Tarpon Springs outlines tree-inventory, grants and land-development code updates; new arborist to start

Pat McNees, planning supervisor in Tarpon Springs’ planning and zoning department, told the city’s Sustainability Committee on July 16 that a three‑phase “Managing Community Forest” grant and related hurricane‑recovery awards have funded a citywide tree inventory and follow-up projects. “There were nearly 7,000 trees mapped,” McNees said, describing the inventory completed in 2024.

McNees said the original grant totaled $55,000 across three phases: the inventory, an urban-forest management plan adopted by the Board of Commissioners last year, and a final planting phase. The planting phase will install 34 trees around the city, primarily in parks, stormwater ponds and near trails. McNees also said the city has been notified of a roughly $30,000 hurricane‑recovery award to finish additional mapping and is awaiting word on a potential $75,000 hurricane‑recovery grant intended to fund pruning and storm‑resilience maintenance in selected neighborhoods.

Why it matters: the inventory establishes a baseline for protecting city assets, and the combination of federal/state funding and local matches will determine how much of the plan can be implemented. McNees said the city is providing local matches and in‑kind services from the tree fund to meet grant requirements.

The presentation also lays out a timeline and scope for a major update to the land‑development code. McNees said Articles 1–3 of the code were updated and adopted in May, and that Articles 5 and 8 (covering planned developments and concurrency/adequate facilities) will go before the planning and zoning board and the Board of Commissioners in coming weeks. He said the tree‑protection and landscaping rules, sections of the development standards originally adopted in 1993 and last changed substantially in 2006, are the largest portion of the code still slated for revision.

Key code changes McNees described include: replacing an out‑of‑date “approved tree” list with references to the Florida‑Friendly landscaping guidance, expanding the list of invasive species the city would require removed on development sites (he called out Brazilian pepper, Australian pine, melaleuca and Chinese tallow as the initial targets), standardizing arboricultural condition ratings on tree surveys, tightening construction‑phase tree protections, and revising minimum planting requirements to reflect smaller lot sizes and larger houses.

Committee members pressed staff about contractor pruning practices for overhead lines, noting recent neighborhood work by Duke Energy that members described as heavy‑handed. The chair said residents reported crews “just chop the trees,” and the committee asked whether the city can require contractors to document pre/post work and meet arborist standards. McNees said grant-funded pruning will include prescriptive pruning plans, pre/post photographs and on‑site arborist oversight for contractor work; staff will investigate whether existing franchise or utility agreements create additional requirements for private crews.

On staffing, McNees said the city has relied on a long‑time consultant, Alan Mayberry, while recruiting a permanent arborist. “We will have a lady named Jackie Salas. She’ll be starting in the next couple of weeks, as our new arborist,” McNees told the committee.

Practical next steps: McNees said staff will schedule a workshop with the planning and zoning board this fall, circulate draft code language to the committee, and advertise formal hearings when the ordinance language is ready. The city also plans a public tree giveaway at EcoFest on Sept. 19 at the Splash Park as part of outreach tied to the planting phase.

Procedural note: the committee moved and approved the previous meeting’s minutes earlier in the session. The meeting adjourned after the presentations and discussion.