CITY COUNCIL AGENDA PACKET - Laserfiche WebLink

Page 3 of 6 3. The future of Pleasanton’s urban forest may be at risk without active measures to increase species diversity 4. Additional funding is required for the city to achieve its urban forest goals (essentially, maintaining what we have) 5. There is a need for a team dedicated to the health of the urban forest. The implementation and monitoring plan sets ongoing, short-term (years 1-5), intermediate (years 6-15), and long-term (years 16-25) actions to manage the urban forest. The actions are reasonable and measurable steps that can be implemented to meet the goals of the UFMP. Key ongoing actions include: • planting 50 trees per year, • maintaining trees for a three-year establishment period, • educating the public about the urban forest's importance, and • promoting tree giveaways. The UFMP defines a strategy to ensure an equitable, resilient, and sustainably managed urban forest, and clearly communicates a framework for the long-term care, preservation and expansion of the community’s urban forest. For instance, the plan identifies the variety of tree species in our urban forest and provides a guideline for tree diversity so that no genera exceeds 20 percent and no species exceeds 10 percent; this diversity will limit the impact of pest, disease, and climate change to the urban forest. The plan also identifies the critical role that trees on private property play in the urban forest and provides strategies to increase the health of the privately maintained trees, which make up approximately 70 percent of our urban forest. A key component is increasing the public's awareness of the benefits that trees provide to our community and how they can help sustain and improve the health of the urban forest, including information on planting the right tree in the right place. To establish equitability and help to ensure the urban forest remains healthy, the plan establishes a 25 percent canopy cover goal citywide. Currently, a number of neighborhoods meet or exceed the 25 percent goal, and the overall canopy cover is 25.3 percent. The plan establishes actions for an equal distribution of the urban forest among every neighborhood and district within the city. The plan guides future Tree Preservation Ordinance updates, tree inventory updates and maintenance management, and public outreach and education regarding the city’s urban forest. The UFMP is comprehensive enough to provide a broad vision for the future of the city’s urban forest and detailed enough to address individual community concerns, such as potential hazards with trees relating to storms and fires, infrastructure conflicts and the urban heat island effect, which were some of the most important topics heard from the public outreach conducted during the plan creation. Part 2 - Technical Assessment This section (https://www.cityofpleasantonca.gov/assets/our-government/public- works/engineering/landscape-ordinance/Part-II-Technical-Assessment.pdf) is tailored for City staff and provides a detailed account of Pleasanton’s urban forestry program, including a deep dive into the analysis of the city’s canopy cover, budgeting and community engagement. Page 212 of 348