Council reviews National City Urban Forest Management Plan; staff outlines tree inventory, planting goals and maintenance needs

The council received a presentation from the public works department and West Coast Arborists on the City of National City's Urban Forest Management Plan, the results of the street‑tree inventory and a multi‑year monitoring and planting strategy.

Director of Engineering & Public Works Steve Manganiello said the city maintains roughly 9,400–9,500 public trees in parks and along streets and is approximately at an 18% tree canopy coverage (inventory includes private trees). The plan recommends a target of about 20% canopy citywide; staff estimated that would require planting roughly 1,500 additional appropriately sited trees.

Mike Pallett of West Coast Arborists walked council through the inventory methodology, the distribution of existing trees and identified vacant public‑right‑of‑way locations with the greatest potential for new parkway plantings; he noted many suitable sites are clustered on the West Side and that some older sites fail repeatedly because of contaminated or compacted soils.

Key points: - The city currently operates one in‑house tree‑trimming crew and has used West Coast Arborists as a contractor to handle heavy‑lift work and emergency response; with that mix the city maintains a 2–2.5 year trimming cycle, within the industry 2–4 year standard. - Planting and establishment are staff‑intensive: young trees require watering for multiple years and many grants only cover the cost of plants and short‑term support, not long‑term establishment or infrastructure such as irrigation. - The 2016 inventory and subsequent updates show plantings, removals of invasive/diseased specimens, and a need for increased species diversity; the top 10 species now represent slightly over 10% for the single largest species, which staff said is acceptable from a risk‑management standpoint.

Council discussion focused on prioritizing tree plantings in neighborhoods with low canopy, irrigation needs for parkway plantings, grant opportunities (Cal Fire and others) and community partnerships to support long‑term tree care. Staff said the city recently purchased a replacement boom truck and will use the arborist inventory software (ArborAccess) to manage work orders and track tree history.

Why it matters: More canopy provides shade, improved air quality and stormwater benefits; the plan lays out operational needs and a monitoring framework that will guide planting and maintenance decisions.

Next steps: Staff will continue prioritizing planting locations, pursue grant funding, maintain the inventory and return with implementation details and resource needs when funding opportunities arise.