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Advisory board approves Naples Urban Forest Greenprint 2025
Summary
The Community Services Advisory Board approved the 2025 Naples Urban Forest Greenprint after a presentation detailing an updated inventory, estimated tree asset value and recommeded planting and maintenance funding; staff answered member questions about right-of-way plantings and private-property exceptions.
The Community Services Advisory Board on its January agenda unanimously approved the city's Urban Forest Greenprint for 2025 following a presentation from Heather Shields, the city's urban forest manager.
Shields told the board the city contracted Arbor Pro to update its tree census, surveying 30,021 sites across Naples and recording 20,323 inventoried managed trees and palms. "The inventory is estimated at a value of over $162,000,000," Shields said, and she added the urban forest provides "over 6 and a half million dollars of benefits" in ecosystem services annually. She also reported more than 96% of recorded trees were rated in good or fair condition and identified pruning, utility clearance and deadwood as the top observations from field crews.
The Greenprint consolidates the inventory, preservation priorities and an annual planting program funded in the city's capital-improvement program. Shields said the city budgets $300,000 in the CIP each year for tree fill and planting and that crews plan to plant the remaining viable hurricane-damaged sites this year. "We were again honored as a Tree City USA for 28 years," she added, noting other awards and community outreach including TreeFest.
Board member Matt Smith asked whether residents may plant trees in the public right-of-way. Shields replied that private planting in the right-of-way is not permitted without a permit from the streets division (public works) and that some sites, such as medians around the Naples Beach Club, remain the responsibility of the private entity under prior agreements. "Any work in the right of way requires a permit through the streets division," Shields said.
A motion to approve the Greenprint was made, seconded and approved by voice vote.
What happens next: With the board's approval the Greenprint is adopted for 2025 and will guide urban-forest work and annual planting allocations through the year; staff said they remain available to respond to follow-up questions about plant lists, permitting and beach-club exceptions.
