ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT MEETING AGENDA PACKET

Page 2 of 5 BACKGROUND In the early 1970s, the City of Pleasanton recognized the importance of trees to the community and prioritized the preservation of them by adopting a Tree Preservation Ordinance and creating a report for tree management. With the adoption of the Climate Action Plan 2.0 (CAP 2.0) in 2022, the changing conditions and growth of the city, new state regulations, and the need to determine a management strategy for the city’s aging urban forest, on March 21, 2023 the City Council approved a contract with Dudek for an Urban Forest Master Plan project, CIP No. 20773. The Urban Forest Master Plan was determined as necessary to manage the City’s aging urban forest, update the city’s tree inventory and tree preservation ordinance, and meet the urban forestry goals as identified in the CAP 2.0. Staff held their project kick-off meeting with Dudek in May 2023. A website (www.ptowntrees.com) was created, a survey was posted, and public outreach events were held. The city’s public outreach plan was initially presented to the Energy and Environment Commission on May 24 and based on that feedback, staff and Dudek conducted a survey from August to October 2023. In addition, the city held several public outreach events to obtain input on the plan, including an event at the August 5 and September 16 Farmers Markets, the August 11 “Concert in the Park” event, and the April 20 “Earth Day” event. The outreach results, including over 600 responses to the survey, were presented to the Parks and Recreation Commission on August 10. The Commission recommended that staff conduct further outreach to the youth, so staff posted another survey that targeted the youth and presented the project to the Youth Commission on February 14, 2024. The additional outreach resulted in responses from more than 50 youth under the age of 18. While the public outreach was taking place, Dudek also inventoried the 27,601 city- owned trees identified in the city’s maintenance inventory, and staff continued to work on updating the Tree Preservation Ordinance. The inventory was completed in Summer 2023, and the ordinance was reviewed by the City Council at their December 3, 2024, meeting and adopted on December 17. DISCUSSION The updated inventory and ordinance are crucial components of the UFMP to ensure that tree canopy projections and the management strategy are realistic and attainable, and that trees that increase the benefits to the community and environment are prioritized. The UFMP sets the vision, goals, and objectives for Pleasanton’s tree canopy over the next 25-year period and provides a roadmap on how to manage our trees to sustain a healthy urban forest that helps to address climate challenges while also meeting the challenges of an aging city with an expanding population. The plan directly affects the way Pleasanton residents, the development community, and city staff interact with, protect, and manage trees.