Mayor Thomson, Council Members and Beach & Park District Commissioners:
Boca Raton has been a Tree City since 1979.
As a Beach & Park District Commissioner, I supported the District’s continuing investment in landscaping and managing our preserved areas.
Tonight, I’m asking the City and District to make urban forestry an ongoing capital commitment.
The City should establish an ongoing Urban Forest Management and Expansion Program within its five-year Capital Improvement Program, with an annual commitment from the Beach & Park District to participate.
The City has already done much of the groundwork. Its 2021 Tree Canopy Assessment established a baseline and recommended an Urban Forest Management Plan.
The program should:
- Protect mature tree canopy.
- Replace aging and lost trees.
- Expand planting in parks and public spaces.
- Continue invasive-species and underbrush management.
- Address canopy lost to storms.
- Measure whether Boca’s urban forest is growing or shrinking.
We shouldn’t judge success simply by how many trees we plant. We should know whether Boca’s overall tree canopy is increasing or declining.
We’ve done this kind of long-term planning before. When I was a Commissioner, we established an annual Beach & Park District commitment of $300,000 for beach renourishment. That money is set aside each year so funding is available when the District and City undertake a joint beach renourishment project. That commitment continues today.
Our urban forest deserves the same long-range thinking.
I’m asking City staff to work with the Beach & Park District and come back with a five-year plan and timeline, identify what existing funds may legally be available for this purpose — including applicable parks and recreation impact-fee or park-land-dedication funds — and recommend an annual funding commitment from both the City and District.
Trees aren’t simply landscaping. They’re living infrastructure and part of Boca Raton’s quality of life.
Boca has long been known as “A City Within a Park.”
Let’s make an annual investment to ensure that remains true for the next generation.
Thanks.