URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN - Laserfiche WebLink

CITY OF PLEASANTON URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN | 11 KEY FINDINGS Key Finding #1 Canopy Cover is Increasing Through Improved Management Actions Canopy cover, the area of land shaded by tree leaves, branches, and stems, increased on a City-wide basis from 18.5% in 2012 to 25.3% in 2022 (See Table 1-1 and 1-2). Several factors have contributed to this observed increase, including younger trees maturing in the urban forest, improved tree ordinance enforcement practices, and the Green Building code requiring more trees in parking lots and the many large private development projects over the last decade preserving and planting more trees more trees. The finer scale resolution of the 2022 data1 that was compared to the 2012 data may have also accounted for some of the increase in canopy cover). The City will need to continue to improve management actions, such as replacing all trees that are removed annually and planting, at minimum, an additional 44 trees each year over the next 25 years. Prioritizing planting in neighborhoods with lower canopy levels will help progress towards an equitable distribution of the urban forest. (See Section 1.4.1 to learn more about this finding). 1 Changes in the quality of available data also play a role in perceived canopy cover changes. Data from 2022 provide a finer resolution of 0.076 meter (0.25 U.S. survey feet) compared to the 1-meter resolution in 2012 and 0.6-meter resolution in 2018. This enhanced resolution, coupled with the use of liDAR technology in 2022, likely enabled more precise detection and measurement of tree cover. Table 1-1. Canopy Cover Change (2012-2022) Year Canopy Acres Canopy Percent 2012 2,544 18.5% 2018 2,567 18.7% 2022 3,472 25.3% Table 1-2. Canopy Cover by Land Use Land Use Type Canopy Percent (2012) Canopy Percent (2022) Absolute Change Circulation 7.9%8.1%0.2% Community Facility 13.0%15.3%2.3% Industrial Commercial Offices 15.9%19.4%3.5% Mixed Use 17.7%21.9%4.2% Residential 20.2%27.5%7.3% Open Space 19.0%27.9%8.9%