Working with Nuckols Tree Care, they cut back and trimmed the much beloved but fading, ancient oak in one of the courtyards to give it a lift. Then they also planted a beautiful new live oak across the walkway to give the old tree a friend and to give the neighborhood a lift too! Thank you, Beach Colony and Nuckols Tree Care!
Join the Friends of Live Oaks this fall and you will get a free live oak sapling as long as the trees last!
We have lots of little saplings looking for a home. We had planned to give these trees to new members at the tree celebration, TreeTopia, at Mount Trashmore that was recently rained out.
Dues are $25 for individuals and $100 for a business or community group.
Mail a check, payable to Friends of Live Oaks, c/o Clay Bernick, 214 A 84th Street, Virginia Beach Va. 23451.
Give us your name, cell number/email and address and we’ll bring a live oak to you!!!
From Clay:
All –
I attended a webinar with VCN yesterday and received this updated info for the tree legislation status:
House Bill 2042 and Senate Bill 1393 are a little different from each other. They both can be found as follows:
House Bill 2042 – https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+sum+HB2042
Senate Bill 1393 – https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+cab+HC10205SB1393+SB1REF
A reenactment clause was added to each bill. They will come up again in the 2022 session for reenactment. This clause allows for the bills to remain as they are, or to be changed if desired. A stakeholder group was created at the end of the 2021 session, chaired by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Natural Resources to evaluate the bills further and report its recommendations back to the House and Senate by November 1, 2021. I’ll keep an eye out for this report and pass it along when it is released. The House Bill will be referred to its Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns. The Senate bill will be referred to its Local Government Committee.
As of now, the House Committee members for our City are: Askew and Guy
As of now, the Senate Committee members for our City are: DeSteph and Kiggans
There could be changes to these members after the November 2 election.
Actions to Take:
1 – Write members of City Council NOW and ask for them to include support for reenacting both bills in their legislative package – usually adopted by City Council in early November. A list of them and contact info is here: https://www.vbgov.com/government/departments/city-manager/Pages/form-of-government-and-city-officials.aspx
Please note the Lynnhaven District seat is currently vacant – City Council will appoint a member to fill that vacancy soon.
2- Write your local House and Senate representatives and ask them to support reenacting their respective bills during the 2022 session. You can find your representatives here: https://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov
There could be changes to these members after the November 2 election.
Hope this is helpful!
Clay
“A. Any locality with a population density of at least 75 persons per square mile or any locality within the Chesapeake Bay watershed may adopt an ordinance providing for the planting and replacement of trees during the development process…”
“3. That the provisions of the first enactment of this act shall not become effective unless reenacted by the 2022 Session of the General Assembly.”
Learn more from our friends at Virginia Conservation Network.
“In Arlington and Virginia Beach, two of the most recent municipalities to conduct tree canopy assessments, canopy is holding steady on municipal property but trending downward on private property due to infill, redevelopment, and homeowner removal.
Loss of biodiversity is another critical challenge we face which may impact ecosystems as much as climate change, pollution, and other major forms of environmental stress. Trees provide food, habitat, shelter, and breeding areas need- ed to restore and sustain Virginia’s wildlife biodiversity.
SOLUTION
We need to prioritize the preservation of intact forests as well as individual mature trees during development. For example, during the engineering process, consider how to protect natural resources first and adjust site plans accordingly….”
From Tanner:
Delegate Keam’s proposed tree canopy Bill HB 2333 is something we have been looking forward to for some time.
Why is the legislation needed?
Virginia state code currently limits the amount of canopy a locality may require a developer to plant/replace/preserve.For example, under current law, for a residential parcel zoned for 10 or fewer units per acre, the locality may not require a tree canopy greater than 20% in 20 years’ time. For a commercial parcel, the maximum tree canopy a locality can require is 10%. That’s right, there is a maximum amount of trees a locality can require to be replaced.
What does HB 2333 do?
It exempts a locality from those caps if they’re using trees to achieve a water quality (i.e. Bay TMDL) or quantity (i.e. flood mitigation) goal.See this attachment to see how it changes to existing law. (2pg PDF)
What can you do to support this common-sense legislation?
Simple. We are building a consortium of groups to add their names to our sign-on letter of support (see below how to join).We will share this list with members of the House Counties, Cities and Towns subcommittee to ensure it makes its way to full committee vote.
From there we think it has a good chance of making it to the floor.
To join the sign-on letter all we need is:
Organization, Lead Signatory, and Title. You can see who else is already on board and add your organization to our running list here.Or just email Tanner at CBF & let me know you are in!
View letter that will be sent that will include list of supporting organizations.
Have capacity to help?
Share this email with others who might be interested — HOAs, civic leagues, local government, tree stewards, healthcare companies, nurseries, tree care companies, botanical gardens, small and large businesses – anyone that has a stake in increasing tree canopy in the Bay watershed.What is the deadline for signing?
We’ll leave the letter open until the bill is on the House Counties, Cities and Towns subcommittee #2 docket, which could be as early as next Thursday.Thanks for your consideration. We hope you will join us. Please don’t hesitate to call if I can answer any questions about the bill.
Cheers,
Tanner Council
Hampton Roads Grassroots Manager
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Brock Environmental Center | 757.644.4113
Friends of Live Oaks 
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