General

Urban Forestry Commission Members Urban Forestry Commission Meeting Agenda Jesse Durfee June 17, 2026 Lucius Shields 6:00 PM Jamie Beyer Ammaar Akhtar Marine Park Engineering Clif Barnes Marine Park Engineering Conference Room Lauren Danner 4500 Columbia Way Bianca Gonzalez Vancouver, WA 98668-1995 In accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), the Urban Forestry Commission meeting will be open to in-person attendance. Options for viewing and/or participating in the meeting remotely will also be accommodated (see details below). MEETING ACCESS INFORMATION Click here to join the meeting. To access by phone (audio only), call: 1-347-941-5324 Phone Conference ID: 989 890 263# 1. Call to Order and Roll Call 2. Approval of Minutes May 20, 2026 a. May 20, 2026 Minutes 3. Community Forum 3 minutes each 4. Welcome new Urban Forestry Commissioner Bianca Gonzalez Commission to welcome Bianca and introduce themselves. 5. Street Tree Inventory Project Staff to provide update. Public Works Department 6. Subcommittee Review 4500 Columbia Way Commission to discuss Subcommittee's with new Vancouver, WA 98668 Commissioner TTY: 711 www.cityofvancouver.us 7. Heritage Tree prep for 2027 Commission to discuss 8. Program Updates Page 1 of 8  a. Friends of Trees Update Friends of Trees Update b. 2027-28 Urban Forestry Work Plan c. 2027-28 Budget Prep d. Old Apple Tree Festival e. Subcommittee Report 9. Urban Forestry Report Commission to discuss 10. Commission Communications Commission to report & discuss 3 minutes each 11. New Business. Agenda topics for future meetings Commission to discuss Adjournment Community Forum Instructions The public is invited to speak regarding any issue. Members of the public testifying are asked to limit testimony to three minutes. There are three ways to provide comments: 1. Writing: Public comments can be submitted in writing (name, address, contact information and comments) via email to charles.ray@cityofvancouver.us by noon on the day of the meeting. 2. Remotely: Remotely: Pre-register by phone at 360-487-8328 or email charles.ray@cityofvancouver.us by 5pm the day before the meeting 3. In Person: Pre-register by phone at 360-487-8328 or email charles.ray@cityofvancouver.us by 5pm the day before the meeting or fill out a Public Comment form in person prior to the start of the Community Communications portion of the meeting. City Hall is served by C-TRAN. Route information and schedules are available online at www.c-tran.com. You also may reach C-TRAN at (360) 695-0123 for more information on times, fares, and routes. Anyone needing language interpretation services or accommodations with a disability at a Vancouver City Council meeting may contact the City Manager's staff at (360) 487-8600 (RELAY: 711). Assistive listening devices and live Closed Captioning are available for the deaf, hard of hearing and general public use. Please notify a staff person if you wish to use one of the devices. Every attempt at reasonable accommodation will be made. To request this agenda in another format, please also contact the phone numbers listed above. Page 2 of 8  Urban Forestry Commission Meeting Minutes Members Clif Barnes Date Wednesday, May 20, 2026 Chair Time 5 p.m. Jamie Beyer Location Marine Park Engineering Vice Chair Marine Park Engineering Conference Room 4500 Columbia Way Ammaar Akhtar Lauren Danner Vancouver, WA 98668-1995 Jess Durfee Lucius Shields Commissioners/Board Members Present: Vacant Clif Barnes, Lucius Shields, Lauren Danner, Ammaar Akhtar, Jamie Beyer, Jess Durfee Staff Present: Charles Ray Special Guest: Kyle Roslund, Vancouver Bee Project ITEM 1: Call to Order and Roll Call – Chair/Vice Chair The May 20th, 2026 meeting of the Urban Forestry Commission was called to order at 6:01pm by Clif Barnes (Chair). This meeting was held both in-person and online. ITEM 2: Approval of Minutes – April 15th and 18th, 2026 Motion by Jamie Beyer, seconded by Jess Durfee, and carried unanimously to approve the minutes from both the April 15th, 2026 Urban Forestry Commission meeting and the April 18th, 2026 Urban Forestry Commission Retreat. ITEM 3: Community Forum – 3 minutes each None. Public Works Department Charles Ray ITEM 4: Special Guest – Kyle Roslund with Vancouver Bee Project Kyle Roslund with Vancouver Bee Project presented the Washington Bee 415 W 6th St Atlas annual findings from Vancouver. This included an overview of the P.O. Box 1995 program, its mission, current programming and events, volunteer Vancouver, WA 98668 opportunities, along with its operations, including the 110 bee species 360-487-8328 TTY: 711 identified in Vancouver. This data will be available on the Melittoflora charles.ray@cityofvancouver.us website in the coming future. Additionally, Commissioners reviewed a To request accommodation or other formats, please contact: Charles Ray | 360-487-8328 | TTY: 711 | charles.ray@cityofvancouver.us Page 3 of 8 chart illustrating the relationship between specific bee and plant species, reiterating the implications of planting selections for both residential and commercial landscaping. The Pollinator Festival will also be taking place June 20th, 2026 and volunteer opportunities are open. ITEM 5: Review UFC Calendar The Commission agreed not to meet in August. Subcommittees will individually decide whether to meet in August or not. ITEM 6: Arbor Day 2026 Debrief The Commission discussed the 2026 Arbor Day event, including a positive reception from the school and a successful awards presentation. ITEM 7: UFC Retreat Planning 2026 Debrief The Commission discussed the 2026 retreat, noting the meeting’s value in gathering Urban Forestry staff and the Commission together and learning about each person’s role in the organization. Learnings and aims for future retreats include potentially modifying aspects of programming. The Commission also discussed the potential value of subcommittees holding mini-retreats. ITEM 8: Program Updates Emailed out. In-meeting updates include: The newly formed Neighborhood Liaison Subcommittee is arranging its first meeting. Pollinator subcommittee was connected by UF Staff Charles to the developers of the Vancouver Innovation Center (VIC) in order to ultimately connect with the landscape architecture firm on the project. The subcommittee shared of a successful meeting, and a sustainable and pollinator-friendly plan is being reported for the project. The Commission discussed potential preparations for the American Planning Association’s Washington Chapter conference coming to Vancouver in October. ITEM 9: Urban Forestry Report Emailed out. ITEM 10: Commission Communications Jamie shared of Pollinator subcommittee. Ammaar shared of Arbor Day event and work with TreePlotter software. Lucius shared of upcoming Corridor subcommittee. Lauren shared of Arbor Day event, Tree Stewards, and the tree equity workshop. Jess shared of Arbor Day events and tree equity workshop. Clif shared of Outreach subcommittee, the UFC retreat, tree equity seminar, and tree plantings. Page 4 of 8 ITEM 11: New Business The Commission discussed a future visit to the Vancouver Innovation Center (VIC) to see the development’s progress. In addition, the Commission is seeking an update on current county-level urban forestry. ADJOURNMENT 7:28pm ______________________________ Clif Barnes, Chair Meetings of the Urban Forestry Commission are electronically recorded on audio. The audio tapes are kept on file in the office of the City Clerk for a period of six years. Page 5 of 8  June UFC Program and Staff Reports 8. Program Updates Friends of Trees: FOT is beginning their monitoring program. Urban Forestry Work Plan 2027-28: The Urban Forestry Work Plan is periodically updated to coincide with the biennial budget. Staff will begin updating the 2025-26 Work Plan for 2027-28 reflecting new program elements. The Commission is encouraged to review the 25-26 Work Plan and share any ideas and suggestions with staff. Staff anticipate sharing a draft with the Commission early fall. 2027-28 Budget Prep The city is anticipating a budget shortfall in the General, Street and Fire Funds during the 2027-28 budget cycle. Urban Forestry does not receive any funding from these three funds as the program is funded by stormwater fees. UF staff does not anticipate requesting additional funding except to renew a three-year software subscription that would be paid in 2027. The city is required to have an approved budget by fall of 2026 for the 2027-28 cycle. Old Apple Tree Festival Prep Old Apple Tree Festival planning is underway with the Outreach Committee. It will be held on October 3rd and we will be celebrating 200 years of the Old Apple Tree. We are working with Special Events on permitting. We would like to add more vendors selling apple-based products. Please reach out to Jessica if you have ideas or questions. Subcommittee Reports: Outreach: No report Neighborhood Liaison: No report Pollinator: No report Corridor: No report 9. Urban Forestry Staff Report Page 6 of 8 Since the May Commission meeting, staff have been focused on transitioning to watering season, scaled back version of our Environmental Youth Corps program, closing out our Tree Inventory grant project, budget prep for 2027-28, supporting Community Development as part of the Comprehensive Plan; Emerald Ash Borer management; next steps with our Urban Forest Management Plan and our workload to ensure all aspects of our program are moving forward. Tree Inventory Grant 2025-26 Urban Forestry was awarded $350,000 to complete a tree inventory from Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as part of an Inflation Reduction Act grant. Phase 1 was completed in 2025 and Phase 2 was completed in May 2026. Staff will present a snapshot of Phase 2 during the June Commission meeting. Proactive Street Tree Program The proactive street tree program continues to move forward in coordination with Transportation’s Pavement Management program. UF Staff have begun outreach and services to 2026 streets which will be completed before June. Staff coordinated 33 concrete cuts along Mill Plain from Interstate 205 to about 136th to be planted fall/winter of 2027. It is anticipated this program will reduce storm damage in the right of way, address social/environmental justice, and improve climate resilience. Tree Canopy Assessment for Stormwater Management Staff has been working with Surface Water staff to release a request for proposal to complete a tree canopy assessment using 2025 summer data. The city selected Plan IT Geo to complete the project. The goal is to identify how existing or future tree canopy can support stormwater management and improve water quality to improve watershed health. Conducting a tree canopy assessment in 2026 is the optimum time to support watershed management and water quality improvement activities required in Vancouver’s 2024-2029 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Stormwater Permit. Environmental Youth Corps (EYC) Staff are planning our summer youth workforce program to provide employment and career development opportunities in the natural resources field while establishing street trees and Naturespace sites in underserved communities. In partnership with Portland Vancouver Canopy Collective and ELSO, Inc, UF will host an intern this summer. This will be in addition to the internship we will be hosting with Friends of Trees. We also have a returning EYC member to assist us with watering season. This is all part of a scaled back continuation of our Environmental Youth Corps (EYC) program due to the loss of Federal funding. The EYC program is a workforce development program to train youth and young adults in urban forestry management while growing and maintaining trees and plants in our urban forest. Page 7 of 8 Urban Forestry’s site visit tree inspection backlog is approx. 8 days (goal is 10 day response time) and completed 71 site visit tree inspections during the month of May. Development and final development inspection requests are steady. Page 8 of 8