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City reports nearly 19,000 street trees surveyed; parks plan moves to recommendation phase
Summary
Planning staff reported completion of a street‑tree inventory that surveyed almost 19,000 street trees and said the city will prioritize maintenance and pruning using new grant flexibility; the comprehensive parks and open‑space plan is moving into recommendations after stakeholder engagement.
Planning staff told the Erie City Advisory Council that consultants completed a near‑citywide street tree inventory, surveying almost 19,000 street trees, and that the inventory prioritized disadvantaged neighborhoods. Staff said the inventory will be uploaded to the TreeKeeper system used by the state and that completed work under a DCNR Community Watershed and Forestry Grant is entering a two‑month closeout period.
Of particular note, staff said the state grant rules now allow some maintenance activities such as pruning and removal under this grant cycle, a change from prior practice where grants funded planting only; planners said this change creates new opportunities to address the health of the existing urban canopy. The inventory includes a prioritized list of actions for individual trees, allowing the city to target “low‑hanging fruit” and to align work with available funding streams.
The planning team also reported that the comprehensive recreation, parks and open‑space plan has completed stakeholder engagement and will move into the recommendation phase; staff invited EAC input and said consultants could present the resulting recommendations. Members raised neighborhood‑specific concerns (sidewalks, access) and staff encouraged residents to provide input or invite planning staff to neighborhood meetings.
The Council did not take formal votes on project funding or contracts at the meeting but discussed next steps for aligning grants and pruning work with the inventory findings.
