The Urban Forest Master Plan (UFMP) is much more than developing a fancy study to put "on the shelf." This Plan is comprised of a series of technical evaluations specific to Carmel's forest, community outreach activities, and preparation and adoption of the Plan. Collectively, this information will help the City make informed policy decisions, provide targeting educational and ongoing outreach information, and implement best management strategies for day-to-day operations of the City’s forest.
Technical Studies:
Work completed under the UFMP included the following technical reports and services, most of which were individually presented by staff to the Forest and Beach Commission (Commission) between August 2023 and June 2024, and are considered substantially complete at this time:
- Inventory of 12,000+ City trees, with geo-coded locations and condition assessments
- GIS Mapping and TreeKeeper data entry and demonstrations
- Background Review (regulations, policies, guiding documents)
- Stakeholder Interviews
- Goals and Action Items
- Tree Canopy and Land Cover Assessment
- Economics Analysis/Value of the Urban Forest
- Storm Water Analysis
- Operational Review of City’s Maintenance Practices (not yet presented)
- Priority Planting Plan/Tree Replacement Model (not yet presented)
Community Outreach:
Outreach efforts to date, in addition to the above-listed Commission presentations on technical studies and public comments, included:
- Creation of an UFMP Steering Committee – June 2023
- 1st Community Workshop – July 2023
- Forest and Beach Commission presentation by consultant– August 2023
- Community Survey – September through November 2023 (See below)
- 2nd Community Workshop – May 2024
Preparation and Adoption of the Plan: (Next Steps)
- Tree Species List – To be significantly revised based on City Forester input and community feedback
- Draft Urban Forest Master Plan Report – 90% complete
- 3rd Community Workshop to present the draft UFMP and solicit feedback
- Commission review and adoption of Plan
- City Council review and adoption of Plan
Community Survey:
The UFMP Community Survey was launched to the public on September 27th, and was available in both online and paper formats. Survey announcements were published in the "Carmel Pine Cone," noticed on the City’s website, sent out via "Constant Contact,” and noted in a number of City Friday Letter newsletters. The Survey was open for 47 days and closed on November 13th. A total of 348 responses were received with 308 online surveys and 40 paper surveys.
Complete, unedited Survey results were initially reviewed at the December 2023 meeting of the Commission. These results can be reviewed via the following link: https://ci.carmel.ca.us/ufmp Responses are provided in both graphical format for most question, and unedited narrative responses are listed for two questions: 1) their level of satisfaction of the City's care of public trees, and 2) their most important issues to be addressed in the UFMP.
This raw data was subsequently evaluated by the Commission and staff, and duplications and other anomalies were filtered out. The refined Survey Results were presented by Commissioner Brezoczky at the Commission meeting in April 2024 and at the 2nd Community Workshop in May 2024. Staff suggested that this insightful presentation should also be provided to the City Council and the community at large.
The primary purpose for this presentation is to acknowledge consistent themes in the Survey responses and ensure that the Council, Commission, Steering Committee, and staff are in sync in terms of finalizing the remaining components of the UFMP and subsequently proceeding with policy decisions and management practices that address these themes. The top four themes from the Survey were:
· Residents appreciate Carmel’s trees and would like to see the overall tree canopy level and iconic cypress on Scenic Drive maintained
· Residents are urgently calling for better maintenance of public trees; there are significant concerns about the safety and maintenance burdens with aging pines and cypress
· There are safety concerns around dead trees/limbs during storms and around power lines
· Replanting should occur in the right areas (parks, open spaces), with more diversity of trees and a preference for native species
· There is a perceived need for more Forestry staff/resources
ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION
This action does not constitute a project within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act under Public Resources Code Section 21065. It has no potential to cause either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment and, therefore, does not require environmental review.