During “Commissioner Comments”, Planning Commissioner Judy Workings, who also is an appointed Parks and Recreation Commissioner (appointed by Board of Trustees to fill the vacancy created by Maryann Whitman’s resignation) asked the group how the tree ordinance applies to removal of trees such as black cherry or red maple by Parks and Recreation.

Commmission Chair Gary Kwapis asked Planning Coordinator Don Mende to address the question. He asked Commissioner Workings the reason for the tree removal, assuming it was invasive species. Commissioner Judy Workinngs said “The Steward would like to change the environment of a forest and change it back to oak barrens and therefore in order to do that would need to take out certain trees that aren’t oaks, basically”.

Mr. Mende asked ASTI Evironmental Consultant Paul Renschler to address the Commission on this matter. Mr. Resnchler said,“The tree ordinance does have an exemption for forest management, for approved management plans, for timber harvest or other forest management objectives. So it may come under there. But as Mr. Mende suggests we can take a look at it and come back with an opinion, But, theoretically properties greater than 25 acres would still have some sort of requirement for tree protection, tree replacement outside of that kind of forest management objective.”

At this point Chairman Kwapis, (just reelected as Chairman) asked Mr. Mende and Rentschler if they could be prepared with their anwers at the next meeting.

Commissioner John Giannangeli suggested ” Also if you could, determine if the actual owner of the land have to approve that”. There was a discussion about the Township being the owners, not the Parks Commission.

There seemed to be a general consensus that Parks and Recreation endeavors are probably not exempt from the Tree Ordinance

The whole less than ten minute discussion can be seen starting at minute 2:23:28 or Agenda 9. If this interests you watch the whole discussion and attend next month.

I suspect this discussion was motivated by this citizen comment made at the January 12, 2022 Parks and Recreation meeting, which I had overlooked.

The Planning Commission recommended preliminary approval of a small “development” of five lots served by a new public road about 900 feet long. This project will also create three other lots not part of the site condominium development. One of these three is 878 Buell Road and is already being built on by the developer for her private residence.

No paving of Buell from Landview to the entrance will be done. This cannot be required. The main concerns of Township Engineering Consultant, Matt Hocking were two. First, whether the soils in the area will be able to handle the stormwater which must sink into the ground fast enough to prevent overflow of the planned stormwater retention basin. There will be no stormwater piping off the site. Any overflow would be onto two lots planned on the stub street off Jack Pine, which is off Landview. HIs second concern was to see final plans that satisfy him that all storm water will drain properly into ditches along the proposed new road and not onto neighboring property. Details like this are often expensive to engineer and are approved by Planning Commission in the final plans, after the developer is assured that he can proceed with no major roadblocks.

Commissioner Judy Workings suggested they choose a tree species more disease resistant than Blue Spruce for landscaping. Commissioner Workings, who seems to have an extensive knowledge of plants,, offered that Blue Spruce are susceptible to a disease that in 10-15 years turns them in to ugly sticks with major needle loss. This is a problem all over Oakland Township.

See report at link below:

About 40,000 people die in traffic accidents each year in the U.S.  For 2019 the actual data was 39,107 or 11.9 deaths per 100,000 population.  So Oakland Township’s “quota” of deaths for our 19,000 residents in 2019 should have been about 2+ people.  If we were still at the 1970 death rate of 26.8 per 100,000 we should have expected 5+ deaths among Oakland Township residents.

National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) Deputy Administrator, Steven Cliff is quoted in an Oakland Press February 3^rd article on page 1 as saying “We have to change our culture that accepts as inevitable the loss of tens of thousands of people in traffic crashes”. I agree.

It is heartening to see the downward trend in the death rate from 26.8 deaths per 100,000 population in 1970 to 11.9 in 2019. I calculated using the spreadsheet the graph below is made from that this totaled 1,318,237 lives saved since 1970 by whatever we have been doing (seat belts, better road signals, traffic circles, education, safer cars,  etc.) to decrease the death rate. That’s a lot of people still alive to pursue “Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness”, not to mention many children and grandchildren who would otherwise never have been born.

Let’s all work together to further reduce traffic deaths a lot more.

Graph and spreadsheet available here from the National Safety Council.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vR-Ozx9mQGe6Tf9_Lg3QGWnLIbsetmUjLxVgLzRcmHfKopMysK_90pTdoZkagEJ_9C1U2pG91ORIOED/pubhtml

https://gophouse.org/posts/rep-tisdel-announces-february-office-hour

Mark Tisdel is representative for District 45 which includes Rochester, Rochester Hills and voting precincts 4 and 7 of Oakland Township. This map will tell you if you are in his district. I plan to ask him about the merits of a “protest vote” which he says he recently cast on HB 4277.

The rest of Oakland Township is in District 46, John Reilly is represenatative.

District 45 Representative to the Michigan House of Representatives, Mark Tisdel is urging citizen input to a bi-partisan committee on school safety. Representative Tisdel’s district includes Rochester, Rochester Hills and part of southwest Oakland Township. Details at the link below.

https://repsomerville.gophouse.org/posts/rep-tisdel-urges-citizen-input-for-school-safety-task-force

According to a 2016 press release, bridges over 20 feet long are inspected every 2 years. I have requested the latest inspection report. See a summary of the 2016 report and other information here: