An urban forest is a collection of trees growing within an urban area. An urban forest management plan is an action plan for the standard of performance of the City's trees and how to plan and manage the public trees within the City.
On May 7, 2007, the City Council adopted the El Cerrito Urban Forest Management Plan. Download the following documents:
The Urban Forest Management Plan aims to:
1. Establish and maintain a citywide commitment to a healthy, growing urban forest in the City of El Cerrito.
2. Integrate the principles of the Urban Forest Management Plan into subsequent documents required by or in support of the City of El Cerrito General Plan.
3. Provide consistent funding for urban forestry efforts that reflects the importance of the urban forest to the public.
4. Provide excellent professional maintenance for the City's urban forest.
The purpose of the plan is to build an extensive, healthy forest that provides the city with social, environmental and economic benefits.
- Social benefits include creating a sense of place, providing connections to the natural world, creating memorable nodes and entry points as
well as facilitating a sense of community for a shared purpose and community building.
- Environmental benefits include mitigating impacts of the heat island effect, reducing airborne pollutants and sequestering carbon dioxide.
- Economic benefits include an increase in property values, in some cases up to 10%, attraction of business and shoppers and contribution to the financial standing of the city.