Alderperson Israel Del Toro (District 4) sponsored a resolution which was submitted during the 06/15/2022 Common Council meeting.
Resolution #7-R-22 regarding Street Terrace Policy Modifications would, if passed as written, allow property owners who wish to develop their terraces to register with the city and then plant vegetation up to 3 feet high on corner lots and 4 feet high on non-corner lots. The purpose of the changes would be to provide residents the opportunity “to build gardens, beautify our streets, provide fresh food to homes in need, help control and reduce storm water runoff and provide good environmental resources for our city’s biodiversity.”
The resolution was referred to staff in the Department of Public Works.
Although the resolution is listed as being submitted only by Alderperson Del Toro, he indicated at the Council meeting that he meant to have it co-sponsored by other alderpersons, and he asked how he went about getting that on the record.
Mayor Woodford told him that typically, resolutions are circulated ahead of time and submitted to the clerk with the names of all the sponsors. He went on to explain, “From a legislative process perspective though, it is not necessary to have anyone cosign, and folks will be able to register their support through the legislative process.”
[So I guess we will have to wait and see which other alderpersons are supportive of this resolution. My initial impression is one of dubiousness. Allowing 3 foot and 4 foot high gardens to be planted in terraces seems like it would be both unnecessary and cause more issues that it solved. A vast majority of property owners have space on their actual property separate from the city-owned terraces to plant gardens and vegetation of their choice, and I expect very much that were these changes to be implemented they would cause visibility and safety issues on corners even if corner terraces are limited to 3 feet instead of 4 feet.]
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=964879&GUID=77BEF753-12DA-40B6-8050-6FEA620D0B18
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