathan Sudler. Committee Member Camara seconded. No other nominations were made. The Committee voted unanimously in favor of Mr. Sudler as Vice-Chairperson. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) MAPPING OF EXISTING EXECEPTIONAL TREES Planning Department has prepared a GIS layer for exceptional trees that has data on the tree type, landowner, photograph of the tree, and date of designation by ordinance (or date removed). Committee discussion suggested adding additional data fields for ordinance number and scientific name. Outdoor Circle Web Map: Committee Member Sudler shared a link to Outdoor Circle's statewide web map of exceptional trees. The Committee viewed the web map (https://tocetm.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=145ee53b5a964329 a3bd8279f350eee1). Each existing tree on the inventory has the following data: common name, scientific name, number of trees at the site, tree condition, tree height, trunk diameter, location address, photograph, Google street view link, and other information. 3 Arborist Advisory Committee March 1, 2019 meeting minutes PENDING NOMINATIONS OF EXCEPTIONAL TREES Chairperson Bisel stated that he has old files which might include previous nominations. He will check his files and the Planning Department to identify any pending nominations for exceptional trees. SCHEDULE FOR FUTURE MEETINGS The Committee determined that every first Friday of the month is the best recurring date for members. Unless otherwise determined, the 2019 Committee schedule: April 5 July 5 October 4 *May 3 August 2 November 1 June 7 September 6 December 6 Start time is planned for 10:00 a.m. *Meetings will be held in Hilo at the Puna Conference Room of the Hawai’i County Building, 25 Aupuni St., except for the May meeting, which will take place at the same address but in the Pueo Conference Room (Suite 2601). ITEMS TO BE PLACED ON THE NEXT AGENDA  status of Pohoiki Mango Grove after eruption  signage/plaques for designated trees  pending exceptional tree nominations  arborist evaluation of nominations  status of complete streets standards ANNOUNCEMENTS (none) ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 12:12 pm. 4