TOWN OF WINDSOR
AGENDA REPORT

Kevin Locke, Planner II

Town Street Tree Policy Overview

Provide input to staff on the Town’s street tree policies, regulatory challenges, and potential options for change.

Trees are an integral part of the Town of Windsor and contribute to its scenic beauty, increase property values, help reduce energy costs, reduce the heat island effect, provide habitat for wildlife, and sequester carbon. Urban trees can play a significant role in making Windsor resilient to weather extremes such as increasingly intense wildfires and longer fire seasons exacerbated by climate change. As a result, the Town has adopted a variety of regulatory documents and policies protecting and preserving native oak trees and trees of significance, street trees, groves and stands of mature trees, and mature trees in general.

For this report, the focus will be on street trees. A street tree is defined in the Zoning Code as “any tree growing within the Town’s right-of-way or an area within a public easement.” The most common type of street tree is one growing in the landscaping strips between the curb and sidewalk of a property. Trees planted in other right-of-way locations such as a traffic island or median can also be considered a street tree.  

Windsor is a relatively young Town, incorporated in the early 1990s. Many of the subdivisions in Town with street trees were developed in the late 90s and early 2000s, meaning the street trees planted then are reaching maturity now. This is creating a variety of challenges for homeowners, as they must weigh the benefits of street trees against the liability they can create. Therefore, the purpose of this report is to go over the current regulatory context and goals of the Town related to street trees, challenges to street tree management, and potential regulatory changes the Town could choose to make or investigate to assist in addressing these challenges. 

Regulatory Context
There are a variety of overlapping documents which regulate or set goals related to street trees, including:

• Town of Windsor 2040 General Plan. The General Plan’s Guiding Principles have dedicated the Town to the protection of environmental resources and the enhancement of the public realm. This resulted in a variety of General Plan Goals and Policies related to street trees including but not limited to:
• • M-1.3 Development of Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Transit Facilities. The Town shall encourage the development of facilities and services (e.g., secure long-term bicycle parking, street lights, street furniture and trees, transit stop benches and shelters, and street sweeping of bike lanes) that enable bicycling, walking, and transit to become more widely used modes of transportation and recreation.
  • M-3.15 Street Tree Placement. To the extent feasible, the Town shall line streets
    with trees to create a more attractive, comfortable pedestrian environment, while maintaining clear sight lines in order to reduce the risk of accident or injury due to site impediments.
  • ER-5.16 Address Heat Island Effect in Parking Lots. The Town shall require shade mitigation measures, such as the planting of shade trees, using native or climate-forward trees when feasible, and solar shade structures, when applicable, in all new and expanded parking lots to reduce the heat island effect. Climate-forward trees refer to drought-tolerant and heat-adapted species. In addition, the Town shall encourage or require the use of cool pavement materials, such as light-colored paving materials with permeable surfaces that reduce heat and manage rainwater. The Town shall consider updates to the zoning code to enforce this measure. 
  • ER-5.17 Support Urban Forestry. The Town should expand urban shade tree planting to provide shade in both the public rights-of-way and as part of development proposals, using native or climate-forward trees where feasible. The Town shall pursue outreach, education, and seek grant funding to develop and implement an Urban Forestry Plan.
  • ER-5.18 Preservation of Trees. The Town shall require the preservation and/or replacement of trees in parking lots and in the public right-of-way per development standards.
• Zoning Code. Trees are specifically regulated under Zoning Code Section 17.22.030 “Tree Preservation and Protection”. A street tree is considered a protected species under the ordinance. A Tree Removal Permit is required prior to removal of any protected species. Protected trees are not permitted to be removed unless they meet certain conditions (dead, dangerous, hazardous, etc.).
• Tree Technical Manual. The Tree Technical Manual supplements and supports Zoning Code Section 17.22.030. The document is used for the procedures and standards for the preservation, protection, and maintenance of trees within the Town.
• Greenhouse Gas Consistency Checklist. On February 4th, 2026, Town Council adopted the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Consistency Checklist. The purpose of this checklist is to facilitate the reduction of greenhouse gases for development projects consistent with State and Town goals. It also allows for a streamlined GHG environmental review of development projects. This checklist requires projects to “provide at least 50% shade tree coverage within 10 years of planting in the public rights-of-way, public spaces, and parking lots.” This checklist implements General Plan Policies M-6.3, ER-5.16, ER-5.17, and ER-5.22.
• Complete Streets Design Guidelines (CSDG). The CSDG establishes design principles and guidelines for creating streets that serve all modes of transit (vehicle, biking, walking, etc.). This document includes general guidelines regarding street trees, including spacing of street trees, tree well standards, and recommended tree size based on the street hierarchy.
• Title X Chapter 6 of the Municipal Code. While not specifically related to street trees, this code section establishes property owner responsibility of maintaining the sidewalk in reasonable condition (excluding curb and gutter). Maintenance of the sidewalk may include tree trimming, installation of root barriers, etc. to ensure the sidewalk remains in reasonable condition.
• Municipal Climate Action Plan (MCAP). Adopted by Town Council in 2024, the MCAP encourages the planting of native trees in residential and non-residential landscaping as well as the development of solutions for mitigating impacts of extreme weather on vulnerable community members.
• Assembly Bill 2251 (AB 2551). AB 2551 is a Cal-fire led initiative to increase tree canopy cover in urban areas by 10% by 2035.

Challenges to Street Tree Management
While the Town has adopted a variety of goals and policies relating to the protection of trees, many of these documents have not been updated in many years and may not reflect the current practices or could have conflicting standards. This has created a variety of challenges for street tree management, which are summarized below: 

Costs and Liability Associated with Maintenance. The street trees throughout Windsor are primarily the responsibility of the adjacent property owner to maintain. Regular maintenance and care of street trees is required to ensure the health and viability of the tree. This maintenance can be costly for the average property owner. The Town also does not have sufficient resources available to assist property owners in maintenance. As a result, the maintenance of street trees is primarily reactive instead of proactive, in that trees are addressed only once they become an issue or hazard. Prolonged lack of regular tree care is likely to reduce the overall health of the urban forest, reduce the associated benefits and services provided by trees, and increase public safety risks (i.e. sidewalk lift, damage to utilities or foundation). Prolonged lack of maintenance also typically results in the death of a street tree.

Conflicts within Town Regulation. The Town’s Tree Preservation Ordinance typically only allows removal of a street tree in certain circumstances (dead, dangerous, infested). The Tree Preservation Ordinance prioritizes preservation; and focuses on alternative options to protect the tree prior to considering removal. However, Title X Chapter 6 of the Municipal code requires the sidewalk to be maintained in “reasonable condition”. As stated previously, many street trees are not regularly maintained and are only addressed once they become an issue or hazard. At which point, it is difficult to protect the street tree and repair the sidewalk to Town standard. The roots required for removal are typically within the critical root zone (CRZ) and the Town standards for sidewalks are rigid and do not allow for flexibility. Due to the rigidity of Town sidewalk standards, this conflict typically ends in removal and on occasion replacement of a street tree. The value and benefits of a mature tree are lost as a result. 

Public Knowledge. Many residents and property owners are not aware that street trees are generally their responsibility. Street trees are typically designated as the property owner’s responsibility during the entitlement phase of a development project. This could be in the form of a condition of approval or note on the final map of a project. As the development ages, this protection may not be disclosed to future property owners. This can result in property owners not maintaining a street tree or removing a street tree without a permit. 

Code Enforcement. The Tree Preservation Ordinance outlines civil penalties for the unlawful removal or damage of protected trees. Enforcement of this ordinance is difficult. The Town does not have an up-to-date street tree or canopy map to know if a tree has been removed. Also, the Town’s Code Enforcement is complaint-based. Therefore, if a street tree is removed and no one reports it, the violation is likely to go unresolved. Based on data from California’s Urban Tree Canopy Viewer from Cal-Fire, Windsor lost 109.6 acres of urban tree canopy between 2018-2022, going from 25.2% urban canopy cover to 22.6%. The Town is currently losing more tree canopy than it is gaining. This conflicts with the Town’s goals of maintaining a consistent tree canopy cover and no-net loss of trees. 

There are a variety of ways that the Town could manage street trees, alternative to current practice. These methods could be used to help manage or reduce the impacts listed above. A summary of those options or methods are listed below:

Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP). A UFMP is a proactive approach for the management of trees in Town. Per General Plan Policy ER5.16. “The Town shall pursue outreach, education, and seek grant funding to develop and implement an Urban Forestry Plan”. A UFMP is a planning document, similar to a strategic plan or specific plan intended to establish goals, policies, and programs related to urban canopy. A Zoning Text Amendment would likely be required in addition to this plan. An effective UFMP typically comprises of multiple stages, including:

1. Vision setting: establishing a shared goal or vision for the urban forest, aligning with community values and aspirations.
2. Inventory and Assessment: Conducting detailed inventories and assessments to understand the status of the urban forest, including tree species, health, and distribution. 
3. Strategic Planning: Developing goals, objectives, and actionable strategies based on the findings from inventory and assessment processes.
4. Implementation Planning: Creating detailed plans with specific timelines, responsibilities, and resources allocated for executing strategies outlined in the UFMP.
5. Monitoring and Evaluation: Defining the metrics and measurement methodology. This ensures effective monitoring and allows for adjustments based on ongoing assessment and feedback.

Trees are a public asset, like any other civic infrastructure. A UFMP would put street trees as a civic responsibility and priority. 

Zoning Ordinance Revisions. Several Town codes, regulations, and plans address trees. Specifically, street trees are mainly regulated by Zoning Ordinance Section 17.22.030. Regulations to guide tree planting and maintenance are limited and do not sufficiently address many of the goals or policies established in the General Plan and other supporting Town documents and standards. The Town could choose to explore regulations for street tree care, protections, etc. in the future by gathering input from Town staff, community partners, and the public and bringing proposed amendments to Council for consideration. 

Internal Town Policy. Town staff, at the discretion of the Town Manager, could develop an internal policy related to street trees. This policy could cover a variety of minor street tree issues (tree care, property ownership disputes, maintenance, etc.) and how the Town would respond to these issues. An internal staff policy would only address more minor issues and would be limited in nature.  

Options for Consideration
Following deliberation and consideration of public input, the Council may wish to consider the following options:
1. Direct staff to return with more information specifying the Council’s areas of interest (UFMP, Zoning Text Amendment, etc.) for further discussion.
2. Direct staff to prepare internal policy for street tree care and maintenance. 
3. Receive this report without a request for further action at this time.
4. Other.

This agenda report is provided for the purpose of discussion; no decision will be made and there will be no fiscal impact. Should the Council direct staff to pursue or investigate any changes to the Town’s tree regulations or policies, the expected fiscal impacts would be provided at a future Council meeting. 

Environmental review is not required, because no action will be taken. An informational report is not a “project” that is subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Any direction for changes to the Town’s tree regulations or policies would be analyzed for CEQA compliance prior to a future decision.