1 Santa Maria Urban Forest Management Plan
City Council Meeting
J U N E 4 , 2 0 2 4
2 Meeting Overview
01 02
04 Urban Forest
Management Planning
Community Engagement
Tree Inventory Analysis
Management Practices05
03 06
Canopy Cover Analysis
Tree Policies
07 Implementation
3 ▪ Proposition 68, the California Drought, Water,
Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection and Outdoor
Access for All Act of 2018 provided funds for
CAL FIRE to administer.
▪ CAL FIRE was awarded $29.9 million of Prop 68
funding for Urban and Community Forestry
projects throughout California in 2021/2022.
▪ The CAL FIRE Urban & Community Forestry
Program works to optimize the benefits of trees
through multiple-objective projects, such as an
Urban Forest Management Plan.
▪ Santa Maria was awarded a $150,000 grant to
prepare an Urban Forest Management Plan,
perform ordinance/policy updates, and plant
750 trees through community tree planting
events.
Vision Statement
Urban Forest Management Plan
4 Urban Forest Management Planning
What is it and why is it important?
A Vision for the Santa Maria Urban Forest
01 5
• A vision for Santa Maria’s urban forest
• Framework for how the City will manage its urban forest over the next 40 years
• Created through a collaborative process that includes analysis of current City practices, policies, tree inventory, tree canopy, and input from City and public
• Strategic Plan that sets short-, medium-, and long-term goals and actions
• Implementation Plan that prioritizes actions
• Monitoring Plan with a system to measure progress
towards the vision
• Adaptive document to change with future conditions
What is a UFMP?
6 Vision Statement
Developing the UFMP
7 8
Community Engagement02
9 Vision Statement
Community Engagement
Public Survey
• English and Spanish
• 246 responses
Working Group
• Members of the Urban Forest Advisory
Committee
• 5 working meetings between September
2022 – July 2023
• Developed the vision, guiding principles,
and reviewed analyses throughout the
project
10 Canopy Cover Analysis03
11 Canopy Cover Analysis
12 Increasing Canopy Cover
13 Buena Vista Park: 5.6% canopy cover
Comparison of Canopy Cover
Pioneer Park: 22.2% canopy cover
14 Tree Inventory Analysis04
15 T ree Inventory Analysis
16 T ree Inventory Environmental Services and Benefits
17 T ree Inventory Financial V alue
18 T ree Planting Opportunities
19 Recommended T ree Species List
• Prioritize trees rated as very low or low by the
Water Use Classification of Landscape
Species
• Adapted to future heat and drought
conditions
• Adapted local and regionally native species
• Diverse tree sizes to encourage a “right tree,
right place” philosophy of tree selection and
planting
• A diversity of species to achieve species
diversity standards
• Options to reflect existing neighborhood
character
20 Management Practices05
21 Management Practices
Urban Forest Management
Organizational Structure
Santa Maria uses a
combination of in-house staff
and external contractors for
tree care and maintenance
22 Management Practices
Comparison of Urban Forest Management Staffing
23 Management Practices
Tree Management Budget
24 Management Practices
2022/2023 Tree Management Budget
25 Tree Policies06
26 T ree Policies
Recommended revisions:
• Update to reflect ISA and ANSI standards
• Require arborist review of landscape plans
• Expand the existing 10-foot planter requirement to all new development/redevelopment • Establish minimum tree planting requirements/canopy cover targets by land use type (e.g., 20% canopy in parking lots)
• Establish tree removal/ replacement ratios
Municipal Code Chapter 8-8, Urban Forestry
Municipal Code Chapter 11-5, Subdivision Design
Municipal Code Chapter 12, Zoning
Replacement Ratio
Size of Removed
Tree
Small tree Medium tree Large tree
Small tree 3:1 2:1 1:1
Medium tree 4:1 3:1 2:1
Large tree 5:1 4:1 2:1
27 T ree Policies
• A Field Guide was developed to identify best
management practices (BMPs) for tree planting,
spacing, tree selection, pruning, etc
• Based on arboriculture and urban forestry
standards International Society of Arboriculture
(ISA), American National Standards Institute
(ANSI), Urban Tree Foundation, and experience
of the consultant team
• The Field Guide establishes clear and consistent
BMPs to be applied in the City by all staff,
contractors, and others who interact with trees
28 29
Implementation07
30 Vision Statement
Implementation
Achieving the vision will take place
over the next 30 to 40-years and will
require a commitment from the City
Each Guiding Principle is achieved
through a strategy, supported by
specific action items
The implementation plan prioritizes
actions as short-, medium-, and
long-term actions
31 Recommended Actions to Prioritize
Identify potential funding
mechanisms to support
implementation of UFMP
activities.
Provide public education,
expand upon existing
partnerships and create
new partnerships, and
continue to engage the
public and community
groups in tree care and
tree planting.
Adopt an updated tree
protection ordinance to
include ISA best
management standards
and achieve the City’s
tree protection goals.
Resources Public Engagement Ordinance Update
Thank you