Urban Forestry Commission plants seeds for bigger budget

Summary The Cleveland Urban Forestry Commission Policy Committee has been working since the commission’s founding to update the Cleveland tree ordinances, as the existing language was first enacted in 1924. According to a 2014 report, “Municipal Tree Care and Management in the United States,” the average city spends .52% of its annual budget on forestry. In Cleveland, the current allocation to forestry is closer to .25% of the city budget. The Budget Committee presented a recommendation for increased city funding to grow the Urban Forestry Division in 2027. The Urban Forestry Commission Policy Committee, chaired by Tom Schreiber of Western Reserve Land Conservancy, has been working since the commission’s founding to update the Cleveland tree ordinances, which currently include language first introduced in 1924. Schreiber presented the formal recommendations for this process to the broader commission, which were approved unanimously and can now be brought before the C