G U F F

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 18. 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

Mark Enchin – Ward 3 Candidate

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.

If you’re telling me that the city’s operations dept does not have someone working there now that is not qualified to deal with planting and maintenance of trees and plants, then i would tell you that YES, they should have someone qualified.  I do not know if  a degree in urban forestry is necessary.  I am not qualified enough to answer that – though I would support having a qualified person in charge of that operation.

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.

I would, though a shade policy needs to be implemented with an overall urban planning strategy which I presently do not agree with in Guelph.  Expanding a city to 50,000 more people without expanding it’s physical boundary’s makes it nearly impossible to reach the goals set out by GUFF.

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.

I think that it is a good idea and I would support it.  I honestly don’t know why we do not already have this in place?

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.

Yes I would support this, but as  I mentioned earlier much more planning is needed if we are to reach the 40% goals of tree canopy coverage.  I don’t see it happening right now based on my experience with dealing with the city of Guelph.  I do not see planned neighbourhoods showing enough parkland let alone enough trees to reach the goals you desire.  It’s easy for the people living in Exhibition Park,  St. George’s Park and other downtown communities.  They have over a hundred years of growth in the neighbourhoods, but we all can’t live there and the province and city is telling the rest of us to live in apt’s , condos, and stacked townhouses.  These developments do not have enough green space to meet your requirements.  And the cost to develop them are too high for the developers and builders of this city.  So I guess we may have to wait another 100 yrs or so for the rest of Guelph to catch up.

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.

Yes I would, though I thought the city did have  a  database (GIS) showing where all the trees in Guelph were located.  I guess you’re saying they have not tagged them properly.  It would not take much to do this.  And would be a great project for students to participate in.

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.

Yes I would. I don’t know what the difference is between the size of the lots.  I would have assumed that the by-law should have been enforced on properties smaller than an eighth of an acre.  Therefore covering most of Guelph’s residential homes.  Otherwise what was the point?

Mark Enchin