Queen City Canopy: Growing Charlotte’s Urban Forest Through Community Engagement

Queen City Canopy:Growing Charlotte's Urban Forest Through Community Engagement

November 5, 2014

Part I: A City in a Forest

Donald McSween, City Arborist

The Legacy Starts

• Dilworth – John Nolen

• Myers Park – Olmsted Brothers

• Eastover – Earl Sumner Draper

Trees are part of the Legacy

Charlotte Tree Advisory Commission

• Arbor Day• Advice to

City Manager and City Council

• Appeals • Tree

Ordinance

Land Development – Urban Forestry

• Tree Ordinance Private Property

• Requires tree preservation and planting

• Commercial sites• Multi-Family sites• Single Family sub-

divisions

Engineering and Property Management

Engineering ServicesConstructionStorm Water ServicesLandscape Design/MaintenanceCATS Landscape ManagementReal Estate

Planning Commission

CATS

Dept. of Transportation

City Attorney’s Office

Engineering and Property ManagementLandscape Management

• Tree Management• Maintenance of

Right of Ways• Landscape

Maintenance• CATS Maintenance

& Development• Capital

Improvement Design

• Cemeteries

Street Tree MaintenanceIn-House Crews

• Work Order Pruning• In-House Crews – 5 crews –

14 people• 3 Bucket Trucks• 2 Conventional Trucks• 16-1800 Work Requests

Annually• 10 week delays in spring

and summer

Street Tree MaintenanceIn-House Crews

• Pruning dead limbs out of street trees

• Clearing street lights, traffic signals, traffic signs

• Clearing sight distance hazards

• Removals• Emergency On-Call

Street Tree MaintenancePrivate Contractors

• Systematic Pruning street by street

• Large Tree Removals

Street Tree Maintenance

• Removal of 300+ large Street trees annually

Street Tree Planting

• Replacement Planting of street trees

• 1100 street trees planted annually by Tree Management

• Purchased from Private Nurseries

• Planted by Private Landscape Contractors

Street Tree ProtectionPrivate Development

• Private Development Projects

• Review plans• Site visits• Urban Design team

meetings• Documentation• Construction

Inspections• Single Family and

Duplex are not reviewed due to staffing

Street Tree Inventory

• 163,000 street trees inventoried (91%)

• 180,000 estimated street trees

Species Mix

• Highest single species is Crape Myrtle

• Second highest is Willow Oak

• Third highest is Red Maple

• Largest majority are diversified species

• 234 species

Condition of Street TreesFall Cankerworm

• Native moth• Wingless female• Defoliates trees in

the early spring• Repeated

defoliation leads to high mortality

Fall Cankerworm

• 90 females/trap is high infestation

• 3,000 females in some traps in 2014

• Current counts in the hundreds

Changing Numbers

Control Measures

• Trapping or Banding• Ground sprays by

private arborists• Aerial Sprays

– Aerial spray in 2008 of 65,000 acres cost $1.5M

– Used Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis)

Annual Losses

• Root Rot• Heart Rot• Structural

Weakness• Lightning• Mankind

Tree Management BudgetSummary

• Total $ 3,300,000

• 70% of work to private industry

• $ 4.28 per capita• $18.34 per Street Tree


November 5, 2014

Part II: An Arborist and Engineer Partnership

David Meachum, P.E. MBAEngineering Services Division Manager

An Arborist and Engineer Partnership

Limited Partnership


Poor Tree Preservation& Protection Practices


Disappointing Tree-Planting Practices


3 Keys of Charlotte’s Successful Partnership

• Educate Each Other

• Build Strong Relationships

• Hold a “Tree Seat” At The Project Design Table


Educate Each Other About Tree Assessment


Educate Each Other About Tree Preservation


Educate Each Other About Utility Impacts


Educate Each Other About Tree Planting Practices


We build and maintain strong relationshipsLandscape design in-house


We build and maintain strong relationships

Landscape procurementin-house


We build and maintain strong relationships Landscape installation inspection in-house


We hold a “Tree Seat” at the project design tableProject Team Member

Core Team Members: (generally need to attend all project team meetings)

Project Manager: Leslie BingProgram Manager: Tim GreeneClient: CDOT (James Shapard)CDOT (Tom Sorrentino)SWS (Susan Tolan)CMU (Bill Deal)Landscape Management (Chris Trotter)Planning (Jaya Dhindaw)Consultant: Michael Baker, Inc. (Bill Hood, Jason Breda)


We hold a “Tree Seat” at the project design tableProject Service Provider

Johnson And Wales Way/4th St/Trade St

Project Goals:

• Improve pedestrian safety with special attention to localized pedestrian environments and needs• Improve/increase multi-modal (bike/ped) performance and connectivity• Identify opportunities for landscaping• Identify opportunities for urban spaces


Sign-off Authority On Project Construction Plans

We hold a “Tree Seat” at the project design table


• Digital location of documents– Plant Palette

• CharMeck.org/Landscape Management/Recommended Plants for Roadway Landscapes

– Tree Standards• CharMeck.org/Engineering & Property

Management/Permitting and Plan Review/Standards Manual (CLDSM)/Section 4000 Tree Standards

– Green Zone, Urban Street Design Guidelines• CharMeck.org/Transportation/Plans and

Programs/Urban Street Design Guidelines

We hold a “Tree Seat” at the project design table


• David Meachum, P.E., MBA Engineering Services Division Manager

– 704-336-4122

– [email protected]


November 5, 2014

Part III: TreesCharlotteDave Cable, Executive Director

Community Engagement Is Our Heart & Soul

Queen City Canopy: Part III

Dave Cable, Executive Director

41

Elements of a strong program

Charlotte’s quality urban forest

Committed leadership

Comprehensive street tree program

Effective tree ordinance

Tree culture embedded across depts.

Sources (1) Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County, April 2010. (2) Urban Ecosystem Analysis Mecklenburg County and the City of Charlotte, NC, April 2010. (3) US Census Quick Facts

MeckCounty, NC

Nashville, TN

Charlotte, NC

Dallas, TX

St. Louis, MO

Seattle, WA

Milwaukee, WI

Chicago, IL

Denver, CO

-10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Charlotte’s Goal Is 50% Tree Canopy

by Year 2050

47%

43

Widening beyond the public realm

Holistic view of the urban forest

Broad community engagement Appreciation of trees as a community value

Volunteerism

Tree care & preservation

Tap private capital

TreeMasters

57

Performance Summary

4,065

7,111

10,000

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

FY13 FY14 FY15 Est

Trees Planted

1,156

2,074

3,000

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

FY13 FY14 FY15 Est

Volunteers

12,000 tree in 2+ years

Stewardship programs

Raised $1,400,000Action SummitsHonorary tree

programEducation

programs

58

The A-Team – Carolinas HealthCare System

Critical Success Factors

#1 - Clear Community Goal

Sources (1) Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County, April 2010. (2) Urban Ecosystem Analysis Mecklenburg County and the City of Charlotte, NC, April 2010. (3) US Census Quick Facts

MeckCounty, NC

Nashville, TN

Charlotte, NC

Dallas, TX

St. Louis, MO

Seattle, WA

Milwaukee, WI

Chicago, IL

Denver, CO

-10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Charlotte’s Goal Is 50% Tree Canopy

by Year 2050

47%

#2 - Collaborative DNA

City of Charlotte

• Aerial canopy analysis – April 2010• Increased tree funding – June 2010• Council adopts 50% by 2050 – June 2011• Study commissioned – November 2011• Unanimous Council endorsement – July 2012

Knight Foundation Canopy Committee

• Canopy Committee convenes – June 2010• Workgroup drafts plan – Fall 2010• TreesCharlotte plan ratified – February 2010• Study commissioned – November 2011• Branding committee creates logo – April 2012• Knight Foundation leadership gift – July 2012

TreesCharlotte collaborative is

born at May 2012 Action Summit I.

Foundation For The Carolinas

endorses plan. City partnership & commitment

formed for TreesCharlotte

61

62

#3 - Effective Core Collaborative

Healthy &

expansive

urban forest

for generations

City of CharlotteTechnical

expertise & support

TreesCharlottePrivate capital for trees; education

& community engagement

Community Partners

Orgs, volunteers, neighborhood

groups

63

#4 - Board Strength

Bank of America, COO

Carolinas HealthCare Systems, CEO

Charlotte Observer, Former Publisher

Charlotte Pipe & Foundry, CEO

City Manager, Charlotte

Lincoln Harris, CEO

Lowes Corporation, Director Community Relations

National Gypsum, CEO

Piedmont Natural Gas, CEO

Wells Fargo, Head of Wealth & Brokerage

64

#5 – Commitment to Guiding Principles

FUN!!!

Continuous improvement

Bias toward action

Service culture

Strengthening community

Tree – people connections

Non-adversarial, positive messaging

And…..

65

#5 – Guiding Principles, cont’d

Guided by science

Professional greenprints

Always right tree, right place

Diversification of canopy

Tight & high tree specifications

Planting and tree care protocols

Tree care education

66

#6 – Partnerships, starting with growers

67

#6 – Partnerships, Community

City of Charlotte

Largest hospital

Community Foundation

District Rotary & Clubs

Local land trust

Housing Authority

School System

North Carolina Nursery & Landscape Assoc.

And many others….

#7 – Meeting neighborhoods where they are

NeighborWoods TreeDays NeighborWoods TreeStoresHigher Planting Capacity Lower Planting Capacity

68

69

Arborist and Engineer Partnerships Effective Street Tree Program

Regulatory Functions

Comprehensive UrbanForestry Platform

Community engagement & private capital

70

Thank you!

Dave Cable [email protected]

Environment

Queen City Canopy: Growing Charlotte’s Urban Forest Through Community Engagement