Rosalie Hendon, an environmental planner with The Columbus Parks & Recreation Dept., will be our guest speaker at the FPCA’s June 10 meeting.
Appropriate for a neighborhood named Forest Park, Rosalie will discuss tree maintenance, planting, and provide updates on the City’s Urban Forestry Master Plan.
The public tree code — which Hendon presented to City Council in her previous position as an environmental planner for Recreation & Parks — went into effect last August. The new regulations require “inch for inch” replacement of any trees removed from city property in the course of any development project.
Columbus has been named the fastest growing urban heat island in the country.
Rosalie manages natural resource projects on city parkland — everything from forests to prairies. She holds two master degrees from The Ohio State University in public administration and natural resources. She leads the creation of citywide environmental plans and policies, including Columbus’ first Urban Forestry Master Plan, public tree code updates, and the creation of private tree protections.
The private tree code would be a similar mitigation measure applying to trees removed from private property. Hendon told ColumbusUnderground.com that her department is not necessarily aiming to penalize the average person for taking down a tree in their backyard.
“We are looking primarily at when a property goes through development or redevelopment,” Hendon told ColumbusUnderfground.com. “There are cities that permit a tree removal when it’s just a single property owner and it’s a tree in their backyard kind of thing. But that is not something that we are looking at at this stage in Columbus, simply because we want it to be practical and realistic. And really we see a lot of loss and we hear a lot from our stakeholders and our residents when properties are experiencing a lot of loss of trees due to development. So we really wanted to focus in at that stage of property ownership.”
Rosalie wrote The Columbus Urban Forestry Master Plan (UFMP). The plan is available here.
Tree canopy has been identified as vital city infrastructure, as trees reduce urban stressors — cleaning the air and water, improving public health, providing shade, reducing heat stress and energy costs, intercepting stormwater and more. As the 14th largest city in the country with only 22% canopy cover, the City of Columbus recognized the need to plan for its trees.
Columbus Recreation and Parks Department’s Forestry section is solely and legally responsible for all public trees in Columbus that grow along streets, in public parks and on all city properties.
The Columbus Urban Forestry Master Plan (UFMP) is the first citywide, strategic plan to improve Columbus residents’ quality of life through investment in urban trees.
Approved by Columbus City Council in April 2021, the UFMP guides the entire Columbus community to prioritize, preserve and grow our tree canopy. The UFMP sets three tree canopy goals:
- Reach Citywide Tree Canopy Cover of 40% by 2050
- Stop the Net Canopy Losses by 2030 and
- Invest in Equitable Canopy Across All Neighborhoods by 2030.
To accomplish these goals, the UFMP details four strategies: community coordination and collaboration, best practices, dedicated resources and stronger policies.
A video presentation of the plan is available on YouTube.
Tuesday, June 10, FPCA Meeting Schedule
6:00 – 6:30 p.m. Block Watch Meeting/Supplemental Security Report
Columbus Police Liaison Officer Dan Yandrich and our Supplemental Security chairpersons provide police and security updates and answer your questions.
6:30 – 7:00 p.m. 311/Code Enforcement Issues Discussion/NCC Development Report
Learn about the latest development plans and requests, new businesses, updates from the Northland Community Council, and ask about code enforcement issues.
7:00 – 8:00 FPCA General Meeting
Updates from our many committees, upcoming plans, and other discussion about Forest Park issues and events.
Meeting Location: Epworth United Methodist Church, 5100 Karl Rd., Columbus, OH 43229
(At the intersection of Karl Road and Penworth Drive)
Everyone in Forest Park is invited!
YMCAY