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Council adopts Urban Forest Master Plan, sets 10% canopy goal and directs staff to implement basic tree ordinance
Summary
Bellflower adopted a consultant-led Urban Forest Master Plan after a wide-ranging inventory revealed roughly 8,000 public trees, about 3,243 vacant planting sites and a current canopy of about 6.6%. Council endorsed a 10% citywide canopy goal, directed staff to pursue an Arbor Day Foundation "basic" ordinance and to report back on planting progress and maintenance plans.
The City Council adopted the Urban Forest Master Plan presented by West Coast Arborists and city staff, a plan that inventories the city's public trees, identifies vacant planting sites and sets management and planting priorities.
Inventory and condition: the plan reported approximately 8,000 public trees across Bellflower with roughly 3,243 vacant tree sites (tree wells that previously hosted a tree but are now empty). About 84% of the existing public trees were rated "good" in condition; the citywide canopy measurement was approximately 6.6%.
Goals and strategy: the master plan recommends a long-term target of 10% canopy citywide and suggests pathways to reach it: a remove-and-replace policy for lost trees, a planting program focused on arterial corridors and parks, and an ongoing maintenance and inspection program. The plan estimated that planting 100 trees per year would take several decades to fill vacant sites; council and staff discussed accelerating the pace by adding budget and contracting for higher annual planting numbers.
Operations and ordinance: staff recommended adopting an Arbor Day Foundation basic-level tree ordinance template to assign responsibility (Public Works), set basic planting and removal rules, and require replacement when public trees are removed; the ordinance would cover only public trees in the right-of-way and public spaces, not private-property trees. Council asked staff to return with a codified ordinance based on the basic template and directed additional near-term steps to front-load plantings and align maintenance (three-year establishment watering, gator bags, contractor support through partners like Good Soils).
Funding and next steps: council previously allocated $100,000 in the current budget to accelerate planting; staff described work already completed this year (95 trees planted along the bike trail and additional tree-well planting underway). Council asked for regular progress reporting and staff agreed to return with implementation milestones, maintenance plans and potential further budget options to increase annual plantings until the 10% target is reached.
