Buellton Spearheading Urban Forestry Efforts For Tree City Designation
Jarrod Zinn
BUELLTON, Calif. (KEYT) – The city of Buellton is spearheading an urban forestry initiative.
In pursuit of Tree City U.S.A. designation, Buellton seeks to establish a procedural framework for communities to maintain and expand their urban forests.
“The concept of urban forestry refers to the planting, care, and maintenance of trees within an urban environment within the city proper,” says Scott Wolfe, Buellton’s City Manager.
City leaders say that overall this is an effort to streamline policies and ordinances that currently are as scattered as naturally grown trees themselves.
“The big desire, too, is to ensure their native plants are species that will really thrive in the area,” says Buellton’s mayor David Silva. “So it’s not just putting trees in the ground, it’s putting trees that will really stand the test of time and meet the moment as we work to ensure that our town is climate resilient.”
Mayor Silva proposes putting together drafts of several of tree-related policies, and then combining them into one streamlined community effort for mitigation, upkeep, and future growth.
“The Tree City USA designation is granted by the Arbor Day Foundation, and it’s really a way to showcase cities that are leading the way in prioritizing trees as not just an ancillary part of their policies,” says mayor Silva.
City leaders hope to establish a method to oversee these efforts, as well as to enhance the mediation of disputes related to tree removal.
“Part of the ordinance that the city council’s in the process of adopting right now creates or codifies the creation of a tree and landscape advisory board,” says Wolfe.
During the November city council session, the policy passed with a unanimous vote.
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