Title
Urban and Community Forestry Grant
Action
Action:
A. Accept grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service in the total amount of $1,100,000 for the Tree Maintenance and Canopy Care programs, and
B. Adopt a budget ordinance appropriating $1,100,000 in grant funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service to the General Capital Investment Plan.
Body
Staff Resource(s):
Phil Reiger, General Services
David Wolfe, General Services
Erin Oliverio, General Services
Explanation
§ On September 14, 2023, the City of Charlotte’s Landscape Management Division was awarded two grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Service.
§ The USDA Forest Service selected 385 grant proposals from entities working to increase:
- equitable access to trees and nature,
- the benefits trees provide for cooling city streets, improving air quality, and promoting food security, and
- public health and safety.
§ These grants will fund one new program, Canopy Care ($600,000), as well as supplement an existing program, Tree Maintenance ($500,000); both grants will focus on neighborhoods within Charlotte’s Corridors of Opportunity areas.
- The Canopy Care program will plant new trees, prune existing trees, and remove hazardous trees to enhance the overall health of tree canopy on private property.
- The Tree Maintenance Program will prioritize underserved communities for public tree maintenance work including pruning young and mature trees, removing hazardous trees, and stump grinding to prepare sites for replacement trees.
Fiscal Note
Funding: General Capital Investment Plan
Attachments
Attachment(s)
Budget Ordinance