Authorizing the Committee on the Environment to conduct a hearing to evaluate progress on the implementation of the Philly Tree Plan, determine how to expedite progress and what, if any, additional policies might promote the City's sustainable greening goals.

Authorizing the Committee on the Environment to conduct a hearing to evaluate progress on the implementation of the Philly Tree Plan, determine how to expedite progress and what, if any, additional policies might promote the City’s sustainable greening goals. WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia released the Philly Tree Plan in 2023 as an ambitious 10-year strategy to grow, protect, and care for the urban tree canopy; and WHEREAS, From 2008 to 2018, Philadelphia lost 1320 acres (6 percent) of its tree canopy, in large measure due to a lack of maintenance of residential and street trees, removal of yard trees, and the effects of climate change; and WHEREAS, The number of street trees additionally decreased by 5 percent from 2021 to 2023, primarily in Northeast Philadelphia, the Navy Yard, and the Sports Complex neighborhoods; and WHEREAS, The City’s urban forest covers 20 percent of City land but is not equitably distributed, as only 5 percent of land in many neighborhoods of the 1st, 2nd, and 6th districts are covered by tree canopy, while other areas, e.g. in the 8th district, have greater than 50 percent tree canopy cover; and WHEREAS, Two years following the release of the Philly Tree Plan, though substantial progress is underway to accomplish all eight outlined goals, progress is lagging in others, such as coordinating support for trees and reducing tree-specific burdens; and WHEREAS, Parks and Recreation hired Philadelphia’s first City Forester in April 2024 and was awarded…