Troutdale receives $100,000 state grant to create first urban-forestry management plan

Troutdale has received a $100,000 grant from the State of Oregon to develop the city's first urban-forestry management plan, staff told the Planning Commission Sept. 10. The management plan will address trees in public spaces, including parks, greenways and street rights-of-way, and will produce goals, strategies, and a street-tree manual.
Staff said public engagement is underway (a flyer and online survey appear in the meeting packet) and that staff will be at community events including Movies in the Park to gather input. The parks advisory committee will review draft documents and make a recommendation to City Council, staff said.
The plan will include a review of the municipal code (the city's street-tree rules are in the municipal code, not the development code), a street-tree manual with planting guidance and root-barrier recommendations, and suggested incentives for property owners to plant and maintain trees. Staff expects the process to conclude with consultant deliverables early next spring.
Commissioners raised practical questions about appropriate species for sidewalks, hill stability and wind resilience, maintenance responsibilities, and guidance on pruning heights; staff said the manual will address those topics and that a more robust street-tree list is planned. Staff also said the management plan would inform any development-code edits touching street-tree standards, even though the municipal-code provisions remain separate.