Downtown Sarasota urban forest project on track to increase canopy coverage
The city of Sarasota is on track for more tree coverage with the next phase of the urban forest project.
In an update to the Sarasota City Commission at a Monday workshop, city planning and sustainability staff reported the urban forest project is in its second phase of bolstering canopy coverage along Ringling Boulevard. The project, which the commission approved last fall, will facilitate tree installments using $55,000 of funding from a U.S. Department of Agriculture urban forestry grant.
The urban forest project’s second phase took data from the initial tree survey and plotted where to plant trees along Ringling Boulevard. Per an outline based on that data, the stretch of Ringling from Lime Avenue and Pineapple Avenue will become a “canopy road” shaded by trees dotted both along the median and on the sides of the street.
Under current city guidelines, a “canopy road” designation is only a title and provides no additional benefits or safeguard measures for tree maintenance. Phil Smith, a landscape architect, recommended the city amend this part of the code to align with the county definition of a canopy road, which comes with a comprehensive plan for maintaining the designated street’s collection of trees.
“Right now, it’s just a name,” Smith said. “We prepare a complete arboriculture plan so that during construction it’s monitored and the trees are protected in the entire corridor.”
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The corridor Ringling Boulevard that the project focuses on has a baseline canopy coverage of 12%, according to project documents. Staff aims to increase that coverage to 24% over a 10-year growth period by planting trees in medians and along street sides as well as converting some lane separation areas to landscape spaces.
Necessary tree coverage in a given area is determined by a tree equity score — which, according to nonprofit American Forests, measures how well the benefits of tree canopies reach residents in urban areas — and existing canopy coverage. A tree equity score of 100 means an area has achieved its canopy coverage goal.
Tree equity across Sarasota County varies, with scores in the 80s and 90s in the northern and southernmost parts with lower scores in central parts and closer to the city. Downtown Sarasota’s canopy coverage ranges from 15 to 20%, with tree equity scores ranging from 66 to 75% across the downtown core, the bayfront and the Rosemary District.
The urban forest project, staff said, will boost this equity score and ensure downtown access to shade, fresh air, high-quality water and other benefits trees provide. It will incorporate native “Florida friendly” trees — which could include various types of palms, pines and other shade trees, according to the University of Florida’s Florida-Friendly Landscaping Plant Guide.
Staff’s presentation to the commission also included several recommendations for long-term tree vitality downtown such as the removal of invasive species from city parks, higher fines for violations of local tree protection guidelines and increased funding toward planting projects and other tree conservation measures. Staff also suggested amending the City Tree Protection Ordinance to reflect current national standards and adjusting the local greenspace policy to allow more biodiversity.
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Commissioners expressed excitement about the prospect of more downtown greenery. Vice Mayor Jen-Ahearn Koch lauded the project as a promising step toward sustainability.
“This is a keeper,” Ahearn Koch said.
The third phase of the project will include the implementation of the trees, and staff expects the project to reach completion over a 10-year period.
Contact Herald-Tribune Growth and Development Reporter Heather Bushman at hbushman@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @hmb_1013.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Urban forest project will increase tree coverage in downtown Sarasota
