Month: April 2019

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City of San Diego FY 2020 Proposed Budget–Again Zeros Out Tree Trimming

The proposed FY 2020 Budget for the City of San Diego includes a $1.1 million reduction in tree maintenance. The reasons are the same (as the previous two years, when reductions of $900,000 were proposed but were eventually funded.  Again, public (and professional) comment is essential to restore this funding.  This blog provides some key messages for budget advocacy, and links to key FY 2020 budget documents.

Budget Hearings, May 1-2

The Council held budget hearings, and the Independent Budget Analyst (IBA) and most of the Councilmembers questioned the wisdom of these reductions and called for restoration. Community members spoke, and key messages were:

  • Parks & Recreation:  addition of tree trimmer and pesticide applicator were positive, that the reduction of three park rangers was unwise (and Parks director announced that the Mayor’s “May revise” budget would restore these).
  • Sustainability:  climate change will transport our lives and natural environments, and climate action may be the most impactful investment that the City makes, and that Climate Action Plan is not being implemented when tree canopy declines due to lack of maintenance.
  • Transportation & Stormwater:  past and current Council support for level urban forestry funding, implications of not maintaining trees, urgency of planting  healthy trees in the next five years to ensure tree canopy and healthy neighborhoods in the next 25 years; others identified the backlog of entering and addressing Get it Done reports  (view video at http://sandiego.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=54&clip_id=7696 .
  • Councilmembers asked about reasons for proposed tree care contract reductions (to avoid FTE cuts in other programs), commented “here we go again,” commented on Urban Corps tree planting work, drew attention to liabilities and settlements related to trees, and called for the budget to be restored.

Messsages

  • Trees need to be maintained in healthy conditions to continue providing shade, cool neighborhoods, storm water retention, protect City assets, and follow-through with Climate Action Plan commitments.
  • Reductions in regular tree maintenance increase the likelihood of safety hazards, the City’s related liabilities, exposure to lawsuits, and future settlement costs.
  • The City needs at least one additional arborist/horticulturalist in the Streets Division to oversee tree contracts this year, a Code Enforcement Officer in Development Services, and $300,000 for planting 1,500 additional street trees.

Documents

  • City Council’s budget hearings, Schedule May 2019
  • IBA report , Independent Budget Analyst, 4/25/19, 181 p.  Page 7, Tree Trimming Reduction Tree trimming, a high priority for the community and Council, has been reduced by $1.1 million by eliminating non-palm tree routine trimming contracts. This program has been reduced for the past three years and restored by Council each time. Page 15 and 41, impacts on Climate Action Plan.  Page 172-173, Streets Division.  $1.1 million reduction in funding for the City’s contract to trim street trees. The FY 2019 Proposed Budget included a similar reduction, but the funding was ultimately restored using onetime funding in the Adopted Budget.
  • This IBA report asserts that the budget reduction will reduce the frequency those trees are trimmed from once every 9 years to once every 43 years, effectively eliminating scheduled non-palm tree trimming. The number of non-palm trees expected to be trimmed in FY 2020 will fall from roughly 20,000 to 4,000 as a result of this reduction in funding. TSW indicates that it will still trim and maintain trees that could have immediate public safety impacts regardless of whether the particular tree posing a safety hazard is scheduled for periodic trimming. Nevertheless, reductions in regular tree maintenance can increase the likelihood of safety hazards and may increase the City’s related liabilities.
  • Transportation and Storm Water Department, FY20 proposed budget T&SW .  Page 627, footnote:  The proposed $1.1 million reduction to non-palm tree trimming in FY 2020 will effectively eliminate all scheduled non-palm tree trimming and reduce the total number of trees trimmed to 25,000.  Page 632-633, Personnel expenditures, no proposed changes.  NOTE: The urban forestry contractual services reduction of $1.2 million is almost 30% of the entire T&SW Dept’s net expenditure reduction of $4.2 million.  The overall Streets General Fund expenditure proposal is $55 million, 2% of which is urban forestry contracts ($2.4 million).
  • Overview of April 18 meeting of Council’s Environment Committee, that focused on urban forest management, http://sdrufc.com/2019/04/10/april18/
  • SDUT_article, 4/11/19, Faulconer budget closes deficit without cuts to many popular programs:  Proposed $1.57B spending plan could face intense scrutiny from City Council.
  • FY20 Council Budget Priorities assembled by Independent Budget Analyst, 1/31/19, 99 p.  Page 3, overview, “[A] majority of Councilmembers supported budget items to meet CAP Strategy 5’s goal of increasing urban tree canopy coverage. Urban forestry items …. included additional street trees, increased contract work for tree inspection and scheduled care, an additional code enforcement officer for urban forestry, and a complete tree canopy analysis. Six Councilmembers specifically prioritized adding one Arborist/Horticulturalist position to the Streets Division.”
  • Letter to Mayor and Council, January 14, 2019, with requests and rationale for additional funding and staffing.
  • Reminders about benefits of trees, http://sdrufc.com/treebenefits/
  • Citizens Guide to the Budget Process and FY 2019 Adopted Budget.
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City of SD’s Environment Committee featured urban forestry at April 18, 2019 meeting

The City of San Diego’s Environment Committee meeting on April 18, 2019 focused on urban forestry.  City Forester Brian Widener, Community Forest Advisory Board Chair Anne Fege, and Balboa Park Conservancy Executive Director Tomas Herrera-Mishler gave presentations, followed by public comment by 31 community leaders and professionals and questions by committee members.  Three presentations were items 6, 7, and 8 in April 18 agenda . The PDFs of the agenda, staff reports, and slides are assembled at Agenda_reports slides 24p

Committee Chair Jennifer Campbell (Chair, District 2) and councilmembers Barbara Bry (D1), Scott Sherman (D7), and Vivian Moreno (D8) repeated their appreciation for community and professional support for urban forestry, shared their support for healthy trees and neighborhoods, and asked what they can do (and we gave them suggestions). They inquired about water restrictions during drought, tracking tree conditions and loss, emerging pests, replanting trees after undergrounding utilities, permeable pavements, quality nursery stock, training tree care workers and contractors, and more.

ITEM 7.  City Forester Brian Widener talked about FY 2018 accomplishments and upcoming challenges and opportunities, for street trees, parks and the overall urban forestry program.   Public comments:  Janay Kruger (Trees 1000 Foundation) talked about funding trees on private land. Andrew Meyer (Audubon), about habitat benefits for birds and other wildlife, and Frank Landis (California Native Plant Society) about multiple-benefits of native trees.  Kathy Copley and her ASLA-American Society of Landscape Architects colleagues (Brett Allen, Phil Armstrong, Chris Drayer and Michelle Landis) expressed concern about inadequate soil volumes for tree health and advocated for updated standards and code enforcement.

ITEM 8.  Community Forest Advisory Board (CFAB) chair Anne Fege emphasized the complexity of managing trees as City assets, and recommended four actions: (1) Engage communities in setting tree canopy priorities; (2) Initiate a long-term tree planting program; (3) Focus on codes and best management practices; and (4) Explore special districts and other financing options. One-page summaries at April 18 Four Actions .

Public comments:  Muriel King and her neighbors (Nancy and Wes Janssen, Ray Buendia, Rodney West, and Britta Kuhlow) talked about their neighborhood beautification, 200 trees that were planted along major roads and in HOA area, and benefits of active leisure and community cohesion. Virginia Wilson thanked the city for planting 140 trees in Ocean Beach, and is now noticing more tree requests, that is, the trees are advertising themselves.  Cody Petterson noted that there are large tree losses in canyons due to pests, that budgets continue to be inadequate.  Rob Hutsel, SD River Park Foundation, described efforts to remove non-native trees and plant native trees-shrubs.  Adrienne Heinzelman, SanDiego350.org, focused on the benefits of trees, increasing heat waves, pests and long-term tree health.  Troy Murphree focused on needs for code compliance officer, which could pay for itself by collecting fines.  Rachele Melious focused on tree watering and updating “point system” in land development code to reflect ecosystem benefits.

ITEM 9. Tomas Herrera-Mishler, Executive Director of Balboa Park Conservancy, gave an overview of the recent tree inventory, compared it to the inventories and goals set in 2001, and highlighted species diversity, tree conditions, and succession planning.  Trustee Michael Yee (with time ceded by John Venekamp) focused on importance of this data, native trees, climate action, and pride for Balboa Park. Anne Fege suggested a “summit” to bring resources together.

VIDEO.  The meeting video is archived at http://sandiego.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=51&clip_id=7686.  Widener’s presentation starts at 0:47:30, Fege’s at 1:1:21:57; and Herrera-Mishler’s at 2:00:52. Each is followed by public speakers and dialogue with councilmembers.  (On March 14, the committee focused on the Climate Action Plan and the meeting video is archived at http://sandiego.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=51&clip_id=7660, with 1-minute clip on resident with new street tree at 1:19:00, and urban forestry-related public comments at 1:21:20, starting with Fege.)

NEXT STEPS?

  • Start thinking about a “Tree Summit” with public, business, nonprofit, community and professional sectors.
  • Testify at FY 2020 budget hearings in early May to oppose the proposed reduction of $1.2 million for tree trimming.
  • Set up or participate in meetings, or provide information for specific questions or interests (include SDG&E tree planting and Urban Corps training)
  • Keep the “tree code revision group” moving w/ local professionals and City staff, then ask Council members to push the City to process them and then vote to approve changes.
  • Continue to provide support for the City in projects they have limited staff for, such as further analysis of tree canopy analysis spreadsheets, potential technology applications, and collective actions for quality nursery stock.