Fairfax County's 53-year-old Tree Commission is gone.

The Board of Supervisors voted 9-1 on Tuesday, Aug. 25, to repeal Article 9 of Chapter 122 of the county code, dissolving the commission that had advised the county on its urban forest since 1973, according to Patch. Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn cast the lone dissenting vote.

"I don't think there's any way around the reality that eliminating the Tree Commission deprioritizes trees," Alcorn said. "I don't know how you could look at it any other way, because in the environmental world, expertise is everything."

Reston Citizens Association president Lynne Mulston testified against the dissolution at the public hearing, calling the projected $20,000 in annual savings "penny-wise and pound-foolish" while reducing independent oversight. Six speakers addressed the board, with several arguing the new structure would cut specialized expertise and limit resident participation.

In a separate, unanimous vote, all 10 supervisors then approved restructuring the Environmental Quality Advisory Council into a new 15-member Fairfax County Environmental Commission. The new body will include one representative from each of the county's nine magisterial districts, one chairman-appointed member, three at-large members and two students.

What Reston loses and what replaces it

The Tree Commission had 15 members focused entirely on the urban forest. The new Environmental Commission must reserve at least two seats for people with forestry or natural-resources expertise, doubled from the one seat originally proposed in July after public criticism from civic groups. Trees and natural resources must appear in the commission's annual work plan, and the panel will produce a concise annual report replacing EQAC's broader Annual Report on the Environment.

But the adopted bylaws do not carry forward each of the Tree Commission's specific duties. At the Aug. 25 hearing, Supervisor Jimmy Bierman questioned county staff about whether the new commission could continue advising supervisors on the urban forest, reviewing government actions affecting trees and recommending changes to the Tree Action Plan. Staff said it could, and that repealing Article 9 would not change the county's other tree-protection requirements.

Jennifer Falcone, secretary of Citizens for Great Falls, acknowledged the county had increased the reserved forestry seats from one to two but said that remained a steep reduction from a 15-member commission focused entirely on trees.

Tree Commission Chair Barbara Ryan, testifying via prerecorded video, urged the board to require the successor panel to discuss trees at every meeting and reserve at least three forestry seats.

County says overlap justified the change

County staff recommended the consolidation after concluding parts of the Tree Commission's work overlapped with EQAC's. The move is projected to save about $20,000 in meeting-facilitation costs and roughly 600 staff hours annually. The streamlined reporting structure is expected to save another 400 staff hours per year.

Board Chairman Jeff McKay defended the vote, saying it was "a structural change that does absolutely nothing to change the environmental goals of this board."

Sully District Supervisor Kathy Smith moved both actions. The nine supervisors voting to dissolve the Tree Commission were McKay, Smith, Bierman, Pat Herrity, Andres Jimenez, Rodney Lusk, Dalia Palchik, Rachna Sizemore Heizer and Dan Storck.

What comes next

The new Environmental Commission will meet monthly, skipping August and December. The director of the county's Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination will appoint a temporary chair until the commission elects officers. All existing EQAC members' terms expired with Tuesday's vote.

The Virginia Department of Forestry confirmed the restructured commission satisfies the advisory-body requirement for Fairfax County to retain its Tree City USA designation. The county's Urban and Community Forestry Division will continue managing the Tree Community of Practice.

Fairfax County's climate plan calls for expanding tree canopy from the current 55% to 60% coverage by 2030. The new commission's first meeting date has not been announced.