Albany council adopts street tree management plan, sets yearly planting goal of about 170 trees

The Albany City Council on Sept. 15 unanimously approved a Street Tree Management Plan that city staff and consultants developed after a 2023 street-tree inventory and two years of public outreach.

The plan, presented by Public Works Director Mark Hurley and consultants Daria Barar and Ryan Suttle of HortScience/Bartlett Consulting, sets a near-term planting target of roughly 170 street trees per year, recommends proactive maintenance cycles, and highlights equity by mapping neighborhood canopy disparities.

The inventory completed in February 2023 estimated Albany’s overall tree canopy at about 19 percent and found that street trees account for about one-fifth of that canopy. The consultants told council that 56 percent of street trees recorded are in “good” condition and 37 percent in “fair” condition. The draft plan estimates annual air-quality benefits from the street-tree canopy at roughly $53,000 and assigns an approximate value of $1,300,000 for stored carbon with an additional $50,000 in annual sequestration value.

“Street trees deliver ecosystem services like…