Explanation
Background: This ordinance authorizes the Director of the Recreation and Parks Department to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Franklin County Engineer's Office to accept $15,000.00 for the Urban Tree Canopy Assessment Project.
The Franklin County Engineer’s Office requires legislation authorizing the City to enter into a cooperative agreement, authorizing the Director of Recreation and Parks to enter into this agreement and accept $15,000.00 from the County for the Urban Tree Canopy Assessment Project. This ordinance will provide this authorization for this partnership between Franklin County and the City of Columbus. The City will invoice the County for half of the funds, in the amount of $7,500.00, once this legislation is authorized. The remainder of the funds, in the amount of $7,500.00, will be invoiced and collected at the end of the project.
The 2022 Urban Tree Canopy Assessment is a regional land cover analysis that will measure and communicate the change of tree canopy cover over a ten-year period. Tree canopy is the percentage of land covered by trees as opposed to other types of land cover such as hard surfaces and water. Columbus has only done one canopy assessment before, published in 2015, with 2013 data. The previous analysis only examined the land within Columbus corporate boundaries. The 2022 assessment will evaluate the entire County, including all 41 political jurisdictions within the County. The consultant for the 2022 project, selected through competitive bidding, is Applied Geographics and the project kicked off in March 2022.
The 2022 Urban Tree Canopy Assessment is a key action within the city’s Urban Forestry Master Plan. With the ambitious goals of stopping net canopy loss, investing in equitable canopy, and reaching 40% canopy by 2050. A new canopy assessment is key to understanding trends in canopy gains and losses. The last time that Columbus’ canopy was analyzed found that 22% of the City is covered by trees. A new assessment is critical to understand changes in our tree canopy over time, citywide, and within neighborhoods. Data from the report will inform our continued implementation of the Urban Forestry Master Plan.
Principal Parties:
Franklin County Engineer’s Office
970 Dublin Road
Columbus, OH 43215
Nick A. Soulas Jr., 614-525-3070
Government Agency
Benefits to the Public: The project will provide valuable information to support the goals of the Urban Forestry Master Plan.
Community Input/Issues: Hundreds of stakeholders helped create the Urban Forestry Master Plan. Industry experts, universities, nonprofits, developers, community leaders, city staff and leadership, regional partners, landscape architects, and many others served on two stakeholder groups consisting of a Project Team of about 30 members and an Advisory Group of about 100 members. All members are listed in the Acknowledgments section of the UFMP and on the website (https://www.columbusufmp.org). These groups met periodically throughout the course of the plan’s creation to provide input. The public was also engaged through an online survey, an open house, small-group presentations, and interviews.
Area(s) Affected: Citywide (99)
Master Plan Relation: This project supports the department’s Master Plan by conserving, protecting, and enhancing the city’s natural resources and overall environmental health, benefitting current and future generations.
Fiscal Impact: $15,000.00 will be accepted from the Franklin County Engineer's Office to support the Urban Tree Canopy Assessment Project.
Title
To authorize the Director of Recreation and Parks to enter into an agreement with the Franklin County Engineer's Office to accept $15,000.00 for the Urban Tree Canopy Assessment Project. ($15,000.00)
Body
WHEREAS, it is necessary to authorize the Director of the Recreation and Parks to enter into an agreement with the Franklin County Engineer's Office to accept $15,000.00 for the Urban Tree Canopy Assessment Project; and
WHEREAS, it has become necessary in the usual daily operations of the Recreation and Parks Department to authorize the Director to enter into this agreement, all for the preservation of the public health, peace, property, safety, and welfare and, NOW, THEREFORE
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1. That the Director of Recreation and Parks be and is hereby authorized to enter into an agreement with the Franklin County Engineer's Office to accept $15,000.00 for the Urban Tree Canopy Assessment Project.
SECTION 2. That the funds necessary to carry out the purpose of this ordinance are hereby deemed appropriated, and the City Auditor shall establish such accounting codes as necessary.
SECTION 3. That the City Auditor is authorized to make any accounting changes to revise the funding source for all contracts or contract modifications associated with this ordinance.
SECTION 4. That the City Auditor is hereby authorized to transfer the unencumbered balance in a project account to the unallocated balance account within the same fund upon receipt of certification by the Director of the Department administering said project that the project has been completed and the monies are no longer required for said project.
SECTION 5. That this ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after the earliest period allowed by law.