Bellflower Council OKs finish of urban forestry plan, directs general fund cover shortfall

The Bellflower City Council voted unanimously March 24 to authorize the city manager to complete the city's urban forestry management plan with West Coast Arborist and to designate general-fund dollars to cover a remaining shortfall if federal grant reimbursements do not arrive.

The council voted to finish work on an 80% complete plan that officials say will guide tree inventory, planting, maintenance and long-term canopy goals across Bellflower.

City staff told the council the plan originally was funded through a U.S. Forest Service grant administered through national partners. "The city was awarded a million dollar grant from the US Forestry Services last year," staff member Wong Su said during the presentation, noting the grant's national funding expanded after enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act. Su said the city contracted West Coast Arborist to prepare the plan and contracted with Green Latinos as a national partner but that Green Latinos paused work and reimbursements earlier this year while it awaited federal direction.

Wong Su said the contract with West Coast Arborist totaled $80,000 and that $65,250 has been paid for work to date. "To date, we just heard at the end of last week that Green Latinos has reimbursed $44,250 of that $65,250," Su said, adding that a further $21,000 reimbursement request for Q1 2025 remained under review by Green Latinos and the U.S. Forest Service. Su said about $14,750 of West Coast Arborist's contracted work remained to finish community engagement and compile the final plan.

Len Greicke, who answered council questions about the plan's longevity, described the document as a long-term management tool. "This is essentially just a your general plan for trees," Greicke said. He told councilmembers the plan is intended to guide tree decisions for decades and that West Coast Arborist completed field inventory work and canopy assessments that took months.

Councilmember Victor Sanchez made the motion to authorize the city manager to finish the plan and designate an alternative funding source. Councilmember Dan Coops seconded. Roll call votes were recorded as Coops: Aye; Morse: Aye; Sanchez: Aye; Mayor Pro Tem Sonny Santinez: Aye; Mayor Dutton: Aye. The motion passed.

City staff said the city has a tree-management account within the grant fund but that the remaining amount can be covered by the general fund if needed; staff confirmed the city had not yet used the $150,000 budgeted in the capital projects master-plan account and suggested those resources could be reallocated. Councilmembers described the additional $14,750 (and the potential total city exposure of $35,750 if unreimbursed work is counted) as a modest investment to obtain the completed plan and move toward future planting.

The council also discussed how the plan would support future planting programs; staff said the plan would identify appropriate tree species for different street types, including "concrete-friendly" options, and provide the framework for future capital requests to plant larger numbers of trees over time.

The council directed staff to proceed with completion using the alternate funding authority specified in the motion, and the item concluded with staff stating they would continue to pursue federal reimbursement if the grant resumes.

The final plan will be returned to the council once the community-engagement component is finished and West Coast Arborist compiles the final document.