Page 1 of 253 FUTURE MELBOURNE (ECO-CITY) Agenda Item 5.1 COMMITTEE REPORT CITY OF MELBOURNE URBAN FOREST STRATEGY 10 July 2012 Presenter: Ian Shears, Manager Urban Landscapes Purpose and background 1. The purpose of this report is to provide the Future Melbourne Committee with an assessment of the public consultation on the draft Urban Forest Strategy undertaken between November 2011- April 2012 and to seek endorsement of the revised draft Urban Forest Strategy (Strategy) (refer Attachment 2) and the Urban Forest Diversity Guidelines (Guidelines) which support the Strategy (refer Attachment 3). 2. At its 8 November 2011 meeting the Future Melbourne Committee endorsed the draft Urban Forest Strategy for public consultation. Key issues 3. The Strategy and the Guidelines have now been revised to reflect the comments and feedback received during the consultation period. A detailed report on consultation feedback is attached (refer Attachment 4). 4. An extensive engagement process was undertaken on the draft Strategy and Guidelines from 9 November 2011 until 31 March 2012 to seek feedback from the community, agencies and stakeholders. 5. Feedback revealed that the community predominantly support the Strategy and Guidelines. However, it must be noted that many comments received during the consultation pertained to expressions of preference on the topic of species origin which was not pertinent to consultation on the Strategy. 6. The Strategy and Guidelines received widespread academic and industry support both locally, nationally and internationally. 7. Several experts were commissioned to assist with the further development of the Strategy document based on the outcomes of the consultation including Dr Dave Kendal and Cynnamon Dobbs, PhD candidate, both from Australian Research Centre of Urban Ecology (ARCUE) at University of Melbourne, Dr Peter May, May Horticulture and Anna Egan, PhD candidate, University of Tasmania. 8. Fuller detail on the proposed Tree Precinct Plans, which form a critical element of the implementation of this strategy, has been included in the Strategy. Recommendation from management 9. That the Future Melbourne Committee: 9.1. note the Consultation Report and the outcomes of community engagement activities; allow a further public comment or submissions on the revised City of Melbourne Urban Forest Strategy and Urban Forest Diversity Guidelines until 30 July 2012 and request a further report to the 14 August 2012 Committee meeting; and 9.2. notify all submitters to date of the Committee’s consideration of the revised City of Melbourne Urban Forest Strategy and Urban Forest Diversity Guidelines. Attachments: 1. Supporting Attachment 2. Draft Urban Forest Strategy 3. Diversity Guidelines 4. Community Consultation Report for the Draft Urban Forest Strategy Page 2 of 253 Attachment 1 Agenda Item 5.1 Future Melbourne Committee 10 July 2012 SUPPORTING ATTACHMENT Legal 1. No direct legal issues arise from the recommendation from management. Finance 2. There is an operational budget allocated to the Urban Forest Strategy which covers costs incurred through the running of community engagement events and the consultation online forum. Conflict of interest 3. No member of Council staff, or other person engaged under a contract, involved in advising on or preparing this report has declared a direct or indirect interest in relation to the matter of the report. Stakeholder consultation 4. The City of Melbourne Parks and Gardens Advisory Committee have provided valuable input into the identification of issues to be addressed by the Strategy and have provided feedback and direction at various stages in its development. 5. An extensive engagement process was undertaken from 9 November 2011 until 31 March 2012 to involve the community and all interested stakeholders in the further development of this Strategy. 6. A range of methods were employed during the engagement process to ensure that consultation and communications were as wide-reaching as possible. This included a series of community meetings, an Urban Forest Forum, ten precinct based community meetings were held where a combined 110 community members and representatives from residents groups attended. 7. Direct briefings and presentations on the Strategy were provided to Friends of the Elms, University of Melbourne, the Victorian Centre for Climate Change Research, State Government, Landcare, the National Urban Forest Alliance, VicHealth, and Australian Institute of Landscape Architects. 8. A permanent online forum was developed to provide information and a fulltime ‘online forum’ for the duration of the consultation. This online forum received 4,249 individual visitors who made a combined total of 11,991 site visits with 20,316 page views. The Strategy was downloaded 818 times from the site and over 19,000 words in submissions and commentary was generated by 177 commentators. 9. Information was also available online at the City of Melbourne corporate website which received 7,000 hits, with 5,000 unique views. 10. A short video was developed to highlight the key issues and provide a brief overview of the Strategy. This video was viewed over 2,500 times. 11. An Urban Forest Forum was held in the Town Hall on 30 November 2011 and 135 members of the community attended this event. 12. Several experts were commissioned to assist with the further development of the document based on the outcomes of the consultation. They include: 1 Page 3 of 253 12.1. Dr Dave Kendal, ARCUE, University of Melbourne and Dr Peter May have further developed and refined the diversity goals; 12.2. Cynnamon Dobbs, PhD candidate, ARCUE, University of Melbourne, has undertaken further assessment and modelling of the composition of the urban forest; and 12.3. Anna Egan, PhD candidate, University of Tasmania has more comprehensively articulated the history of Melbourne’s urban forest. 13. A detailed Consultation Report is attached (refer attachment 4). Relation to Council policy 14. The Urban Forest Strategy relates to and is consistent with the following policies and strategies: 14.1. Future Melbourne – Eco City; 14.2. Open Space Strategy (2012); 14.3. Arden MacAulay Structure Plan & North Melbourne Structure Plan (2012); 14.4. Southbank Structure Plan (2010); 14.5. Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (2009); and 14.6. Total Watermark; City as a Catchment (2008). Environmental sustainability 15. Environmental sustainability issues have been a priority in the development of this document. The implementation of the recommended actions and targets within the strategy will bring about multiple environmental benefits, including increasing the longevity of tree life, increasing canopy coverage and vegetation throughout the municipality, lowering air pollution, increasing carbon storage and sequestration, capture and reuse of stormwater, removing pollutants from water, reducing energy expenditure during summer months and periods of extreme heat, mitigating the urban heat island and adapting the municipality to climate change. 2 Page 4 of 253 Urban Forest Strategy Making a great city greener 2012-2032 melbourne.vic.gov.au/urbanforest Page 5 of 253 Page 6 of 253 REVISED DRAFT – JULY 2012 Page 7 of 253 A message from the City of Melbourne The City of Melbourne is renowned for its heritage-listed iconic parks, gardens, reserves and boulevards. They have formed an essential part of Melbourne’s identity for more than a century. However, the circumstances for our urban forest are changing. Many of our trees are now reaching the end of their natural life span and the past decade of drought has accelerated decline for these and many of our other trees. We expect to lose 39 per cent of the trees within our landscape within the next two decades. This strategy embraces the opportunity to generate a new legacy for Melbourne and create the forest of the future for new generations. This document sets out how our urban forest will become diverse, robust and resilient in the face of current and future challenges. We know that climate change and increasing density and growth within our city will place new pressures on our urban forest, but the targets we have set in this document will meet those challenges. An increasing body of evidence and research informs us that urban forests and green space are vital to supporting a healthy community as well as providing a means to adapting to climate change. This strategy sets a bold target of doubling our canopy cover by 2040 so that we can provide a greener and cooler city for those who live, work and play in our municipality. Most importantly, it articulates how we can enhance our urban forest to reflect and respond to the needs of the community and the city. We have worked with our community and key stakeholders for two years to generate this strategy. We are confident that it will strategically plan for our future urban forest while maintaining and enhancing Melbourne’s existing and much loved character. Robert Doyle Cr Cathy Oke Lord Mayor Future Melbourne (Eco-city) Committee Chair 2 Making a great city greener 2012-2040 Page 8 of 253 REVISED DRAFT – JULY 2012 Contents 1 Introduction 5 2 Executive Summary 7 3 Background & Context 9 3.1 What is an Urban Forest? 9 3.2 Benefits of the Urban orestF 10 3.2.1 Environmental benefits 11 3.2.2 Community benefits 12 3.2.3 Economic benefits 13 3.3 Evolution of Melbourne’s Urban Forest 14 3.3.1 Historical development 14 3.3.2 The urban forest today 19 3.3.3 Policy context 25 4 Issues & Challenges 27 4.1 Ageing tree population 28 4.2 Water 30 4.3 Climate change 32 4.4 The urban heat island effect 34 4.5 Population increase and urban intensification 36 4.6 Towards our Future Forest 38 5 Principles & Strategies 40 5.1 Our priorities 40 5.2 Principles 40 5.3 Strategies 41 5.3.1 Increase canopy cover 42 5.3.2 Increase urban forest diversity 44 5.3.3 Improve vegetation health 46 5.3.4 Improve soil moisture and water quality 48 5.3.5 Improve urban ecology 50 5.3.6 Engage with the community 52 6.