Ken Parker's Community Blog - Sound Open Space Management

Adopting Environmentally-Sound, Community-Based Open Space Care and Tree Management Practices

Newton’s prides itself on being the Garden City, with parks in every neighborhood and trees lining our streets. In recent years, however, lack of maintenance and open space management has caused many of our parks to fall into neglect and our street trees to die at a rate of approximately 553 per year., Combined with our rate of planting 133 new trees per year, will result in a net annual loss of approximately 420 trees. If this trend continues virtually all street trees will be eliminated by 2068.

By developing open space management and tree preservation plans, we can improve the health of these natural resources and at the same time improve the efficiency with which these services are delivered.

Summary of Proposed Solution

We will incorporate environmentally-sound practices and community involvement into the development and implementation of:

i) An open space management plan; and

ii) A tree management plan.

Discussion and Implementation Plan

i) Open Space Management Plan

Keeping our parks green requires mowing, re-seeding and other turf maintenance activities. However, these maintenance requirements have been underfunded in recent years, resulting in unusable playing fields and poorly-maintained parks.

To lower maintenance costs of keeping our parks and playgrounds in excellent condition, we propose to partner with community groups, neighborhood associations, open space advocates, and youth sport leagues to develop plans that make use of volunteers, private donations, and sustainable planting practices.

For our active recreation sports fields, we should install wells and irrigation systems, use hearty blends of grasses and deep-root seed mixes that are able to thrive during high-intensity use and are tolerant of variations in watering, and partner with community groups willing to take charge of the maintenance of the playing fields they use. Elements of this model have already resulted in an improvement in several of Newton’s parks.

For passive recreation areas, we should make use of low-maintenance landscape materials, such as drought-tolerant grasses that require little or no mowing; wildflower meadows that, once established, are self-sustaining; and native plant materials that require minimal pruning and maintenance.

In all of our parks, we should make use of permeable paving surfaces that reduce run-off and plant to enhance microclimates, using such techniques as planting shade trees on the south side of parks to reduce heat islands and to create wind breaks.

The Open Space Management Plan will also include the following components:

Realistic resource allocation: Each component of the plan should be appropriately budgeted and funded; resources can be identified for this purpose by consolidating snow plowing responsibilities in the Department of Public Works and education programs into our Community Education office, allowing the Parks & Recreation Department to focus on open space management.
Expansion of the adopt-a space program that allows individuals and private organizations to maintain small neighborhood open space parcels.
Specific maintenance schedule and standards for each parcel with integrated user feedback to make sure we are achieving those standards and making adjustments to plans as needed.
Regular progress evaluation with respect to the goals of the plan and the Five Year Park Assessment and Development Planning Evaluation that was prepared on January 1, 2006.
Qualified contractor selection procedures for maintenance contractors who make use of competitive bidding practices and available technologies, such as the state’s Compass System for posting Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to ensure maximum competitive bidding,
Use of project teams and employee incentives to measure and reward exceptional job performance and foster a sense of pride and ownership within the Parks and Recreation maintenance department (please see the Finance & Management section for more discussion of these ideas).

The Mayor will work with the Parks and Recreation Department, the Parks and Recreation Commission, the Urban Tree Commission, the Planning Department, the Board of Aldermen, and interested citizens and community groups to develop an open space management plan by January 1, 2011.

ii) Tree Management Plan

The City of Newton estimates that our urban forest is a $64 million dollar asset. The City’s trees provide countless benefits to the residents of Newton, as well as visitors and guests. Trees enhance and preserve the air quality through their filtering effects. They reduce noise and soil erosion. They reduce energy consumption and storm water runoff. Property value is increased through proper plant selection and location.

We currently have approximately 33,000 street trees, but are losing trees at a net rate of more than 400 per year. To properly preserve trees they need to be maintained and pruned proactively. Cyclical pruning reduces storm damage, misshapen trees and increases longevity. The number of trees proactively pruned in Newton has declined steadily. This decline can be attributed to several factors. Newton’s tree population is aging; at the same time environmental pressures are increasing. Over the last fifteen years, the amount of money budgeted for tree care has not increased (fifteen years ago the budget was cut in half). This level funding translates into a net loss of money and significantly reduced services. These factors have led to an increase in citizen requests for service.

Despite the efforts over the last fifteen years to perform some proactive pruning, there is no established schedule or cycle to the work. Once an area is completed there is no assurance that those trees will be pruned again. A cyclical and strategic approach to tree maintenance needs to be developed.

Planting new trees is critical to managing Newton’s urban forest. In recent years, the number of trees planted by the City of Newton has been far fewer than the number of trees removed and far fewer then the number of trees requested by residents. The net loss of trees has averaged 420 per year over the past five years. During this time, much of the available funding has come from the Tree Preservation Ordinance. This funding is short-lived and is not considered a long-term solution. Consequently, the rate of tree loss will accelerate if we do not act soon.

Newton’s tree management plan should map out a strategy for maintaining the health and population of our urban forest and street trees. It should include:

Realistic budgeting and funding for tree care and replacement that does not rely solely on tree ordinance funding, but instead invests resources from the annual operating budget;
Partnering with private individual and groups to supplement our tree maintenance and planting budget through the creation of a Newton Tree Conservancy Foundation.
Develop and implement a tree-planting program that puts appropriate species in specific locations, such as smaller trees under overhead power lines to reduce the pruning requirements as well as species with root systems that will not damage sidewalks or berms.
Encourage use of our off-berm planting program through an aggressive public information campaign.
Develop and maintain and up-to-date inventory of trees and areas in need of trees;
Update and improve the tree preservation ordinance to close loopholes and improve enforcement and compliance procedures
Raise public awareness of the needs of public trees, including the opportunity to participate in the public watering program that allows Newton families to take responsibility for watering one or more trees in their neighborhood and establish a tree stewards program that allows the public to help with maintenance, working in partnership with our public schools.