Urban Forest Plan San Francisco Urban Forest Council

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Urban Forest PlanSan Francisco Urban Forest
Council

• James R. Clark
• HortScience, Inc.
• Pleasanton CA

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Urban Forest Plan -- Background

• Outgrowth of previous plans
• FUF State of Urban Forest plans (1992 2001)
• Sustainability plan for SF (1997)
• Recent research
• Street tree assessment (USDA Forest Service)
• Urban forest assessment (USDA Forest Service)
• Voter survey (David Binder)
• FUF street tree survival
• Council outline overview

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Urban Forest Plan

• Foundational statements

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San Franciscos urban forest

• San Franciscos urban forest is comprised of
  all the trees and other vegetation found within
  city limits, a collective greenscape that
  provides environmental, economic, and social
  benefits for today and into the future.
• Urban Forest Council

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Urban Forest Plan

• Foundational statements
• Definition.
• A mosaic of public private trees.
• Many large plantings are mature in character.

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SFs urban forest.
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Golden Gate Park Master Plan (1998)

• Park forest will continue to decline through
  natural aging process.
• Loss of 6,000 trees from 1980 to 1993 (33,000 to
  27,000)
• Reforestation changed from 25 to 30 year rotation
  to 50 years

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Urban Forest Plan

• Foundational statements
• Definition of urban forest.
• Provides economic, environmental social
  benefits to residents, visitors, neighborhoods
  businesses.

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Urban Forest Plan

• Foundational statements
• Definition of urban forest.
• Provides economic, environmental social
  benefits to residents, visitors, neighborhoods
  businesses.
• Requires active management.

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Urban Forest Plan

• Foundational statements
• Definition of urban forest.
• Provides economic, environmental social
  benefits to residents, visitors, neighborhoods
  businesses.
• Requires active management.
• Part of the Citys infrastructure must be
  considered at all stages of planning
  development.

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SFs urban forest.
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Urban Forest Plan

• Historical overview
• Description of structure function
• Outcomes (goals)
• Implementation action

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History of Urban Forest

• No native forest resource
• Brief, intense period of afforestation (1870
  1925)
• Public private

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Urban forest structure function

• Land use
• 43 pavement
• 26 buildings
• 12 canopy cover
• Canopy cover
• 5 Los Angeles
• 27 New York
• 28 Chicago

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Urban forest structure function

• 668,000 trees represented by 100 species
• 100,000 blue gum
• 85,000 Pittosporum sp.
• 56,000 Monterey pine
• 25,000 Mont. cypress
• 21,000 glossy privet
• Large parks vs. streets
• Blue gum, Monterey pine cypress
• Pittosporum privet

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Urban forest structure function

• Environmental function
• Removes 287 tons of atmospheric contaminants.
  Worth 1.3 million
• Removes 5,100 tons of carbon
• Stores 194,000 tons of carbon as biomass

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Urban forest structure function

• Social psychological function

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Urban forest structure function

• No reliable information about planting removal

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Urban forest structure function

• 106,789 street trees
• 26,000 DPW
• 80,000 private
• Not evenly distributed across the city
• 90 good or fair condition
• 125,000 vacant planting spaces (27,000 empty
  basins)

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Social assessment of urban forest

• 100 voters in each of 11 districts
• 70 District 7 satisfied
• 45 District 6
• 44 District 11
• 62 believe government should be managing street
  trees

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Goals of the Urban Forest Plan
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Goals of the Urban Forest Plan

• 1. Nurture and conserve the existing urban
  forest.

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Goals of the Urban Forest Plan

• 2. Expand the urban forest through new
  planting.

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Goals of the Urban Forest Plan

• 3. Foster a shared set of values about the
  urban forest through education and action.

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Goals of the Urban Forest Plan

• 4. Manage the urban forest in a coordinated,
  responsible and effective manner.

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Goals of the Urban Forest Plan

• 5. Identify sustainable approaches for the
  funding and implementation of urban forest
  initiatives.

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Goals of the Urban Forest Plan

• Maintain existing trees
• Plant new ones (in needy areas)
• Translate a love for trees into action
• Develop consistency of care management
• Provide adequate, stable funding.

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Action steps.

• 1. Develop a set of standards and best management
  practices for tree selection, purchase,
  installation and care.
• Ensure that all City departments and projects use
  industry standards certified arborists.
• Outreach to general public.
• 2. Protect existing trees from/during
  development.
• Develop legislative tools policies that protect
  existing trees, on public private property.
• Tree preservation plan as part of development
  application.

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Action steps.

• 3. Establish a goal of no net loss of trees.
• Where a tree is removed due to development
  whether public or private, the responsible party
  should be required to replace its value, either
  through new planting or fees.
• 4. Institute a more aggressive reforestation
  program in City parks facilities
• City Departments to plant trees
• 30 year rotation Golden Gate Park ( others)

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Action steps.

• 5. Pursue and secure funding from public and
  semi-public sources for planting and maintenance.
• 6. Establish one or more city-wide goals for the
  urban forest.
• 1 street tree for every 5 residents (now 7)
• canopy coverage to 15 (now 12)

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Action steps.

• 7. Update the list of recommended trees.
• 8. Engage underserved areas and initiate tree
  planting.
• Supervisors, community leaders and other groups.
  
• Focus on the North Beach, Sunset, Merced, Potrero
  Hill, Bay View-Hunters Point, and Excelsior-Outer
  Mission.
• DPW/FUF

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Action steps.

• 9. Engage the SF Unified School District and
  associated PFA groups at local schools to develop
  a tree planting programs.
• FUF outreach program
• City support (financial, recognition)

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