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Upland shortens tree-trimming cycle, OKs $1.41 million contract amendment
Summary
The Upland City Council voted unanimously March 9 to shorten the city—orest grid pruning cycle from seven to four years and approved a first amendment to the West Coast Arborist contract for $1,410,880 through June 30, 2027, citing storm damage, liability risk and long-term savings.
The Upland City Council on Monday adopted a new urban forest grid pruning cycle and authorized a $1,410,880 amendment to the city—ontract with West Coast Arborist Inc.
Assistant City Manager Damien Arula told the council that Upland is home to more than 29,000 public trees and that the city has been operating on a seven-year trimming cycle, longer than the 4-to-5-year industry best practice. Arula said staff recommends moving to a four-year cycle to reduce stress on trees, increase inspections, reduce reactive overtime and lower long-term claim risk.
"Smaller cuts equals less stress on the trees," Arula said, arguing more frequent trimming preserves the public asset and improves safety by clearing sight lines at intersections and limiting storm damage.
Deputy Director of Public Works Jessica Gordon and operations staff presented data showing recurring storm events and a recent weekend when 15 city trees fell. Operations manager Richard Smitherley said, "When you're on the 7-year cycle, the contractor is inspecting the entire city only every seven years; this gets that to four years and would reduce the amount of dead, dying, or diseased trees that fall."
Council members asked several operational questions, including whether utility companies could be required to notify the city before trimming and how species such as Chinese elms would be handled under the new plan. Arula said the city could consider enhancements to the tree protection ordinance and incorporate species-specific schedules; staff noted that some trees (e.g., Chinese elms) require more frequent trimming than even a four-year cycle.
Council also discussed fiscal implications. Arula and staff said a shorter cycle could reduce emergency callouts and overtime that accompany large wind events; staff cited a prior storm year—stimate of roughly $1 million in storm-related cleanup costs. Arula said the amendment and cycle change would be funded from identified sources, including gas tax allocations, and that staff would continue to seek grants and state earmarks for infrastructure needs.
Council Member Breitling moved to adopt the change and approve the amendment, seconded by Council Member Zuniga. The motion passed unanimously with Council Member Garcia absent.
The council directed staff to proceed with the amendment termination date of June 30, 2027, and to return with program-level reporting metrics as the new cycle is implemented.
