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28 | CITY OF PLEASANTON URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN <br />STATUS OF THE URBAN FOREST <br />($90,900/year). In fiscal year 2023-2024, the City spent $67.62 <br />per public tree, so for every dollar ($1) that the City’s urban <br />forestry program spends to maintain and manage public <br />trees, the community receives an equivalent of $1.24 dollars in <br />environmental benefits, showing that investment in the urban <br />forest yields a positive return for community members. <br />Trees and Property Values <br />In addition to the environmental and other quality of life <br />benefits that Pleasanton’s trees provide including shade, <br />reducing the urban heat island effect, habitat for wildlife, <br />and improving public health (O’Brien et al., 2022), trees <br />have also been shown to have a positive effect on <br />property values. <br />A study that analyzed multiple research papers on <br />trees and residential property values found that trees <br />could increase the value of a home anywhere from <br />two percent (homes with mature backyard trees) to <br />fifteen percent (in neighborhoods with good mature <br />tree cover), compared to homes and neighborhoods <br />with fewer trees (Wolf 2007). <br />The trend shows that in most cases, the more trees there <br />are in a neighborhood, the greater the increase in property <br />values. Highlighting these environmental and economic <br />benefits is one method to encourage residents and <br />business owners to participate in urban forest programs. <br />Table 1-4. Financial Value of City-Managed Trees  <br />Value Description Asset Amount Per-Tree Value <br />Carbon Storage <br />(10.92 tons) Amount of Carbon held in trees $21,200/annual $0.91  <br />Structural Tree replacement cost $99,400,000 $4,266 <br />Functional Value based on the services trees perform $90,900 $3.90 <br />Sources: City of Pleasanton Tree Inventory (Dudek 2024); i-Tree Eco (USFS 2020).