Charlie Murphy, Davis' urban forestry manager, presented the city's State of the Urban Forest annual report, describing operations, recent performance metrics and near-term priorities.

Murphy said the urban forestry program is responsible for roughly 30,000 trees and currently has a staff of five. In fiscal year 2024–25 the program created about 1,600 work orders and closed roughly 1,700, changing a prior deficit into a positive close‑out of backlog. The city removed 177 trees during the year and planted 116, while contracted block pruning covered about 2,500 trees and in‑house pruning and maintenance work continued. Murphy said the city increased pruning in high‑occupancy zones from about 270 trees in an earlier pilot year to approximately 1,500 in FY ’25 after added funding.

Murphy described remaining needs: an updated inventory (LIDAR and canopy analysis could add thousands to the count), clearer rules on whether trees planted as part of new developments become city assets (depends on developer agreements and conditions of approval), and the long‑term budget implications of adding thousands of newly maintained street and park trees. He told the commission the city is updating ordinances and internal procedures but emphasized enforcement and maintenance capacity depend on ongoing funding and staffing.

Public commenters and conservation groups echoed those themes. Yael Franco, executive director of Tree Davis, said urban trees are "a community asset and a critical part of our infrastructure" and announced Tree Davis aims to plant about 235 trees. Several residents raised concerns about enforcement, mortality tracking for young trees and the need to quantify the city's unfunded maintenance liability; one commenter noted a roughly 3% loss of trees over two years and urged explicit fiscal planning.

Commissioners asked about outreach, comparisons to peer cities, opportunities for workforce development and whether school properties or developer plantings count toward the city's inventory. Murphy said those issues are being scoped and that staff will return to council in late winter or early spring with options for inventory and funding strategies.

Next steps: staff to develop inventory options and funding scenarios for council consideration, continue prioritizing high‑occupancy pruning, and pursue outreach and partnerships (Tree Davis, UC Davis, state grant programs) to expand planting and stewardship efforts.