McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
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Phil Hawkey
Friday, April 11, 2025 7:13 PM
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Marquez, Miguel
Street Trees
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Dear Mayor and Members of City Council,
The Capital Improvement Program (ltem#8) is to be considered Monday night April 14. Unfortunately the CIP does not allocate any funds to update the Street Tree Master Plan, which is urgently needed to allow for more trees to be planted throughout the city.
As Chair of the Playhouse Village Foundation, I am particularly concerned that the current Street Tree Master Plan does not allow for appropriate shade trees on Colorado Boulevard in the Playhouse Village. The Street Tree Master Plan directs that ginkgo trees and palm trees are allowed to be planted on Colorado Boulevard, neither of which provide any shade. The Playhouse Village Foundation is willing to raise money through donations to fund the planting of trees that will provide a comfortable shaded environment for a vibrant pedestrian oriented urban village. Under the current Street Tree Master Plan, however, we are not allowed to plant the species of shade trees that would provide the shaded pedestrian environment that is needed.
My request is that City Council allocate funding in the upcoming FY26 budget to revise and update the Street Tree Master Plan immediately, or, alternatively, allow for the City Manager and the Public Works Director to authorize exceptions to the Street Tree Master Plan. The first exception would allow for Playhouse Village to plant the kind of shade trees that would enhance economic vitality by providing much-needed shade and a comfortable walking experience.
Phil Hawkey
Chair, Playhouse Village Foundation
4/14/2025
ItemS
1 McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
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Carla Walecka
Monday, April 14, 2025 11:59 AM
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Brian Wallace; Arash DANIALIFA; Marjorie Lindbeck; Jordan Segall; Joshua Driskell; Johnny Buss; Carla Walecka; Rudy Ruiz
Comment on Council Agenda Item 8: Master Street Tree Plan Some people who received this message don't often get email fromLearn why this is important [ l ] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. For more information about the Phish Alert Button view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Dear Councilmembers,
I urge you to launch an immediate update to the City's Master Street Tree Plan to designate new street tree specimens capable of providing shade and attractive canopy along Colorado Boulevard within Playhouse Village boundaries,
Back in the 2010's, when I served as President of the Playhouse District Association, I worked with the City to plant the designated ginkgo street trees along Colorado Boulevard within today's Playhouse Village. The result has fallen far short of our dreams of shade and attractive canopy, despite Playhouse Village Association's sustained watering to supplement Mother Nature.
Now, as a member of the Playhouse Village Foundation Board, I want to help right the situation by raising funds to help replace the existing struggling ginkos with an appropriate shady, drought-resistant tree specimen. Working together, I believe the City and Playhouse Village Foundation can create a shady corridor within Downtown Pasadena that is worthy of a Tree City USA.
Thank you for your support for a timely update of the Master Street Tree Plan for Playhouse Village.
Carla Walecka
Board Member and Secretary, Playhouse Village Foundation 4/14/2025
ltem8
1 Iraheta, Alba
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Marjorie Lindbeck <
Monday, April 14, 2025 2:51 PM
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CIP Item No. 8
MSTP Letter_SIGNED.pdf
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Dear Mayor and Members of City Council,
Following up on Playhouse Village Foundation's recent letter (copy attached) to Mayor Gordo, Council Members and the City Manager to advocate adopting a new Street Tree Master Plan, I am writing to make sure this project will move forward in the coming fiscal year, although there is no funding specified in the CIP plan.
I serve as Vice-Chair of the Playhouse Village Foundation, and our mission is to improve and activate public spaces, streets and sidewalks. Our Board's recent letter to you outlined the need for a new Street Tree Master Plan to allow appropriate trees to be planted throughout the City. The current street tree plan is obsolete in light of today's myriad climate and fire issues.
The letter we sent earlier outlines our concerns. I am particularly concerned that the current Street Tree Master Plan does not allow for appropriate shade trees on Colorado Boulevard in Playhouse Village. The current plan provides for ginkgo trees and palm trees on Colorado Boulevard, neither of which provide sufficient shade and have proven to not perform well since they were planted in 2007. In fact, several ginkgos have been replaced at the expense of the Playhouse Village Association, in spite of our watering them, and are still not performing well.
We are eager to move forward with our priority projects to create a lively, walkable street experience in Playhouse Village and are ready to raise funds to plant trees needed to provide a vibrant, walkable street experience. We request City Council to revise the Street Tree Master Plan immediately and/or allow for the City Manager and the Public Works Director to authorize exceptions to the Street Tree Master Plan. The first exception would be to allow Playhouse Village to plant the kind of shade trees that would enhance economic vitality, create a cooling tree canopy and enhance walkability.
The trees we envision are all described and pictured in our three CIP projects that are currently in the program still awaiting funding.
Thank you for your consideration.
Marjorie Lindbeck
Vice-Chair, Playhouse Village Foundation
Resident and Property Owner
Marjorie Lindbeck
1 4/14/2025
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PldLjhouse
Village
FOUNDATION
March 9, 2025
Dear Mayor Gordo, Members of Pasadena City Council and City Manager Marquez, I am writing to you on behalf of the Playhouse Village Foundation Board of Directors to advocate for an immediate update to the City of Pasadena's Master Street Tree Plan (MSTP).
Pasadena's urban tree canopy is a visually and economically competitive asset but it is under threat. The existing M5TP dates back nearly 20 years and, in that period, we have experienced two landscape-altering wind events and seen our climate grow hotter, resulting in innumerable losses to our urban tree canopy.
Playhouse Village, like many areas in our city and region, relies on providing a comfortable and inviting environment to attract visitors and locals. Since 2019, Playhouse Village has invested nearly $400.000 into plans and actions to make Colorado Boulevard into a more livable street. However, each summer becomes hotter than the last, and many of the Gingko trees designated for Colorado Blvd continue to fail, setting us back years from establishing a mature canopy each time. While the current tree plantings on many streets have been implemented according to the existing MSTP, the Gingkos and other species are no longer suitable to create the shade and urban greening which are needed now more than ever. Further, the lack of funding allocated to implement the adopted CIP projects for our streetscapes vision has meant an unfortunate lack of attention to this growing problem in an area with widely varying degrees of economic health.
To support the needed transition to better trees, the Playhouse Village Foundation is ready to lead a fundraising campaign for shade trees in Playhouse Village. We would like to begin this tree fundraising immediately but under the current Master Street Tree Plan, many of the trees identified for Playhouse Village are inadequate to provide the shade needed to make Playhouse Village a comfortable place for pedestrian circulation. Absent an amended MSTP, community fundraising cannot gain traction due to the incompatibility of the current tree designations and today's needs.
We therefore request including funding for the MSTP update in the City of Pasadena's FY26 budget in order to begin the critical work towards establishing, restoring, and maintaining the City's urban tree canopy, A thoughtful, climate- responsive tree plan will advance Pasadena's Green City Action Plan while improving quality of life for all residents. In this process, suitable species including native trees could be considered, as they not only thrive in our local climate with minimal water use but also support biodiversity and improve air quality. Alongside this work, funding for the CtP streetscapes projects would also accelerate the needed transition and economic investment. With such a commitment by the City, fundraising could commence in order to implement the plans' goats more quickly.
We urge the City Council to support updating Pasadena's MSTP to reflect these priorities and ensure our streetscapes include the right trees in the right places. Investing in a resilient and ctimate-conscious tree strategy will ensure a greener, healthier Pasadena for generations to come. Given the increasing frequency of extreme heat events and the well-documented benefits of heat-resistant tree species, now is the time to ensure our city's urban canopy is resilient, sustainable, and equitably distributed.
Thank you for your time and consideration. We welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter further and look forward to your leadership on this important issue.
Sincere!'
Pffll^awkey, Chair' / 4/14/2025
Playhouse Village Foundatfon • 678 E. Walnut St, Unit 110B • Pasadena, CA 91101 • playhoseuillagefoundation.org ltem 8