By Jorge Casuso
April 7 – The City Council on Tuesday will consider establishing a task force to help the City’s urban forester replace Santa Monica’s aging public trees over the next half century.
The “urban forest master plan task force” would help develop a long-range urban forest master plan, review specific issues involving City trees and advise the council, staff wrote in its report to the council.
The proposed task force, staff said, “provides a forum for the public to collaborate on a long-range master plan that will serve the community and provide direction for the urban forest for the next 50 years.”
City staff’s proposal, however, does not create the full-fledged tree commission called for by vocal opponents of the City’s successful plan to remove and relocate 30 ficus trees Downtown.
The proposed task force would be composed of seven members representing the Recreation and Parks Commission, Environmental Task Force, Sustainable City Task Force, Planning Commission and Landmarks Commission, as well as two additional volunteer residents.
The Mayor, in consultation with council, would appoint the members of the task force, staff wrote.
“The volunteer residents should have a demonstrated knowledge and preferably a professional background related to the environment, as well as an interest in issues involving the care and management of the City’s trees,” staff said.
Jerry Rubin, who heads Treesavers, the group that fought the removal and relocation of 30 of the 157 ficus trees along 2nd and 4th streets, called the task force a “first step.”
The task force, he said in a statement released Monday, “is a good process to involve other Commissioners and the public to start working with the City on an Urban Forest Plan and a needed first step towards the establishment of an ongoing advisory Tree Commission.”
But Rubin added that the Task Force should include five, instead of two, members of the public, boosting its ranks to ten.
The task force proposed by staff would hold regular public meetings while the plan is developed.
“Given the comprehensive nature of a long-range master plan, oversight by a task force gives direction to the plan and establishes a consistent forum for public education and input on issues that involve the management of the City’s urban forest,” staff wrote.
The master plan will include “an updated tree inventory, maintenance requirements, an assessment of the environmental benefits of the forest and an estimate on the life expectancy of individual trees,” staff wrote.
“The ultimate purpose of the plan is to design a long range replacement program for trees throughout the City as they reach the end of their useful life span.”
Before making its recommendation to the council, staff surveyed 12 Southern California cities to gauge how they shape their tree policies.
Only Lomita has a tree commission, staff found. Rancho Palos Verdes and Redondo Beach use their respective public works departments to oversee urban forest matters, while Palos Verdes Estates has an advisory committee that provides recommendations to the City Council on issues that involve public trees.
The remaining cities do not have urban forest commissions or subcommittees, staff found.
Developing and appointing a task force, instead of a commission, could happen before the City starts developing the master plan this spring.
“There are no requirements to develop and adopt Resolutions and By Laws as required for commissions,” staff wrote. “A task force would not delay the start of the development of the master plan.”
