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What/where?
As you gather support for developing your plan, you will need to decide on the overall scope of the plan. More to the point, what planning scope is likely to be approved and funded? Depending on your level of support, it may be necessary to take an incremental approach rather than going for the most comprehensive plan possible in the first attempt.
One important component of scope is the "where". What portions of the urban forest will be included in the plan? The plan might apply only to certain geographic areas (e.g., downtown area). Or, it might apply only to certain classes of trees (e.g., street trees only; city trees only as opposed to public and private trees). Your plan could include only certain classes of trees in certain geographic areas.
Especially for cities and counties, the UFMP will be only one of many plans that may overlap and interact to varying degrees. These interactions should be considered when developing the scope as discussed below.
Planning Scope
Trees included in an urban forest management plan may include:
- planted trees in urbanized settings (most trees in developed areas)
- retained native trees in urbanized settings
- native trees in relatively undisturbed settings (open space lands, etc.)
Different types of management actions and monitoring methods may be needed for these tree classes.
In addition, most city or county urban forests include trees managed by multiple entities. These may include:
- municipal trees - trees under city/county care in parks, open space lands, street rights-of-way, other city owned properties
- other publicly owned/managed trees - trees on properties owned or managed by other public entities such as school districts, water districts, etc.
- privately owned/managed trees - trees managed by:
- businesses in commercial areas (parking lots, commercial building complexes),
- private or commercial landowners in residential areas (single and multifamily housing) or
- HOAs in dedicated open space areas;
- private or commercial landowners in undeveloped areas that may be subject to future development.
Note that some of these trees may have been planted as a condition of plan approval.
Most municipal urban forest management plans address municipal trees. Whether other trees in the jurisdiction (other public agency trees, private trees) are addressed will depend on the local context. It may or may not be practical or desirable to include non-municipal trees depending on local politics, preferences, and conditions. Different tools will apply to management of trees that a municipality has direct control over vs. those owned and managed by other entities.
Urban forest management plans will differ widely because they reflect and respond to the local context. The the local urban forest has been shaped by the local history. The urban forest management plan needs to respond to local conditions that exist or can be anticipated when the plan is developed. As the community and its urban forest continue to evolve over time, the management plan will need to be updated, revised, or replaced.
Site-level plans
Individual, site-level urban forest management plans address the management of the urban forest in areas such as college campuses, office parks, historical sites, botanical gardens, recreation areas, or other large properties that contain significant amounts of tree canopy. Such plans may also be developed within the context of a larger-scale city or regional plan. In some cases, they may be subject to review and/or approval by local governments.
A site level plan can be less complex than a city or county plan. Because site-level plans typically cover an area much smaller than a city or county, there is less overall variability across the site and potentially a smaller range of issues that need to be addressed. In addition, if the site is owned and/or managed by a single entity, the process for making decisions and obtaining necessary resources to implement the plan may be simpler. In sites that have a single ownership, it may be practical to address all site trees in the plan, even if they fall into different categories.
Example
As directed by the Town of Oakville, this plan addresses only lands south of Dundas Street. Urban forestry management activities north of Dundas Street, while beyond the scope of this plan will have implications for overall urban forest planning in the Town.
Urban Forest Strategic Management Plan Town of Oakville: 2008-2027. Prepared by Urban Forest Innovations Inc, and Dr. Andy Kenney, with inputs and amendments by Town of Oakville Forestry staff. March 2008
Work plan
You can use the tool below to indicate the scope of your urban forest plan. Your choices will be reflected in the outline and will reappear below the next time you log in. Remember that this tool, and this web site, have been designed to cover many possibilities, you will choose only those things which are of interest to your plan.
You can also download a Microsoft Word worksheet which will allow you to fill in this information offline.
Trees included within the scope of the plan |
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Check to include In My Plan |
What will be assessed |
Managed by (specify, e.g. city, residential, commercial, etc.) |
Geographic limits (specify if applicable) |
Other (specify) |
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Overall canopy cover |
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Street trees |
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Facility trees (Trees near buildings and adjacent landscaped areas) |
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Parking lot trees/ Parking lot shading |
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Park trees |
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Special-status trees (Heritage or landmark trees specified by ordinances or other regulations) |
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Open space trees |
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Other-specify |
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Relationship of plan to other planning documents
CIties and counties, as well as other public districts, typically have multiple layers of planning documents. A key question to answer before developing an urban forest management plan in these jurisdictions is how the UFMP will be related to other plans and regulations. These may include:
- general plan
- specific plans
- redevelopment plans
- open space element
- design and landscaping guidelines
- ordinances, including the local tree ordinance
Work plan
| What other plans, regulations, etc., will the UFMP need to interact with? Do any of these need to be amended/updated to reference the UFMP or to ensure compatibility? |
Save to My work plan
Outline
| What will be the relationship of this plan to other planning documents and regulations? |