Dear Candidate:

Guelph Urban Forest Friends is a local group that advocates for better protection of urban trees and canopy. We make delegations to City Council, hold events to raise awareness about the importance of urban trees, and distribute information about the many benefits of trees, and the threats to trees, through our web site.

We have serious concerns about the continued loss of mature trees in our City and hear frequently from upset residents about tree removals. We are submitting these questions to candidates for City Council and respectfully request your response by October 18th. The responses we receive will be posted on our web site and e-mailed to our list of 500 supporters.

For further information, please check our website (www.guffguelph.ca) or contact us. Thank you for your response. GUFF

1. Currently all tree planting, maintenance and removal activities are the responsibility of the City’s Operations Department. Will you support and advocate for establishing an Urban Forest department headed by a forester with a degree in urban forestry? Why or why not.

2. Shade is important for reducing the heat island effect and for reducing the risk of skin cancer. Will you support and advocate for establishing a shade policy which would set goals for shade coverage along streets/sidewalks, in parking lots and in parks? Why or why not.

3. There is currently no program in place to recognize or protect trees that are exceptionally large, old or have a significant history in the City. Will you support and advocate for a city program to be adopted during the next term of council aimed at designating and protecting Heritage Trees? Why or why not.

4. Though the City has adopted a goal of 40% tree canopy coverage, information about tree canopy loss due to development, road construction, etc. is not being collected. Will you support and advocate for collecting publicly accessible data, funded in the next budget cycle, on the annual removal of mature trees and loss of canopy within the City? Why or why not.

5. The City does not have an inventory of trees in our urban forest (species, size, health, etc.), nor are trees given value as “assets” or “green infrastructure.” Will you support and advocate for an inventory of trees in the City, including the dollar value of the trees (using currently available computer programs that compute the dollar value of ecological services provided by trees)? Why or why not.

6. City Council recently passed a tree by-law which requires permits for removing large trees on properties over half an acre in size. This tree by-law only covers a small percentage of properties within the City. Will you support and advocate for expanding the existing tree by-law to cover all properties in Guelph? Why or why not.

Karen Farbridge – Candidate for Mayor

While not responding to GUFF’s specific questions, Karen Farbridge did provide the following statement:

Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

The City has established a goal to increase our tree canopy from 29% to 40%. To set us on that path, a framework for the Urban Forest Master Plan was established this term. Public consultations are under way for the development of the first 5 year Urban Forest Master Plan. I will support the recommendations that are identified as a priority by the Urban Forest Master Plan. Resources are constrained and time is of the essence to protect our urban forest so it is essential that the policies and programs we approve don’t just make us feel good but can be shown to deliver results and increase the tree canopy. I strongly believe in evidence-based decision making.

All of the items you have identified have merit and I hope you will bring them forward through the public consultations so they can be considered along other potential policies and programs.

I would not want to pre-empt the public process at this early stage pre-supposing what the priorities will be.

Thank you for the work of GUFF and the support of your members for our urban forest.

Karen Farbridge