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O'Fallon presents Urban Forestry Management Plan; staff recommends arborist position and phased implementation
Summary
Parks staff presented an Urban Forestry Management Plan that inventories the city's trees, maps canopy and heat hotspots, and sets goals to increase canopy and species diversity.
Parks staff presented the Urban Forestry Management Plan to the Parks & Environment Committee, describing the city-wide tree inventory, canopy and heat maps, species-diversity analysis, and an implementation framework to shift from reactive maintenance to proactive stewardship.
"We took an inventory of all of the trees in town... all 5,173 of them within town... you can drill down each one of these trees," the presenter said, showing a map on the city's website that lists species and location for each tree. The plan lists roughly 139 species in the inventory, assigns a tree-equity score across neighborhoods, and highlights red 'heat islands' where canopy is low — including a large red area at the Family Sports Park turf fields that radiate heat.
Staff presented an economic estimate of the trees’ benefits: annualized benefits the packet summarized as roughly $34,000 to residents and about $20,000 in environmental benefits, and an overall street-tree asset valuation the presentation described at approximately $4.4 million. The plan sets direct goals to expand canopy, improve species diversity, and add maintenance and community engagement; staff said success would be measured by seven metrics in the plan and that hiring an arborist is a key next step to ensure appropriate species selection and proper pruning.
Committee members raised questions about coordination with utility vegetation management (Ameren) and the city’s ability to influence third-party tree trimming. Staff said an arborist could assess damage caused by utility pruning and help set specifications for right-of-way plantings. The committee did not adopt the plan immediately; staff asked members to review the material over the next month and return with questions, and staff said a resolution and potential staffing proposal will come to a future meeting.
What comes next: Committee members will review the plan for one month; staff expects to return with a resolution and staffing recommendation.
