Norwalk tree committee reports expanded plantings, budgets and outreach as council readies ordinance to create Urban Forestry Commission

Members of the Norwalk Tree Advisory Committee reviewed fall planting results, account balances and outreach plans and approved the meeting minutes as modified during a session in which staff also described plans to engage the committee on a Richards Avenue roundabout and noted that the Common Council was scheduled to vote on an update to the city's tree ordinance that would reconstitute the advisory board as an Urban Forestry Commission.

The committee heard that the program secured roughly 250 planting locations this fall after seasonal staff surveyed a little more than 450 potential sites. "This is the first year that we've had seasonal staff that we've had available to actually be able to do some of the field work," a staff member said, adding that seasonal crews helped the committee expand planting capacity beyond the work of a small volunteer core.

Why it matters: committee members said the expanded staffing and additional funds allow Norwalk to plant more street and park trees, which the committee frames as investments in shade, stormwater buffering and neighborhood greening. The committee also emphasized that limited soil volume, overhead conflicts and sight-line requirements restrict species and size choices on narrow medians and some downtown parcels.

Key details

- Planting and inventory: Staff reported that seasonal crew work and an inventory funded by the Inflation Reduction Act allowed the program to identify and confirm roughly 250 plantings this fall from about 450 surveyed sites. The Tree Alliance reported its partners planted 373 trees…