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Tree Board Regular Meeting

Town of Hillsborough · Tree Board
Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 9:00 am

Regular meeting Environment and sustainabilityBudget and appropriationsStormwater and floodingZoning text amendment

Agenda document Full packet Meeting page Watch

What is in the packet

Hillsborough's Tree Board takes up two items carried over from August: a recommended plant list for the Unified Development Ordinance, and where the town plants next year. Members were to circulate draft lists by email beforehand, drawn from Raleigh's, the NC Botanical Garden's and a Durham draft. Planting priorities so far centre on Cates Creek Park and the Riverwalk, with crab apple and silverbell among the species discussed.

The board also hears a request for volunteers to pull invasive species at Bellevue Branch, where a large patch of Japanese knotweed was identified over the summer, and an update on a lorapetalum at Turnip Patch Park. Summer workdays went to stiltgrass at the old Stickworks sculpture site on the Riverwalk. A pruning workshop is set for 2 October at Murray Street Park. The August minutes in this packet record two 6-0 votes and a meeting that ran under an hour.

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What's on this agenda

Hillsborough's Tree Board, which advises the town's elected officials on trees and planting rather than deciding matters itself, is set to continue work on a recommended plant list for the Unified Development Ordinance. The item was carried over from August, when members compared draft lists from Raleigh, the NC Botanical Garden and a draft Durham list; the board's recommendation would go toward the species the UDO calls for or allows in new development. Members would also pick back up on FY27 planting priorities, weighing further plantings at Cates Creek Park and along the Riverwalk after discussing species including crab apple and silverbell in August.

Also on the agenda: a request for volunteers to remove invasive species along Bellevue Branch, brought by Stormwater Program Manager Heather Fisher after the board's own summer reports found a large patch of Japanese knotweed there. Members would get an update on the lorapetulum planting at Turnip Patch Park, then hear reports from the town's invasive species removal team, the Garden Club and staff on an Oct. 2 pruning workshop.

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Speaking at this meeting

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Agenda items (6)

Discussion item · 4Procedural · 1Staff or committee report · 1
  1. 1-3 Call to order, agenda and minutes approval
    Procedural
    Roll call, agenda changes and approval of minutes from the August 19 meeting.
  2. 4.A Volunteer recruitment for Bellevue Branch invasive species removal
    Discussion item Environment and sustainabilityStormwater and flooding
    Stormwater Program Manager Heather Fisher would ask the board to help recruit volunteers to remove invasive species along Bellevue Branch, where the board's August update reported a large patch of Japanese knotweed.
  3. 4.B Turnip Patch Park lorapetulum update
    Discussion item Environment and sustainability
    The board would get an update on the lorapetulum planting at Turnip Patch Park.
  4. 4.C FY27 planting priorities
    Discussion item Budget and appropriationsEnvironment and sustainability
    Carried over from August, this item would continue the board's discussion of FY27 tree planting priorities, including further plantings at Cates Creek Park and along the Riverwalk.
  5. 4.D Recommended plant list for the Unified Development Ordinance
    Discussion item Environment and sustainabilityZoning text amendment
    Carried over from August, the board would continue drafting a recommended plant list for the town's Unified Development Ordinance, drawing on lists from Raleigh, the NC Botanical Garden and Durham, to recommend to the town's governing board.
  6. 5-6 Updates and adjournment
    Staff or committee report Environment and sustainability
    The board would hear updates from its invasive species removal team and the Garden Club, plus a staff report on an Oct. 2 pruning workshop at Murray Street Park.

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