Action Step #6: Connect Expertise and Resources Where Most Needed
Lower income residents are struggling to care for large trees.
Progress Made To-Date
Last Updated April 2020
2018 Large Tree Assistance Pilot Program in Wesley Heights. City arborist staff used a one time allocation from City Council to run a pilot large tree assistance program in the Wesley Heights community. See a video on the program below.
Neighborhood leaders approached the city with concerns about some of their long time residents that had large trees on their properties and no funds to care for them. Together, city arborist staff and neighborhood leaders informed residents of the pilot program. The purpose of the program was to help lower income residents keep large trees (vs removing them) by helping them understand the health of the large trees on their properties and removing risks as needed.
In order to participate in the program, an applicant had to meet the following requirements:
Large Tree: Have a tree that is larger than 15 inches in trunk diameter (DBH)
Low Income: Owner's income must be below 60% of the area median income
Homeowner in Good Standing: Must own the home and be current on all property taxes
Two local arborist companies were selected to complete the work, one to do risk assessment inspections and one to do work recommended from inspection.
19 requests for an application received
14 applications completed
12 applicants qualified for the program
At the end of this program 17 trees were pruned or removed on 12 properties. The Wesley Heights community donated $5,000 back into the program to help fund all of the tree work. Response to the program was positive, and 15 other communities have expressed interest expanding the effort into their neighborhoods. Staff is working with to find additional funding in 2021 to continue the program.
Original Action Step 6 Directive from 2017:
Preserving tree canopy is critical. While the City of Charlotte works to preserve public canopy via better management and protection policies, trees on private lands also need attention. One issue that consistently came up during the stakeholder and public meetings was that low income residents with large mature trees on private property are struggling to maintain them. There are a number of factors affecting tree preservation in low income areas of Charlotte:
High Cost of Tree Care. As trees age, pruning and removal work gets more expensive. However, these larger mature trees are the ones that provide exponentially higher benefits to the community and are candidates for preservation.
High Canopy Cover in Low Income Areas. The general trend across the U.S. is that low income areas have low tree canopy cover. This is not always the case in Charlotte, however, thanks to the high volume of trees that were planted in the city during the early 1900's. While all residents are lucky to reap the benefits trees provide, the abiding challenges of caring for trees need to be prioritized so that residents can continue to enjoy these benefits.
Fear Factor. Lack of access to someone with tree care expertise can result in fear of tree failure (whether validated or not). This fear can lead to premature removal of larger trees.
A program to provide access to expertise and financial resources for tree preservation would make great strides in retaining tree canopy. The following recommendations are aimed at addressing these two needs gaps through a new position and financial program.
Part I. Create a Community Urban Forester Position. The role of this position would include responding to requests for tree consultations on private land, evaluating trees and educating residents about tree care, and potentially providing options for tree care resources. This position could be housed in any number of organizations, including a local extension office, the city, TreesCharlotte, or other partners.
Next Steps:
Write an initial position description for a Community Urban Forester. Include in the description detail how this person will spend his/her time and what areas/households they will service. Will this allocation be determined based on only high-need areas?
Meet with the State Urban Forestry Coordinator, TreesCharlotte, and the local extension office director to discuss the feasibility and housing of such a position.
Determine required funding for a full time position and explore funding options available with the Canopy Team.
Once the position is created, funded, and filled, revisit and re-evaluate the position description every 6-12 months to examine where calls come from, what types of questions are asked, and how much this resource is being used. Review of the questions and challenges facing residents can continually inform the Canopy Team on future needs.
Part II. Create a Program to Provide Financial Resources for Tree Care on Private Land. Beyond access to expertise, trees that require care are often beyond the financial reach of lower income households. Once a tree is assessed via the expertise described above, financial resources could be provided through a sponsored grant program or other system to distribute needed funds. Another option would be to consider a potential work training program for tree care jobs. This may be an opportunity for corporate engagement by funding this type of program.
Next Steps:
Create a working committee around the concept of providing financial resources for private tree care. Would it take the form of a grant program for which neighborhoods could apply? Or would it be a case-by-case application?
Work with Corporate Engagement working committee to explore funding options.
Potential Owners: City and TreesCharlotte to start the process. Potential Participants: State Urban Forestry Coordinator, Mecklenburg County Extension. Other potential partners to consider include the local ISA Chapter (volunteer for credit) and local insurance companies.