• City of Tumwater

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• URBAN FORESTRY PLAN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT • The creation of Tumwater's Urban Forestry Plan was the result of hard work by a number of individuals, whose efforts should be recognized:

TUMWATER CITY COUNCIL Ralph C. Osgood, Mayor Cindy Beauchene Walter R. Jorgensen Pete Kmet Jerry Morrissette Chris Parsons Mark E. Shattuck Ed Stanley

TUMWATER TREE BOARD Cheryl - Lee Alvarez Frank Chestnut Michael Jackson Paul Marchant Joel Ross Galen Wright • Josey Young

CITY STAFF Doug Baker, City Administrator Mike Matlock, Policy and Planning Director Tom Mark, Facilities Manager Leonard Bauer, Senior Planner Kathleen Jolliffe, Policy and Planning Secretary

This plan has also been supported in part by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources Tree Grant Program. The City of Tumwater would like to thank the following individuals for their assistance:

DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES STAFF Tish Carr, Program Coordinator • Kevin McFarland, Community Assistance Forester • TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Introduction ...... 3

II. Background ...... 4

III. Overview and Terminology ...... 4

IV. Elements ...... 4 A. Tree Selection ...... 4 B. Trees on Public Property ...... 6 C. View Protection...... 7 D. Education ...... 8 E. Trees on Private Property ...... 9 • V. Implementation ...... 9

• URBAN FORESTRY PLAN • I. INTRODUCTION The City of Tumwater Tree Board developed this Urban Forestry Plan. It contains goals and policies that will guide the City of Tumwater in its actions and decisions affecting trees within the city limits. The plan will help the City effectively and equitably manage trees on municipal property. This plan focuses on the tree component of an urban forest, including trees along streets, in parks, and all other municipal properties. It is hoped that the City of Tumwater can lead by example with its actions regarding trees on municipal property. Through this example, and an effective public outreach and education program, private property owners can in turn more effectively manage trees on their property. In addition, TMC 16.08 effectively regulates tree protection on private property.

• In developing the plan, the following assumptions were made:

• The people of Tumwater believe that an urban forest adds to the quality of life.

• Properly selected and maintained trees contribute to the character of the community and enhance its attractiveness .

• With sufficient information, the citizens of Tumwater will make sound • choices with regard to the maintenance, selection and protection of trees.

• Trees provide a visual and noise buffer.

• Public safety is vital to the community. It is essential to remove dead wood; remove low limbs over traffic ways; clear critical visual zones at intersections; and control planting so that a tree's growth does not interfere with safe traffic movement.

While this plan focuses on the overall management of urban trees, other documents also address this subject and were used as a starting point to develop this plan.

• Washington Growth Management Act, Goal 9, Open Space and Environment. Encourage the retention of open space and development of recreational opportunities; conserve fish and wildlife habitat; mcrease access to natural resource lands and water; and develop parks. • Washington Growth Management Act, Goal 10, Environment. Protect the environment and enhance the state's high quality of life, including air and • water quality, and the availability of water. • Tumwater Parks and Recreation Plan, Goal 3: Preserve significant • natural areas as open space for passive recreational use. The City of Tumwater Urban Forestry Plan should help raise citizen awareness of the benefits of a healthy and diverse urban forest, proper tree selection, and care. This should lead to an increase in the number, condition, and diversity of trees in the urban area.

II. BACKGROUND

Over 100 hundred years ago, a mixture of trees were scattered throughout Tumwater. Maple, alder, cedar, ash, hazelnut, hemlock, fir, pine, willow, and garry oak were predominant. In addition, the early settlers planted orchards for food. Since then, houses were built and businesses developed, all requiring streets, parking lots and necessary utilities. Historically, people used trees to cool buildings and other areas by shading, but eventually trees were planted for other reasons as well.

III. OVERVIEW AND TERMINOLOGY

Policies are the main component of this plan. As stated earlier, these policies will guide the City in its decisions and actions affecting trees on municipal properties within the City. In this plan, policies are grouped into the following four basic • elements:

1. Tree selection 2. Trees on publicly-owned property 3. View protection 4. Education

IV. ELEMENTS

A. Tree Selection

Introduction

The conditions under which trees grow in Tumwater now is often less than optimal. The soil is often a mixture of disturbed soils and construction debris. The trees often have restricted rooting space, and the space they do have is often covered with concrete or asphalt.

Because the urban environment is unlike any natural environment, the choice of • trees used to create a stable urban environment should include a mixture of native and nonnative trees, with no single species dominating. The predominance of a single species may increase the susceptibility of much of the urban forest to pests or • disease. Goals

1. Increase the diversity of trees in the urban forest. 2. Increase the use of desirable trees in the urban forest. 3. Minimize loss of forest canopy cover on city-owned public lands. 4. To establish a full complement of beautiful, healthy trees along streets, in parks, and open spaces throughout Tumwater compatible with adjacent landowners. 5. To maintain trees to the highest possible standard. 6. Plant trees in locations that maximize their ability to grow normally while minimizing damage to the essential infrastructure of the city.

Policies and Proposed Actions

POLICY 1.0

The City will plant on public property trees that have potential for good local performance and will over time achieve diversity of species for greater stability of the urban forest.

• Actions

1.1 Monitor the composition and performance of existing trees on public property and assess their sustainability. 1.2 Develop a recommended species/variety list based on local experience for use on public property. 1.3 Over time, seek to attain the optimal number of quality trees.

POLICY 2.0

The City will plant desirable tree species in appropriate locations on public land and encourage their use on private lands, but not to the detriment of species diversity.

Actions

2.1 Compile and distribute to the public a list of recommended tree species and their potential uses in the urban forest. The list would include • notable traits and appropriate locations for planting individual species . 2.2 Work with representatives of the landscape industry and local tree • retail outlets and wholesale firms to stock quality native trees. 2.3 Work with representatives of the Native Plant Salvage Project to accomplish tree planting projects.

B. Trees on Public Property

Introduction

The City plants and cares for trees in its parks, along city-owned riparian areas, some streets, and on other City properties (fire stations, city hall, etc.). It is largely unknown at this time how many trees the City owns, cares for and maintains.

Many planting opportunities exist in the City, such as along underplanted arterials; on older established neighborhood streets where trees may have been lost; and in new, treeless neighborhoods. Planting must follow landscaping standards that take into consideration current and future maintenance needs; ensure that selected trees have adequate room to grow; and ensure their mature size and placement adds to the quality of life in the community.

Once trees have been established, proper maintenance is critical to ensure that they remain vital. It is important that maintenance provided to public trees is of the highest quality, and that private citizens, public employees (city, county and • state), and utility companies use correct procedures when servicing public trees. This element addresses a reasonable level of maintenance for existing public trees; acceptable criteria under which public trees can and will be removed; and strategies for planting new trees and replacing others along street rights-of-way.

Tumwater, like most cities, has limited resources to address all the work needed to plant, maintain, and when necessary, remove trees along streets, parks, and other publicly-owned properties. For example, the City currently only maintains street trees that are not adjacent to private ownership. This amounts to approximately 350 trees, which are maintained by contract periodically. Any street trees on rights-of-way adjacent to private ownership are maintained by the individual property owner. Predictably, this has resulted in varying levels of maintenance.

Goals

1. Monitor and improve the condition of public trees by improving the quality of maintenance provided. 2. Balance development needs with the protection of public trees. 3 . Identify suitable planting locations for trees on public property and • identify appropriate trees for those sites. • Policies and Proposed Actions POLICY 3.0

The City will establish or enhance the character of its streets through the use of trees in rights-of-way, where adequate right-of-way exists.

Actions

3.1 Inventory all trees and available planting spaces in street rights-of­ way to determine composition and planting needs, as budget allows. 3.2 Consider the implications of having the City assume maintenance responsibilities for all street trees in rights-of-way. 3.3 Consider the option of developing a unified street tree theme as part of the Development Guide Manual update. 3.4 Increase the level of contract maintenance for street trees currently maintained by the City.

POLICY 4.0

The City will enhance the quality of all developed public land by planting and maintaining appropriate trees.

• Actions

4.1 Inventory trees on developed public lands in landscaped areas for species, number, condition, and maintenance needs, as budget allows. 4.2 Ensure that future development of public lands is consistent with this Urban Forestry Plan. 4.3 Investigate the budgetary impacts of contracting for annual maintenance of trees within developed landscaped public lands.

C. View Protection

Introduction

Despite the many obvious benefits to healthy trees in the urban forest, sometimes trees can grow to a point where views can be blocked. Certain areas of Tumwater enjoy commanding views of the State Capitol, the Olympics mountain range, Budd Inlet, Mount Rainier, and the Tumwater Valley Municipal Golf Course. • Policy and Proposed Actions POLICY 5.0 • The city will respond to view blockage complaints regarding public trees blocking private views on a case-by-case basis.

Actions

5.1 Techniques such as thinning, windowing, and skirting are always preferable to removal. 5.2 Tree topping is not appropriate for many species, and may be prohibited on a case by case basis. 5.3 The City shall consider all requests, but may on a case-by-case basis deny requests for tree removal or modification. 5.4 Develop criteria and findings in order to make consistent decisions for requests to alter trees for view purposes. The Tumwater Tree Board will develop criteria to guide staff on tree removal and/or modification requests. 5.5 Tree growth patterns should be considered as a factor prior to planting.

D. Education

• Introduction

Although this Urban Forestry Plan concerns trees on public property, it is recognized that public education regarding the importance of trees is an important part of any urban forestry program. This plan recommends that the City of Tumwater lead by example. If trees on public property are cared for and managed properly, the City can, in combination with educational materials, go far in assisting the public in management of their own tree resources.

Policy and Proposed Actions

POLICY 6.0

The City will provide an example through the highest standard of care and management for all publicly-owned trees, in order to ensure the perpetuation of the urban forest.

Actions

6.1 The City will make use of The Pioneer newsletter, web site, and television for periodic articles on the proper care and maintenance of • trees on private property. 6.2 The Tree Board will identify tree specimens, including historic trees, on public property that illustrate proper tree care and will identify • them in articles in The Pioneer and other media. 6.3 Compile and distribute to the public a list of local tree species and their performance under known conditions.

E. Trees on Private Property

POLICY 7.0

The City will provide protection for trees on private property.

Actions

7 .1 The City currently provides for the protection of trees on private property through TMC 16.08. In the future, it may be advisable to prepare a supplement to this plan to more closely integrate the protection of trees on public and private property.

V. IMPLEMENTATION

This section of the Urban Forestry Plan sets forth a five year implementation strategy to execute the plan. Each project has a reference to the action identified in the plan, an estimated starting and ending date, the responsible party, and the • estimated cost.

Action 1.2 (Project #2) Listing of recommended tree species/variety for use on public lands.

Start/end date: July 1996 - February 1997 Responsible party: Tree Board Estimated cost: $1,000 (printing)

Action 3.1 (Project #3) Inventory street trees for composition and planting needs. This work can build upon the inventory draft completed by Public Works. Purchase and set up tree inventory software.

Start/end date: January - June 1997 Responsible party: Consultant Estimated cost: $5,000 • Action 4.1 (Project #4) Inventory trees on public developed lands in landscaped areas for species, number, condition, and • maintenance needs. Start/end date: January - June 1997 Responsible party: Consultant Estimated cost: $5,000

Action 4.1 (Project #5) Inventory natural area forest types and develop management plans.

Start/end date: June - December 1999 Responsible party: Tumwater staff/Tree Board Estimated cost: To be determined in 1998 for 1999 budget

Action 4.4 (Project #1) Continue tree planting along sensitive riparian areas along the northern edge of the Deschutes River (approximately 100 trees as identified in the Deschutes Riparian Plan).

Start/end date: September - November 1996 Responsible party: Tumwater staff Estimated cost: $1,500 • Action 7.1 (Project #6) Draft and adopt a supplement to this plan to better plan for the needs of trees on private property.

Start/end date: January - December 1998 Responsible party: Tumwater staff/Tree Board Estimated cost: To be determined in 1997 for 1998 Budget

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