Title
Authorizing the City through its Parks and Recreation Department to enter into an agreement, which requires mutual indemnification, with Urban Forestry Credits for a Project Implementation Agreement - City of Saint Paul Planting Project 2021-2023, to help expand the City's public urban forest.
Body
WHEREAS, The Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Department is the steward of the public urban forest in Saint Paul; and
WHEREAS, There are more than 10,000 vacant planting sites throughout the urban forest in Saint Paul which indicates a compelling need for expansion of the public tree canopy; and
WHEREAS, Green Cities Accord, previously known as Green Cities Minneapolis, is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 conservancy with a mission to foster climate resilient communities through investments in tree canopy infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, Green Cities Accord will collaborate and partner with the City of Saint Paul to establish a carbon offset program as means of funding continued tree planting and ongoing care of trees through the sale of carbon and environmental credits; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Department and Green Cities Accord seek to enter into an Agreement to Collaborate on Tree Planting Project simultaneously to the Project Implementation Agreement - - City of Saint Paul Planting Project 2021-2023; and
WHEREAS, the City is the Tree Owner and Green Cities Accord is the Project Operator in the Project Implementation Agreement - - City of Saint Paul Planting Project 2021-2023; and
WHEREAS, On behalf of the Tree Owner (City), the Project Operator (Green Cities Accord) is collaborating with the Urban Forest Carbon Registry, doing business as City Forest Credits, a Washington non-profit corporation (the “Registry”) in furtherance of the development of the City of Saint Paul Planting Project 2021-2023 (Registry project number “58”) carbon reduction project (the “Project”); and
WHEREAS, Green Cities Accord is the Project Operator providing project monitoring and reporting as required by the carbon registry protocol, including the process for issuing, pricing, and selling carbon credits; and
WHEREAS, The City is the owner of the trees and the entity responsible and liable for the Project’s funding required to purchase, plant and maintain the trees, the tree planting and ongoing maintenance of the trees and associated Carbon Stock, including, without limitation, the establishment, growth, protection, replacement, and maintenance of such Carbon Stock; and
WHEREAS, The Registry is a nonprofit organization that establishes standards in protocols for the: (i) development and implementation of projects that seek to sequester greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions and provide other benefits, such as storm water reductions, air quality benefits, and energy savings (“Co-benefits”) from tree planting and tree preservation on land in metropolitan areas (“City Forest Carbon Projects”); (ii) calculation of GHG emission sequestration and Co-benefits by City Forest Carbon Projects; and (iii) verification of GHG emission sequestration and Co-benefits produced by City Forest Carbon Projects, such as the Project. The Registry also issues carbon Credits to City Forest Carbon Projects, such as the Project, per the Registry’s protocols. In addition, the Registry tracks the issuance, transfer, and retirement of Credits over time in a secure database.
WHEREAS, The Tree Owner desires Project Operator to help fund this Tree Project and future projects by allowing Project Operator to develop potential carbon and environmental credits that it can attempt to sell to defray project costs and to plant and maintain additional trees; and
WHEREAS, The Project consists of 11,288 trees planted within the boundary of Saint Paul, MN planted in parks and along boulevards in 2020 to 2023; and
WHEREAS, Collaborating with Green Cities Accord and City Forest Credits and entering into a Project Implementation Agreement will provide a much needed financial investment for defraying future planting costs, which should result in an expansion of the current public tree canopy thereby providing a public purpose and benefit; and
WHEREAS, the Agreement with Green Cities Accord and City Forest Credits requires each party to indemnify the others; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Council of the City of Saint Paul approves the Project Implementation Agreement with Green Cities Accord and City Forest Credits to collaborate on the Tree Planting Project, which includes mutual indemnification, and for Parks and Recreation staff to take necessary steps to implement the project.