City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: DECEMBER 6, 2017
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
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Consideration of Proposed Charter Amendment for the 2018 General Assembly Session.
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ISSUE: Consideration of the proposed Charter Amendment for the 2018 General Assembly Session.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council schedule the proposed Charter change for public hearing on Saturday, December 16, and approve its inclusion the 2018 City Legislative Package following the public hearing.
DISCUSSION: At its meeting on November 28, City Council adopted the City’s 2018 Legislative Package. One item seeks to amend the State Code to allow the City to require developers to restore destroyed tree canopies within 10 years, rather than the 20 years now set out in the State Code for all Virginia localities except the City of Williamsburg (which already has a 10-year requirement). Upon further reflection, City staff believes that this legislative change would more properly be included in the City Charter, since we are not looking for a statewide change. The State Code requires a public hearing for any Charter changes. If Council approves this proposal following the public hearing on December 16, it will not result in a substantive change in the 2018 Legislative Package-it will just change the process being used to seek this tree canopy authority. The language of the proposed Charter change, except for the 10-year canopy replacement standard, parallels that already in the State Code, and does not change the City’s authority or practices.
ATTACHMENT: Proposed amendment to the City Charter
STAFF: Laura B. Triggs, Deputy City Manager