CITY OF South San Francisco URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” WARREN BUFFET CITY OF South San Francisco URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN Prepared for: CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO 400 Grand Ave South San Francisco, CA 94080 Prepared by: DAVEY RESOURCE GROUP, INC. 1500 North Mantua Street, Kent, OH 44240 www.daveyresourcegroup.com Acknowledgements SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO CITY STAFF AND DEPARTMENTS CITY COUNCIL DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION MAYOR: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Rich Garbarino DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND VICE MAYOR: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Mark Addiego FIRE COUNCIL MEMBERS: Karyl Matsumoto, DAVEY RESOURCE GROUP, INC. Mark Nagales, Buenaflor Nicolas THANKS FOR GUIDANCE FROM PARKS AND RECREATION FRIENDS OF THE URBAN FOREST. COMMISSION SPECIAL THANKS TO COMMUNITY PARTICIPANTS. PHOTO CREDITS CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO DAVEY RESOURCE GROUP, INC. Table of Contents Executive Summary What Do We Have? What do we want? 11 WHAT DO WE HAVE? 22 HISTORY OF URBAN FORESTRY 51 MANAGING PARTNERS 12 WHAT DO WE WANT? IN SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO 52 COMMUNITY MEETING 12 HOW DO WE GET THERE? 23 John and Tina Previti 52 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING 12 HOW ARE WE DOING? 24 MICROCLIMATES 53 ONLINE SURVEY 25 CLIMATE CHANGE Introduction 58 FOCUS AREAS AND PLAN GOALS 31 URBAN FOREST RESOURCE 14 COMMUNITY 58 Focus Area: Align urban forest management policy with Tree Canopy South San Francisco History community expectations and cost efficiency Priority Planting 15 VISION STATEMENT Community Tree Resource 59 Focus Area: Enhance community safety 16 TREE AND CANOPY BENEFITS 35 URBAN FORESTRY OPERATIONS Air Quality Improvements 59 Focus Area: Optimize the environmental, social, Services Carbon Dioxide Reductions economic, and public health benefits of trees Tree Care Equipment Water Quality Improvements and canopy Tree Inventory Management Energy Savings Pest Management 60 Focus Area: Grow, maintain, preserve, and enhance Health Benefits Safety a sustainable urban forest Wildlife Habitat Community Engagement and Outreach Wind Protection Sign Hill Calculating Tree Benefits Funding How do we get there? Interdepartmental Coordination 62 Focus Area: Align urban forest management policy with Community Partnerships community expectations and cost efficiency Development 68 Focus Area: Enhance community safety 47 POLICIES AND REGULATION 72 Focus Area: Optimize the environmental, social, Federal and State Law economic, and public health benefits of trees South San Francisco Municipal Code and canopy City Of South San Francisco General Plan City Of South San Francisco Climate Action Plan 81 Focus Area: Grow, maintain, preserve, and enhance a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) sustainable urban forest 49 TREE CARE ON PRIVATE PROPERTY How are we doing? 49 CONCLUSIONS 86 MONITORING Annual Plan Review Resource Analysis Canopy Analysis Community Satisfaction 86 REPORTING State of the Community Forest Report Table of Contents Appendices Figures Maps 87 APPENDIX A: Acronyms 33 FIGURE 1: Most Prevalent Species In South San Francisco 24 MAP 1: Climate Zone Map 89 APPENDIX B: References 44 FIGURE 2: South San Francisco 2018-2019 Budget 27 MAP 2: Land Cover Summary 91 APPENDIX C: Industry Standards 53 FIGURE 3: Responses to “Trees are important to the 28 MAP 3: South San Francisco Parks 91 ANSI Z133 SAFETY STANDARD, 2017 quality of life in South San Francisco”? 29 MAP 4: South San Francisco Zones 91 ANSI A300 53 FIGURE 4: Responses to “Are there enough trees in South 30 MAP 5: Planting Priority Best Management Practices (BMPs) San Francisco”? 31 MAP 6: South San Francisco Inventoried Trees 92 APPENDIX D: Online Community Survey Results 53 FIGURE 5: Responses to “Where would you like to see 101 APPENDIX E: Soil Volume and Tree Stature more trees planted”? Tables 101 APPENDIX F: Alternative Planter Designs 54 FIGURE 6: Responses to “What Canopy Goal Should 13 TABLE 1: Summary of Goals and Existing Policies 104 APPENDIX G: Sustainable Urban Forest Indicators South San Francisco Adopt”? of the Plan 108 APPENDIX H: South San Francisco Goals and Objective 54 FIGURE 7: “Which benefits provided by trees do you Gantt Chart value most? Please select the top three benefits”. 54 FIGURE 8: “Describe your awareness and/or interactions with South San Francisco’s urban forest program. Please check all that apply”. 54 FIGURE 9: “What level of care for public trees would you prefer”? 55 FIGURE 10: “Should the City require professional licensing for tree care providers”? 55 FIGURE 11: “Would you support a higher penalty for unpermitted removals”? 55 FIGURE 12: “What topic about trees interest you? Please select your top three (3)”? 55 FIGURE 13: “What education topics about trees interest you? Please select your top three (3)”. 56 FIGURE 14: “What volunteer/collaborative efforts interest you most? Please select all that apply”. 56 FIGURE 15: “What is your age”? 56 FIGURE 16: “What neighborhood do you live in”? Scope & Purpose The Urban Forest Master Plan (UFMP) serves as a guide for The UFMP includes short-term actions and long-range planning managing, enhancing, and growing South San Francisco’s urban goals to promote sustainability, species diversity, and greater forest and the community tree resource over the next 20 years. canopy cover. The UFMP suggests reasonable time frames Whereas the urban forest includes all of the trees and woody for achieving goals, based on available resources and shrubs in South San Francisco, the community tree resource community support. is comprised of publicly managed trees along streets, in parks, and at City facilities. While the UFMP is primarily focused on the stewardship of the community tree resource, the Plan also considers private trees because they contribute significantly to South San Francisco’s livability and environmental quality. In summary, the UFMP aims to: • Recognize best management practices that promote tree health, maximum benefits, and community safety • Promote community outreach, engagement, and advocacy South San Francisco has been for the urban forest recognized as a Tree City USA for 32 years.” • Develop a more cohesive organizational structure to facilitate collaboration among all departments and staff who impact or affect the urban forest • Nurture an ethic of stewardship for the urban forest among City Staff, community organizations, businesses, and residents • Increase health and resiliency in the urban forest by improving species diversity, and by managing pests and invasive species • Identify baseline metrics and clear goals for urban forest managers 8 Scope and Purpose 9 Executive Summary South San Francisco’s community urban forest includes an The plan development process for the UFMP involved a estimated 15,000 public-managed trees along streets and medians, comprehensive review and assessment of the existing urban forest in parks and open space, and around City facilities. Along with resource, which included composition, value, and environmental their aesthetic contribution, these trees provide valuable and benefits. The process explored community values and vision, critical services to the community including benefits to air quality, including those expressed in guiding documents such as the water quality, stormwater management, energy savings, wildlife General Plan 2040, the Climate Action Plan, City Ordinance, state habitat, and socioeconomics. The Urban Forest Master Plan law, and other regulatory and policy documents. (UFMP) is a road map which provides long-term management goals and timelines to effectively preserve and enhance the The process also evaluated funding and the current service levels environmental benefits provided by this critical component of for both in-house and contracted tree crews. In addition to Parks infrastructure. staff, there are multiple stakeholders, internal and external, who play a role in the planning, design, care, and advocacy of The UFMP’s structure is based on the understanding of what we the urban forest. These stakeholders include City departments, have, what we want, how we get there, and how we are doing. This utility providers, nonprofit organizations, Parks and Recreation structure, known as adaptive management, is commonly used for commission, and community members. Each of these stakeholders resource planning and management (Miller, 1988) and provides a played a role and provided input for the development of this plan. conceptual framework for the process of improving urban forest management. WHAT DO WE HAVE? People don’t remember each tree in a park but all of us benefit from the trees.” HOW ARE WHAT DO WE DOING? WE WANT? YOKO ONO HOW DO WE GET THERE? 10 Executive Summary WHAT DO WE HAVE? South San Francisco’s Urban Forest Benchmark Values The review process identified challenges facing the urban forest, most notably, climate change. The predominate impact of climate Community Urban Forest (Public Tree Resource) change on the urban forest is the effect on tree species that Inventoried trees (2018) 10,831 trees and 1,505 vacant sites historically have been successful in the region but now, with rising temperatures and more extreme periods of drought, may no longer Estimated non-inventoried trees 4,000 trees thrive in the changing environment. Species Diversity (Inventoried Trees, 2018) In addition to climate change, the City is still recovering from a Total number of unique species 165 financial crisis in the late 2000s. The financial crisis prompted a Prevalence of top ten species 60.4% hiring freeze, resulting in numerous vacant positions as staff retired or left the City. More specifically, the tree crews were reduced by Species exceeding recommended 10% 1 a third. Currently, tree care is highly reactive, and as a result, Urban Tree Canopy Cover (Public and Private, 2016) not all trees are receiving adequate care. Overall canopy cover 7.2% Despite challenges, the City has numerous opportunities to Overall canopy cover (excluding open water) 8.7% expand the urban forest. As identified by an Urban Tree Canopy Assessment, the City currently has 8.7% canopy cover, but has Impervious surfaces 58.2% the potential to achieve 22.6%.