TO: COMMUNITY AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION
FROM: JEREMY SWAN, COMMUNITY SERVICES DIRECTOR
DATE: JUNE 4, 2025
SUBJECT:
Title
TREE PLANTINGS AND REMOVALS FOR MARCH 2025
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SUMMARY
The adopted Tree Policies and Guidelines Manual requires the Community Services Department to provide a monthly report on tree plantings and removals. This report includes information on City tree plantings and removals for the month of March 2025. Thirty-eight trees were planted and twenty-five trees were removed in March 2025.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff recommends the Community and Human Services Commission receive and file the tree plantings and removals report for March 2025.
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ALTERNATIVE TO RECOMMENDATION
In addition to the recommendation, there is the following alternative:
• Refer the item back to staff for additional information.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
There were thirty-eight trees planted in the month of March 2025. These trees were planted by the City’s contractor, West Coast Arborists, Inc. (WCA). All thirty-eight trees were 15-gallon sized trees with a planting cost of $220 each, for a total cost of $8,360. Twenty-five trees were removed during the month of March 2025. Fourteen trees were removed by staff at no cost to the City, and eleven trees were removed by WCA. The removal cost of a tree is based on its diameter at breast height. The cost of removal for these eleven trees was $9,509.
ANALYSIS
The Community Services Department is responsible for the daily management of the City’s urban forest, including the planting and removal of City trees. The City-Council-adopted Tree Policies and Guidelines Manual establishes the standards governing the tree planting and removal process.
Plantings
Thirty-eight trees were planted during the month of March 2025. All thirty-eight trees were planted by WCA at a cost of $220 each. Twenty of these trees were planted at Padua Avenue Park as part of the annual Arbor Day celebration. A listing of trees planted by address is included as Attachment A.
Removals
It is the City's policy to protect and preserve healthy trees that provide valuable benefits to our environment and to the quality of life in Claremont. However, staff have the authority to remove City trees if a tree is considered dead, in a state of advanced decline, or hazardous. Additionally, per the Tree Policies and Guidelines Manual, staff has the authority to remove trees that are causing hardscape/infrastructure damage if the repairs cannot be made without severe root pruning that would jeopardize the health and stability of the tree. To be consistent with the Tree Policies and Guidelines Manual, the reason for removal listed in the report will be based upon the conditions listed in the manual.
Twenty-five trees were removed during the month of March 2025. Fourteen were removed by City staff from the City’s parks and rights-of-way. Eleven trees were removed by WCA from the City’s rights-of-way and parks. These removals include trees that were deemed by the City Arborist dead, in a state of advanced decline, or hazardous. This also includes trees that were damaged as a result of the January 2025 windstorm. A listing of trees removed by address is included as Attachment B. Sample photos of some of the trees removed during the month of March 2025 are included as Attachment C.
CEQA REVIEW
This item is not subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
The agenda and staff report for this item have been posted on the City website and distributed to interested parties. If you desire a copy, please contact the City Clerk’s Office.
Submitted by: Prepared by:
Jeremy Swan Cari Dillman
Community Service Director Community Services Manager
Attachments:
A - Trees Planted by Address - March 2025
B - Trees Removed by Address - March 2025
C - Photos of Removed Trees - March 2025