Escondido planners outline accelerated urban-forestry program after federal grant timeline is cut

City staff and a consultant told the Escondido Planning Commission that a shortened federal grant timeline has forced the city to accelerate early tree plantings while it develops a longer-term urban forestry management plan.

Associate Planner Priscilla Roldan said the city’s Climate Action Plan directed staff to develop an urban forestry management plan and that a U.S. Department of Agriculture/U.S. Forest Service grant authorized by City Council resolution 2024-127 funded the work. Roldan told the commission that federal cuts to related programs and staff shortened the grant timeline from roughly three years to six months, and the council approved resolution 2025-09 to proceed with a consultant contract despite the compressed schedule.

The project team, led by Dudek urban forest planner Kanami Ohtani, described the plan’s two tracks: (1) early tree care and plantings to use available grant funds within the six-month window, and (2) development of an urban forestry management plan (UFMP) that will analyze the city’s tree inventory, canopy cover and policy updates.

“The city of Escondido currently has approximately an 18% canopy cover,” Ohtani said, describing the combined public and private canopy figure the team is using for planning. She said the publicly managed inventory shows a high proportion of queen palms and coast live oaks and that about 60% of inventoried public trees are higher water‑use species. The consultant said that fitting species diversity targets (industry guidance often cites keeping no single species above roughly 5% of the inventory) and adding “climate‑ready” species will be part of the UFMP recommendations.

Roldan and Dudek said the program will include recommendations on a species list, tree‑protection and planting guidance, and potential changes to local regulations to better protect mature trees on private property. They described a free street‑tree program under which residents may adopt a city‑owned right‑of‑way planting; homeowners who accept a planted tree must commit to watering the new tree for three years to help it establish, the staff presentation said.

Staff summarized early public outreach: 156 survey responses so far, with about 70% of respondents wanting more shade trees in their neighborhoods and about 35% saying they would plant a tree if financial assistance were available. The UFMP will also target planting and programming to areas the Council on Environmental Quality’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool identifies as disproportionately exposed to heat, pollution and certain health risks, staff said.

Commissioners pressed staff on several practical issues during the roughly two‑hour discussion. Commissioner Stavey questioned why relatively small, low‑shade trees were used in recent Grand Avenue plantings and asked what the commission’s role should be to encourage larger canopy trees on future capital projects. Ohtani responded that sometimes smaller stock establishes better and that planting large boxed trees can introduce root issues; she said the UFMP offers an opportunity to guide “right tree, right place” decisions and to bring arborists earlier into project design reviews.

Commissioners and staff discussed root conflicts with underground utilities, the maintenance burden of palms versus shade trees, the interaction between solar panels and overhead shade, pests and pathogens, and whether the city’s current tree‑preservation ordinance should be expanded. Assistant City Engineer and Public Works staff described existing design standards and planting practices used on public rights‑of‑way and said many operational policies (for example, contiguous sidewalks and planting locations) would be reviewed and possibly memorialized in the UFMP.

Roldan said staff and the consultant are continuing outreach—tabling events, focus groups, a business focus group and the free street‑tree canvass—and intend to post a draft UFMP for public comment in the fall. Roldan also noted near‑term dates tied to program administration: the public survey then open at the time of the meeting closes July 18, and homeowners must contact the city by July 31 to enter the free street‑tree program for the current planting window.

Public comment at the meeting included Carol Gomez, facilitator of the Healthy Escondido Coalition, who spoke earlier in the meeting in support of a separate General Plan amendment and of adding an environmental‑justice section to the plan’s health and services chapter. Gomez said those changes "are essential for Escondido's future" and that strengthening policies on fire hazards and climate resilience would protect public safety.

No formal action or vote was required at the meeting; staff were briefed and asked to continue outreach and data collection. The UFMP process will produce recommendations on species, planting priorities, potential ordinance changes and ongoing maintenance funding needs for future commission and council consideration.