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Council authorizes ODNR urban forestry grant application; city plans to plant trees in major parks
Summary
Council authorized staff to apply for an Ohio Department of Natural Resources urban forestry grant and discussed plans to replenish tree canopy in several city parks, including a 100-tree planting at Oakwood Park.
Lorain City Council voted unanimously to authorize the director of safety and service to apply for grant funding from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Urban Forestry Grant Program. Council discussed how grant funds would be used to assess tree conditions and expand canopy in several parks, including Oakwood Park, Central Park, Longfellow Park and Lakeview Park.
A city official told council the grant application would support a broader effort to plan and replace trees lost in recent storms and from past utility work. Council was informed that the city had already secured funding to plant about 100 trees at Oakwood Park and that staff would issue details about that project.
Council members asked whether the grant would be used only for replacement at one park or to address canopy citywide; staff said the plan was to use funds to extend the canopy across the major parks and develop a multi-year replacement plan. One councilor also raised a previous streetscape project and asked whether neighborhood tree-lawn plantings could be revisited.
The ordinance authorizing the grant-application process was passed as an emergency measure and will allow staff to submit required paperwork should the grant opportunity be awarded.
