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CITY OF PLEASANTON URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN | 129 STATUS OF THE URBAN FOREST PUBLIC AND PRIVATE TREES Current Practices The City of Pleasanton has a long history of protecting Heritage Trees, City-owned trees, and trees planted as a condition of approval alongside development. The City’s municipal code includes permit requirements to remove such trees and a set of conditions that must be met for trees to be removed. The City also provides helpful resources to community members on the City website. Resources include tree selection and planting guidelines, a list of qualified arborists, and supporting documents that help community members understand tree policy within the City of Pleasanton. Recommendations Host a series of outreach events to help community understand the new tree ordinance. Host annual tree education events centered around the UFMP initiatives, the tree ordinance, and tree plantings. Create a tree/seedling giveaway program and aim to give out 100 trees per year to residents living in neighborhoods that most need more canopy Consider implementing an In-lieu fee and alternatives when protected trees are removed and on-site replacement is not feasible. While the previous sections focused on the entire urban forest (public and private trees), the following sections’ (2.5 through 2.8) analyses are based on only the public trees that the City manages. 2.5 Species Diversity (City Managed Trees Only) Cities with tree inventories that have low species diversity are more susceptible to invasive pests, pathogens, and significant weather events. California acquires a new invasive pest approximately once every 60 days (Sutherland 2014). While not all introduced invasive species result in destructive losses to urban forests, an important strategy to increase resiliency to threats is to foster a diverse urban forest. For example, Dutch Elm Disease wiped out many of the American Elm population throughout the United States in the mid-1900s after it was accidentally introduced in the 1930s. An urban forest that loses many of its trees from pests and pathogens due to low species diversity will have direct implications on public health. Loss of trees in an urban forest mean loss of the benefits provided by those trees, including shade on hot days, reduction of the heat island effect, stormwater capture, improved air quality, and benefits to mental well-being.