Council hears options to spend growing tree‑fund balance; staff recommends master plan and near‑term plantings

City staff told council that the fund paid by developers who cannot meet on‑site tree mitigation has grown rapidly since 2021, and they proposed using a mid‑year amendment to appropriate $1.25 million for near‑term plantings, strategic property acquisitions and the creation of an urban forest master plan.

Why it matters: The city’s tree fund is financed when tree‑preservation options in the Unified Development Code (UDC) are exhausted. The current balance — which staff projected to be several million dollars by fiscal‑year‑end — represents a resource the city can use for public tree planting, maintenance and targeted preservation. Council questioned the fund’s permitted scope, whether funds could be used to acquire privately held properties or to remove invasive species, and how an urban forest plan’s costs and scope should be defined.

Key points presented - Fund balance: Staff said the fiscal‑year‑end projected balance is roughly $3.4 million before the proposed mid‑year appropriation; they also noted about $1 million in expected refunds to developers and a $400,000 fiscal‑surety deposit that may be refunded depending on project…