Mayoral Candidate Jon Sewell Speaks for the Trees…

QUESTION #1

The Fort Negley clear-cutting and the NFL cherry-tree incidents illustrated something obvious: When it comes to the urban canopy, there is a breakdown of communication between the segments of Metro Government responsible for trees. The problem is that trees fall under the jurisdiction of many different departments (codes, stormwater, electrical, parks). What internal operational changes need to be made to better protect the existing canopy?

The scalping of St. Cloud Hill caught a lot of people by surprise. I live in the neighborhood right next to it and was shocked when I saw it and then had several conversations with other neighbors and landowners nearby all wondering what in the cloud-hill happened. Breakdown in communication was the answer. The retiring dept head fell on the sword like a good teamplayer does (I would have done the same for my team if I was leaving) and there was a bunch of heat about it. Without recalling specifics I think it was ironically within a few weeks of the Mayor’s office announcing tree canopy restrictions. So- it sent a message of a two-tiered immunity- which detrimentally affected the conversation. We most definitely should protect our tree canopy, but we shouldn't give the appearance of playing favorites. Metro Parks should abide by the same requirements- if not more restrictive requirements- for the land under its stewardship. Fort Negley was an especially troubling situation due to environmental and historical sensitivities and the scalping felt out-of-touch with those as well as out-of-bound with common decency. If it can happen there, it can happen at any park. One possible solution with park sites that have facilities and someone on site during business hours could be to coordinate with the site supervisor just as if it were a job site (something Metro Nashville should be used to by now): just as subcontractors have to interact with the GC on site, we can the individual departments interact with a site rep that helps coordinate differing requests and help resolve communication deficiencies. Another disturbing revelation of this event was it exposed how inefficient an underfunded department can be. We have great parks in spite of Metro’s fumbling approach to maintaining them. Parks a re a quality-of-life issues that provide quantifiable improvements to the neighborhoods around them.

QUESTION #2

Do you support the city’s first tree bill in over a decade (BL2018-1416) in its current form? If not, what changes do you want to see? Or should it be stronger and broader in scope? BL1416 impacts only commercial and multi-family land use types. Do you support enacting tree laws for single-family residential?

I love any protections for our tree canopy and would love to see them strengthened in time to residential developments. A step in the right direction, it pushes tree canopy and environmental stewardship into the development realm inside of an afterthought. Also identifying species types and protected types helps to educate at the same time. Just reading through the language (and its long one!) one feels the intent and the effort put forth into this legislation. While not a cure-all, it just may be the ounce of prevention that we need. 

QUESTION #3

Atlanta, Charlotte and Austin all have laws protecting a class of trees they consider to be “heritage trees; property owners must get approval for cutting them down and pay into a tree bank to offset the loss of a large trees in their communities. We feel this sets a tone that makes people more aware and respectful of the urban tree canopy. Do you approve of such legislation?

No doubt. Without playing my hand too much, I also own land where I maintain mature trees and have plans to plant more heritage trees and expand the tree canopy myself. Not just get on stage in a suit and talk about how much I love trees, Im putting on my Carhartts and getting out in the abandoned urban core where you can’t build structures, but you can build a new tomorrow where naturally wild greenery exists near artificial attempts to control it. We can lead by example and if anyones interested I’d be happy to give a guided private tour of my project: www.thepackingplant.com/SNAYK 

QUESTION #4

TREES ATLANTA is considered by many to be the model for a public/private cooperative that works to protect urban tree canopy. TREES ATLANTA employees even help the city as on-site inspectors who follow up to make sure developers have complied with tree ordinances. What do you think of this model, or what would you do to strengthen the implementation and enforcement of Nashville’s tree code?

I love it. Its DIY and goes beyond endlessly beseeching a city department with its own internal infrastructure issues by getting out into it. It reminds me of the similar approach I’ve engaged in with TURBO for traffic calming and road diet issues. We can set-up prioritized pilot programs and direct access for vetted private groups to provide Metro with info that otherwise it may not have collected. In doing so we can save lives and save money thru efficiencies.

QUESTION #5

How could we entice private property owners not to cut down mature trees? How can we encourage developers/builders to keep mature trees in the designing of the home and lot?

I believe one of the tools in the proposed bill is a reduction in required parking spaces. We can add density increases and other carrots (as well as the aforementioned sticks) to branch out how we deal with mature trees. Along those lines, we can facilitate setback variances and other prioritizing at permits to help mature tree discussions take root in the design and development on existing lots.

QUESTION #6

Metro Nashville has just 3 employees to oversee all of Davidson County trees, while other peer cities with less tree canopy coverage have 15 to 20 employees on staff for trees. As a result, the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps has cataloged countless incidents where developers eluded complying with tree codes, the city has hundreds of hazardous trees that need to be replaced, and staff have trouble keeping up with just their everyday responsibilities. Do you support spending the money to bring us up to a par with our peer cities? If not, how will you fix this issue?

Most definitely! I'll admit I was not fully up to speed on your organization and so was doing myself plenty of reporting as my neighborhood has gone from an oasis of mature trees (older neighborhood without a lot of development until recently) into a 10-year construction site. For some of these sites, I myself sent emails and made phone calls to the urban forester with codes, not knowing what to do . Information was scant- I received no return calls or emails. Large enormous trees felled, a system failed, and here we are half-a-century behind where we should be. We can do better. We can assess development and impact fees on these sites to cover the cost of more employees. The developers can pay into the system that regulates them.

BONUS QUESTION FOR MAYORAL CANDIDATES

QUESTION #7

Is the current zoning board well balanced in terms of competing interests (i.e. environmental, developer, new revenue interests, etc.). And, if not, what would you look for in new appointees?

People are strange, when you’re a stranger. And the BZA is strange and I'm not even a stranger. I’ve been before it several times and honestly Im often befuddled by how pro-development it has been: even hearing a local history buff tout his biz bona fides and approving builds that destroy a neighborhoods character- now thats the Nashville I wish I didn't know! I believed he’s bounced to a different board now, indicative to me at least of a culture of democratic deficits. As a result, part of my platform for Mayor includes Reducing Political Recidivism Rates: Expand the application of Term Limits. End Board-Bouncing, also called “board-hopping”, to allow more citizens the opportunity to provide input and thereby producing more representative outputs. We can increase transparency in appointments. and help democratize the decision-making process while also helping some of our neighbors battling political power addictions get the help they need.