Plan calls for more trees in Worcester: Is there enough money to get the job done?

WORCESTER — A new plan calls for the city to plant thousands of trees and invest an extra $500,000 annually in the city’s forestry division, among other initiatives, to boost the presence and health of Worcester’s so-called urban canopy.

It’s called the Urban Forest Master Plan, and the city’s Urban Forestry Tree Commission recently voted to unanimously approve it. City Council signoff is needed for it to take effect.

The plan includes input from city departments, an inventory of city-owned trees along roads and streets done by consultant Davey Resource Group Inc. and community input. Plus, revisions made by the Tree Commission.

“I hope we approve it. I think it’s a great plan,” said District 1 Councilor Jenny Pacillo, who chairs the council’s standing committee on Veterans’ Memorials, Parks & Recreation.

The plan has many aspects, including some that estimate additional costs — in some cases $100,000 or more — to pay for staff and consultants to carry out. But Pacillo and others, including Tree Commission member Alexander Elton, said there is money to tap into, from the federal Inflation Reduction Act, state and federal grants, and other sources to potentially fund the plan.

"Right now there's a lot of public funding out there," said Elton. "There are a lot of opportunities to improve the environment and the health of the city right now. Trees and green infrastructure can be a huge part of that."

8,000 planting spots, plus equity

While Worcester has more than 23,000 trees located along public streets, according to an inventory taken by the city and Davey Resource Group, the master plan identifies more than 8,000 potential spots to plant trees. Most of the locations are on public property, with an emphasis on neighborhoods in the city’s inner core with few shade trees, compared to more affluent parts of Worcester.

Besides planting trees to cast shade that lower temperatures in heat island areas where there is a preponderance of concrete, the plan noted other environmental benefits from trees. Those include carbon sequestration and roots that absorb rainwater to mitigate flooding impacts as climate change brings more intense storms.

Forestry needs more money

The master plan makes it clear that the city's forestry division needs a recurring $500,000 annual infusion for additional staff and to cover the $80.77 average cost per street tree for cities of comparable size. The average cost per tree comes from the 2014 national census of urban forests conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Davey Resource Group.

Besides, Worcester forestry's recent $1.6 million annual budget for 10 employees is 7% less than other cities of comparable size, according to Elton.

3-to-1: too expensive?

Another change in the master plan is planting three trees for every one that needs replacement. Worcester's replanting ratio has historically been lower, and the plan says the higher ratio will boost tree survival.

Elton, who formerly worked as director of forestry in Providence and now develops environmental plans for the Green Infrastructure Center, believes 3-to-1 is the absolute minimum needed to promote healthy tree growth.

Robert Antonelli, the city’s tree warden and assistant commissioner of parks and recreation, previously questioned where the money would come from to pay for the more expensive 3-to-1 ratio.

Antonelli now says forestry has the $500,000 injection over the next two fiscal years to cover the higher ratio and other tree-related activities in the master plan. The money comes from the city’s capital budget that paid for additional equipment and federal American Rescue Plan Act funds that could be used for planting trees.

More plan details

An urban tree canopy study costing up an estimated $50,000 to $100,000 would be done every five to 10 years in order to help Worcester determine strategies for equitable and effective tree planting. A consultant hired by the city reported in 2022 that tree canopy covered 37% of Worcester. To reach 50%, the consultant said Worcester needed to plant 34,000 trees that would reach maturity in 20 years.

The plan also calls for changing city regulations so developers will have to meet tree planting and canopy-cover requirements when their projects come before the city for review. Other ideas in the plan include lowering parking requirements to encourage tree planting, allow for higher building density or increases in height limits in exchange for the preservation of trees, and tax incentives for planting on private property.

Achieving these regulatory changes will cost the city money, according to the master plan, especially if consultants are hired.

The last time the city's tree ordinances were significantly changed was in 2008 when the Asian longhorned beetle destroyed 30,000 trees in Worcester and the surrounding area, according to Antonelli. Those regulations are solid, said Elton, but the problem, he feels, is Worcester doesn't have enough resources to enforce them.

To boost enforcement, the master plan suggests the city hire additional staff by 2026 that could cost up to $150,000.

Changes to current zoning and planning regulations are worth discussing, said Antonelli. However, he thinks the city’s current forestry regulations are working. They include fines of $300, plus replacement costs, for those who willfully damage or take down trees without city permission. Those costs can be a deterrent, said Antonelli.

Sometime this year, the master plans call for a summit of experts to study data and recommend a tree-canopy goal for Worcester. Meanwhile, Elton said he and his fellow commission members will fan out across the city this fall to spread the word about the master plan.

There's also a section in the plan that mentions developing partnerships with residents, community organizations and property owners in neighborhoods where there is a dearth of trees to get more planted in those areas. That work could take up to three years, according to the master plan, and the city needs to add a staff position earning an estimated $75,000 annually to manage community outreach.

'Good move' for Worcester

Ultimately, Antonelli believes the master plan is a "good move for the city." It’s a working document, he said, that will likely change over time as economic conditions and environmental realities change.

If the City Council approves it, Antonelli said it could help Worcester secure more outside money for tree planting because those sources will see that Worcester has a plan for its urban forest.

Elton noted more than 1,100 Worcester residents took a community survey from May 1 to Aug. 19, 2022, on the master plan that showed they're firmly in the camp of tree lovers. Survey results included 95% of respondents strongly agree that trees are important to Worcester, 92% feel there aren't enough trees in the city, and 70% believe Worcester doesn’t spend enough money on trees.

As Elton sees it, the City Council should put the master plan into action.

“Hopefully this road map is taken seriously,” said Elton. “I hope they listen to more than 1,100 city residents.”

Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on X: @henrytelegram .

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Plan calls for more trees in Worcester: Is there enough money to get the job done?