Angelenos, a huge opportunity exists right now for you to take action to protect our City’s urban forest!
Did you know, the City of LA has launched a 30-year sidewalk repair program? This was triggered by a city settlement that secured more than $1.4 billion to make our sidewalks more accessible for all Angelenos. TreePeople has since championed the protection of our urban trees throughout this process. Our work on this effort, along with our partners, has led to an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to determine the impacts of the sidewalk replacement citywide–this includes the impacts to our urban forest!
Join the effort to protect our trees! Let the City know what you think the EIR should include in two different ways:
Show up. Be Seen.
Attend one of the three public meetings!
Ronald F. Deaton Civic
Auditorium 100 W 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Event time:
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Mid-Valley Senior Citizen Center
8825 Kester Avenue
Panorama City, CA 91402
Event time:
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Westchester Senior Citizen Center
8740 Lincoln Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90045
Event time:
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Use Your Voice.
Your opinion matters! Some comments we plan to submit are below. We encourage you to build off these comments and come up with some of your own!
- We need to improve the current tree replacement ratio: The policy — at a minimum — needs to be 2:1 when trees have a canopy under 30 feet and should increase to 4:1 for trees over 30 feet. TreePeople believes there should be a no-net-loss in canopy from sidewalk replacements and this ratio helps get the City there. Additionally, TreePeople will continue to work with the City and other partners on a net increase in tree canopy outside of this particular sidewalk replacement program.
- Tree replacements should be done strategically: If trees have to be removed, let’s be strategic in what we replace them with. This is an opportunity to choose the appropriate replacement species to maximize the many benefits of trees, including fighting the urban heat island effect and impending extreme heat effects from climate change.
- Greenhouse gas and urban heat island impacts need more attention: The loss of our urban trees leads to a) increased heat b) more emissions due to loss of shade and an increased use of air conditioning. TreePeople believes these impacts need to be properly documented, accounted for and mitigated against.
- Public process and permitting: Blanket permits to remove trees do not work. Each tree needs to be evaluated on-site by an ISA certified arborist/municipal specialist who also holds a Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ) at a minimum. These specialists should also follow American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards for any tree management or maintenance. Additionally, the transparency from public hearings is critical for the public to have their say.
- Sustainable sidewalk designs: Our urban forest could significantly increase water supplies for LA if the City integrated sustainable sidewalks designs such as bioswales to capture stormwater and other green infrastructure opportunities. Other sustainable designs including meandering sidewalks, bridging over existing roots, curb bump-outs and larger tree-wells are also critical pieces to protect the urban forest.
Submit comments online at here! The comment period ends September 15, 2017.
What to know more about Safe Sidewalks LA? Check out the Initial Study documents. For more information regarding the Environmental Review Process, please contact:
Shilpa Gupta, Environmental Supervisor I
Department of Public Works
Bureau of Engineering, EMG
1149 S. Broadway, Suite 600, Mail Stop 939
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Or email at Shilpa.Gupta@lacity.org
Thank you in advance for making your voice heard!