TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Erick Lee, Public Works Director
Sean Roberts, Field Operations Manager
Ernest Area, Urban Forester
Erika King, Senior Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of a Resolution Adopting the Entire Urban Forest Master Plan and Adopting a Determination of Exemption Pursuant to Sections 15061(b)(3) and 15308 of the State CEQA Guidelines (Public Works Director Lee).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 23-0092
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the entire 66-page Manhattan Beach Urban Forest Master Plan document.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with approving the Urban Forest Master Plan.
BACKGROUND:
As part of the City’s 2013 Strategic Plan, a Citywide street tree inventory was prepared and presented to City Council on February 4, 2014. The inventory documented more than 4,000 trees cared for by the City in the public right-of-way (ROW) and on public property, and more than 7,000 ROW trees cared for by property owners in encroachment areas. At that meeting, staff was directed to prepare a Street Tree Master Plan, now titled the Urban Forest Master Plan (UFMP) that would create a framework for managing trees in the ROW and on City property, inclusive of parks and parkways.
The guiding principles of the UFMP were to maintain and improve the urban forest, establish a uniform approach and clear policies and procedures for tree-care and replacement, and communicate a vision for the urban forest based on beauty, benefits, and sustainability.
On July 7, 2020, City Council approved the Urban Forest Master Plan. As presented to the City Council in the agenda packet, the attachment only contained 19 pages of the full 66-page document.
DISCUSSION:
A clerical error occurred when the UFMP was prepared for the agenda packet in 2020. As a result, only 19 of the 66 pages were uploaded. Staff recommends that this error be corrected by the City Council formally approving the full 66 page document. With this correction, the fully approved plan will then be posted on the City’s website.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City Council’s adoption of the Urban Forest Master Plan has been determined to be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), the common sense exemption (formerly the “general rule”) that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question can have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA, as is the case with the adoption of a policy document which aims to preserve and improve the urban forest. The activity is also categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15308, which exempts actions taken by regulatory agencies to assure maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
Development of the Urban Forest Master Plan included three public meetings and an online survey, which were promoted through social media, newspapers, email blasts, and the City’s website.
LEGAL REVIEW:
No legal review for this item.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 23-0092
2. Urban Forest Master Plan
3. July 7, 2020 - Staff Report