Trees along streets, in parks, open spaces, backyards, and across the city provide many benefits and constitute an "urban forest". Tacoma's urban forest is a valuable asset that, if maintained, will continue to add to the health of a community for generations to come. We are all under One Canopy and benefit from the proper care and enhancement of the trees in Tacoma. ​ This presentation for the community meeting was designed for the residents of Tacoma to engage in the process of developing a vision for our urban forest and the strategies to achieve it. ​Caring for Tacoma's urban forest is an important part of growing a sustainable, healthy, and vibrant city and cannot be achieved without the input of its residents. ​ In 2010, the City Council adopted a new chapter in Tacoma’s Comprehensive Plan, the Urban Forestry Policy Element. From this, the Environmental Services Department along with a team of consultants are in the process of developing an Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP) to create a shared vision and road map for the trees in Tacoma that supports the policy element and enhances the city. The UFMP will strengthen themes throughout the city such as Resource Management, Equity and Accessibility, Canopy Health & Growth, Long-Term Funding, Climate Resiliency, Enhanced Ecosystem Services & Benefits, and Community Engagement & Stewardship.

1. A community meeting to discuss Tacoma’s urban forest vision; short and long-term urban forest
management strategies; One Tacoma stories; and all things tree-related.
A PLAN FOR TACOMA’S URBAN FOREST
Community Meeting
ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
Eastside Community October 22, 2019
Center, Social Hall 6:30 – 8:30 PM

2. A PLAN FOR TACOMA’S URBAN FOREST
ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
What is Your One Canopy Story?
Place a blue pin for where you live, a yellow pin for where you work, and a green pin for
where you play. Connect the pins and discover the connections with the
One Canopy Story Map!

3. WELCOME & INTROS
ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
Chris Peiffer, Project Manager
Marketing Specialist
Director of Field Operations
GIS Technician & Support
Steve Duh, Principal
Jean Akers, Senior Associate
John Bornsworth, President
Urban Forest Planner
Environmental Scientist
Consulting Arborist
Mike Carey,
Urban Forest Program Manager
Arin Lewis,
Urban Forestry Specialist
Arvada, CO
Portland, OR
Port Angeles, WA
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4. TONIGHT’S AGENDA
ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
Connections Under One Canopy
Welcome, Introductions, & Logistics
Why a Plan for the Urban Forest?
The Vision for Our Urban Forest
Urban Forest Management Strategies
Open Discussion & Closing Remarks
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5. “Urban trees and forests are considered integral to the
sustainability of cities as a whole. Yet, sustainable urban
forests are not born, they are made. They do not arise at
random, but result from a community-wide commitment to
their creation and management.”
Clark et al.: Urban Forest Sustainability
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WHY A PLAN FOR THE URBAN FOREST? ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY

6. WHY A PLAN FOR THE URBAN FOREST? ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
Urban Forest Extent & Benefits

7. WHY A PLAN FOR THE URBAN FOREST? ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
Key Issues & Opportunities
30% BY 2030 CANOPY COVER
Existing Plans
✓ Climate Action Plan (2008)
✓ Urban Forest Policy Element (2010)
✓ Urban Forest Manual (2014)
✓ Tacoma 2025 (2015)
✓ ROW Design Manual (2016)
✓ Environmental Action Plan (2016) 7
CANOPY & HUMAN HEALTH EQUITY

8. WHY A PLAN FOR THE URBAN FOREST? ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
Urban Forest Management Plan Overview
2019 Urban Forest Management Plan
Road map outlining meaningful, high-priority actions
the City will take to support our community towards our
vision of a healthy 30% overall tree canopy coverage.
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9. WHY A PLAN FOR THE URBAN FOREST? ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
Urban Forest Management Plan Overview
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10. WHY A PLAN FOR THE URBAN FOREST? ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
✓ April 2019: Kick Off
✓ April - July: Phase 1
▪ Existing Conditions & Operations
❑ Aug. – Nov.: Phase 2
o Education & Engagement
o Plan Development
❑ Dec. 2019: Final Plan Adopted
Urban Forest Management Plan Overview
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11. WHY A PLAN FOR THE URBAN FOREST? ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
Phase 1 Research Summary
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PURPOSE PROCESS RESULTS CONCLUSION
1) Existing Policies and Plans: UFSMA, Meetings, Interviews
2) City Staff Interviews: Departments and Work Groups
3) Urban Forest Benchmarks: UFSMA, Municipal Budgets, City Records, TMC
4) High-Level and In-Depth Data Analysis: Canopy, UHI, Equity, Open Space, Inventory
5) Community Interests and Input: Surveys, Meetings, Website
6) Urban Forest Sustainability and Management Audit: All Elements

12. WHY A PLAN FOR THE URBAN FOREST? ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
Phase 1 Research Summary
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Urban Forest Policy
Element
Urban
Forest
Manual
One Tacoma
Tacoma
2025
Row Design
Manual
UFMP
Data/
Studies

13. WHY A PLAN FOR THE URBAN FOREST? ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
Phase 1 Research Summary
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1) Existing Plan & Policy Review – strong policy & plan framework, but needs clarity,
connection and prioritization
2) Staff Interviews – City would benefit from SOP development, workflow refinement,
internal technical support (City Arborist), policy clarification, & staff training
3) Benchmarking – Should consider funding & resource needs, street tree
maintenance responsibility, updates to TMC, landmark tree preservation, & ROW
tree protection
4) Data Analysis – Data (TCA, UHI study, inventory, & Equity Index) should be used to
prioritize tree planting and management strategies
5) Community Interests & Input – most people see trees as important contributors to
quality of life, but have noticed a decline in Tacoma’s trees. They suggest an
increase in resources to improve health and increase canopy
6) UFSMA – City scored 77%. Areas of improvement include professional capacity,
funding, and risk management

14. A VISION FOR OUR URBAN FOREST
ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
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15. A VISION FOR OUR URBAN FOREST
ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
A Vision is:
✓Simple
✓Actionable
✓Engaging
✓Collaborative
✓Forward-thinking
✓Specific Photo source: Make It Tacoma
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16. A VISION FOR OUR URBAN FOREST
ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
Question #1
What do you want your urban forest to look like 10
years from now? For future generations?
Question #2
What would 30% tree cover look and feel like and
what would it take to achieve this?
Question #3
If you could change Tacoma’s environment in one
way, what would it be? How would the City’s
urban forest be different than it is now?
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17. A VISION FOR OUR URBAN FOREST
ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
Scope of the Urban Forest Management Plan: This Plan serves as a road map outlining meaningful,
high-priority actions that the City of Tacoma will take to support our community between 2019 and 2030
to strive towards our goal of a healthy 30% overall tree canopy coverage. This means creating greater
efficiency in our City operations, standardizing our level of service to meet the needs of our community,
and responding to the challenges of climate change and other environmental factors. This Plan will also
standardize a reporting system for tracking progress toward our goals. In this way, it functions both as a
management tool for City staff and provides transparency to the public regarding the actions the City
will take to support environmental health on behalf of the broader community.
2) One Tacoma, One Canopy: Tacoma’s trees are recognized as integral to the quality of life for all City
residents as well as for the City’s urban character and natural environments. A healthy, thriving, and
sustainable urban forest remains a longstanding community priority and will be thoughtfully managed in
a way to maximize a range of public benefits including a thriving ecosystem, a vibrant economy, and a
livable community shared by all.
3) One Tacoma, One Canopy: Tacoma’s urban forest is a thriving and sustainable mix of tree and
understory species and ages that creates a contiguous and healthy ecosystem that is valued and cared
for by the City and all of its residents as an essential environmental, economic, and shared community
asset that reinforces Tacoma’s identity and legacy as a forested, livable city.
4) One Tacoma, One Canopy: Tacoma’s urban forest is a healthy, dynamic, diverse, and cohesive
ecosystem that is valued and cared for through community stewardship because it balances economic
vitality with the conservation of natural resources now and for future generations.
5) One Tacoma, One Canopy: Tacoma’s urban forest is a healthy and cohesive ecosystem that is valued
and cared for through community stewardship. The City is dedicated to protect and manage the vibrant
urban forest to enhance its benefit to the environment and its contribution to the livability of the
community today and for generations to come. 17

18. A VISION FOR OUR URBAN FOREST
ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
Refining the Vision Statement
✓ General discussion
✓ Keywords
✓ Missed topics
✓ Other considerations
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19. STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE THE VISION
ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
Potential Strategies
1) City Street Tree Maintenance Responsibility
2) Tree & Sidewalk Conflicts / Tree Protection
3) Tree Planting (30% goal, fruit trees, other)
4) Tree Code Revision / Enforcement
5) City Staffing (Outreach/Education)
6) Heritage Tree Program
7) Other Concerns / Strategies Share your ideas
6 strategy buckets, 1 comment bucket
Each strategy has a cost
10 chips, spend them wisely!
Note: These are not the final strategies for the UFMP. This exercise provides an opportunity to
explore ideas and evaluate priorities. Implementing urban forestry strategies requires
additional resources or the reallocation of existing resources affecting not only the Urban
Forestry Program.
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20. BREAK & OPEN DISCUSSION
ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
Strategy discussion
One Canopy Story Map discussion
Expand on your story
What questions do you have?
Where to find more information?
How to get involved?
Thoughts, ideas, and opportunities?
Technical tree questions?
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21. CLOSING REMARKS
ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
✓ Meeting summary & synthesis
✓ Copy of the presentation
✓ Round 2 survey @ TacomaTreePlan.org/surveys
✓ Phase 1 Research Summary October 28th
✓ November meeting
✓ City Council presentation
✓ Final UFMP
✓ Phase 3 reports & plans
✓ Follow along at TacomaTreePlan.org!
Photo source: Tacoma Weekly
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22. THANK YOU!
ONE TACOMA
ONE CANOPY
Mike Carey
Urban Forest Program Manager,
City of Tacoma Environmental Services Department
(253) 502-2138 │ Trees@CityofTacoma.org
CityofTacoma.org/UrbanForestry
Chris Peiffer
Director of Urban Forestry Consulting,
PlanIT Geo
Project Manager
(717) 579-9890 │ chrispeiffer@planitgeo.com
Stay up-to-date at TacomaTreePlan.org!
“Without a plan, the governments and individuals
responsible for taking care of an urban forest will
not be effective in meeting the true needs of the
trees and the community. A plan establishes a clear
set of priorities and objectives related to the goal of
maintaining a productive and beneficial community
forest.”
American Public Works Association, 2007
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