HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 121-07City of Palo Alto
City Manager’s Report,
TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
CITY MANAGER
JANUARY 22, 2007
PROGRESS REPORT
DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT: CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE
CMR:121:07
ON URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN
RECOMMENDATION
This is an informational report and no Council action is required.
BACKGROUND
On April 17, 2006 (Earth Day), the City Council adopted recommendations from a Colleagues’
Memo related to several environmental initiatives. One of these initiatives was the update of
Palo Alto’s Street Tree Management Plan. The Council adopted this plan in 1983 based on the
recommendations of the Palo Alto Tree Advisory Task FOrce. The plan had the following goals:
1) Tree Canopy Density: Required 50 percent density on each single lineal block on
both sides and tree removal and replacement at the end of the tree’s useful life;
2) Solar Access: Provide for amicable co-existence of trees with solar energy;
3) Species Selection: Provide for the "right tree in the right place;"
4) Replacement Criteria: Health of tree, 50 percent of canopy, and retain trees as long
as practical; and
5) Public Education and Involvement: Solicit and incorporateresident input.
Given that many of these original plan goals have been met, the Colleagues’ Memo identified
areas of concern that a future plan would address, including: an updated database of street trees;
a more refined inventory of street trees in parks and non-residential rights-of-way; planned
replacement of trees whose roots cause sidewalk ruptures; and an analysis of the mortality rate of
street trees by species and age. The Council directed staff to work with CANOPY and other
interested citizens and to return to Council in Spring of 2007 with a draft update to the Street
Tree Management Plan. This staff report will provide an update to the Council on progress made
to date and will outline next steps for plan development.
DISCUSSION
In September 2006, a group was formed to begin work on the update to the Street Tree
Management Plan. This group includes staff from Public Works, Administrative Services,
Utilities, Parks, Open Space, Planning, the City Manager’s Office and representatives from
CANOPY. The team has been working since September to define the scope and process for the
update. At the outset, the team identified the need to broaden the scope of the Street Tree
Management Plan to encompass all elements of the City’s urban forest. Currently, the City has
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numerous documents that address different elements of the urban forest, including the
Comprehensive Plan and the Tree Technical Manual. However, there is no single document that -
identifies the overall goals and management strategies for the urban forest. The goal of the
working group has thus become the creation of a comprehensive document that addresses the
management, protection and enhancement of the City’s urban forest resources. This document
will identify the issues facing Palo Alto’s urban forest and will provide concrete actions for
addressing these issues.
The overall mission for the plan, as defined by the working group, is as follows:
Manage the City’s urban forest to maximize sustainable
outcomes for the community.
One of the key elements of the plan will be to define the value and benefits of the community’s
urban forest resources. This element provides the foundation upon which the rest of the plan will
build. The working group has defined two overarching goals for the plan: 1) To understand and
maintain the existing urban forest conditions, and 2) To evaluate the most appropriate and
effective mechanisms for enhancing and expanding the tree canopy. The action items to achieve
these two goals will generally fall under one of four focus areas: 1) community/stakeholders; 2)
best practices; 3) land development and management; and 4) interdepartmental coordination.
The first focus area is community/stakeholders. The involvement of the community mad key
stakeholders in both the development and implementation of the plan is critical. CANOPY is
already providing resources to support the worldng group’s efforts and will continue to play a
role in the plan’s development and implementation. Additionally, staff intends to engage the
community in the plan development. The working group will define this process over the next
few months and plans to go out to the community before returning to Council with the draft plan.
The final plan will identify ways the community contributed to the plan development and will
outline action items for encouraging future pm’tnerships. It will also define mechanisms for
educating and motivating the community around the urban forest. Some of the action items
under this focus area may include: developing a policy on memorial tree requests/donations and
identifying incentives for tree planting.
The second focus area is best practices. Under this focus area, the working group will identify
action items related to industry best practices for urban forest management. This will include
items related to technology, tree care, habitat protection, and natural resource management,
among others. This will form the nuts and bolts of the plan and will identify technical resources
that the organization needs to effectively accomplish the plan goals. Some of the action items
under this focus area may include: defining criteria for species selection; updating the street and
park tree inventories and integrating these with the City’s Geographic Information System (GIS)
software; and developing an integrated url~an forest education/resource website.
The third focus area is land development and management. This focus area will primarily work
to integrate the protection and addition of trees within the land development process. The key
action items will revolve around policies for public and private sector development in both the
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Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance. One of the key action items under this focus area
will be the update of the City’s Tree Technical Manual.
The final focus area is interdepartmental coordination. The conflicts between trees and the
City’s infrastructure (roads, sidewalks, utility pipelines) are a key issue in the management of the
urban forest. The City should be setting the example for effectively working together on these
issues. Some of the key action items under this focus area may include: developing a working
group for capital projects and creating urban forest guidelines for capital projects.
Attachment A demonstrates the proposed organizational structure of the plan. The next steps for
the working group will be to develop the community engagement process and to further define
and refine the action items, resources and timelines. This work will continue throughout the
spring. Staff anticipates returning to Council in late spring or early summer with a draft of the
plan.
RESOURCE IMPACT
In support of this work effort, the City has applied for a State Proposition 40 grant from the
California Department of Forestry. The grant would potentially help fund the development of
the plan as well as the community engagement process. The grant application also included a
request for funding to enhance the City’s GIS software to enable effective integration of the
City’s tree inventory. The pre-proposal deadline for the grant application was December 6,
2006. Staff anticipates receiving notification regarding the grant within the next month. These
resources are key to the development of the plan. If the City is unsuccessful in receiving this
grant application, staff will need to reevaluate the scope of the master plan work program.
Depending on the outcome of the grant application, staff may return to Council with alternate
funding strategies for the plan.
The final Urban Forest Master Plan document will identify the resource needs associated with
each of the action items included in the plan.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
This work effort is consistent with the City Council’s direction in the April 2006 Colleagues’
Memo and the City’s Sustainability Policy. Additionally, this work effort is consistent with the
policies and programs under the City’s Comprehensive Plan Goal N-3: A thriving "urban forest"
that provides ecological, economic, and aesthetic benefits for Palo Alto.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This is not a project requiring environmental review under the California Enviromnental Quality
Act (CEQA).
Attachment A: Urban Forest Master Plan Proposed Organizational Structure
PREPAREDBY: ~i~LY’/’-~’--’-~MORARIU
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DEPARTMENT HEAD:
GLENN ROBERTS
Public Works Director
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
VA
Utilities Director
-E~RRISON
Assistant City Manager
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Attachment A: Urban Forest Master Plan Proposed Organizational Structure
Executive Summary/Mission Statement
Mission: Manage the City’s urban forest to maximize sustainable outcomes
for the communffy
2.Status Update on initiatives from Street Tree Management
Plan/Comprehensive Plan
3. Definition of value and benefits of urban forest resources
Goal 1 Section: Understand and maintain the existing urban forest
conditions
a. Focus Area: Community/stakeholders
i. Identify action items
¯Timeframe for implementation
¯Resources necessary
¯Responsible departments/entities
b. Focus Area: Best practices
i. Identify action items
¯Timeframe for implementation
¯Resources necessary
¯Responsible departments/entities
c. Focus Area: Land development and-management
i. Identify action items
¯Timeframe for implementation
¯Resources necessary
¯Responsible departments/entities
d. Focus Area: Interdepartmental coordination .
i. Identify action items
°Timeframe for implementation
°Resources necessary
°Responsible departments/entities
Goal 2 Section: Evaluate the most appropriate and effective mechanisms for
enhancing and expanding the tree canopy
a. Focus Area: Community/stakeholders
i. Identify action items
°Timeframe for implementation
*Resources necessary
°Responsible departments/entities
b. Focus Area: Best practices
i. Identify action items
,Timeframe for implementation
o Resources necessary
,Responsible departments/entities
Page 1 of 2
Attachment A: Urban Forest Master Plan Proposed Organizational Structure
c. Focus Area: Land development and management
i. Identify action items
¯Timeframe for implementation
¯Resources necessary
¯Responsible departments/entities
d. Focus Area: Interdepartmental coordination
i. Identify action items
¯Timeframe for implementation
¯Resources necessary
¯Responsible departments!entities
Maintenance/monitoring plan for document
a. How do we measure success?
b. How do we keep the plan updated?
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