Laguna Beach Named 2019 Tree City USA Community
City of Laguna Beach Named 2019 Tree City USA Community
City of Laguna Beach, February 13, 2020, Media Release
Laguna Beach, CA – The City of Laguna Beach is pleased to announce it has been recognized as a 2019 Tree City USA Community by the Arbor Day Foundation. This is the second straight year the City has received the award, as the City was also named a Tree City USA Community for 2018.
“We are extremely proud that our community has received this recognition for the second year in a row,” said Laguna Beach City Manager John Pietig. “The City of Laguna Beach puts great effort and resources toward maintaining and protecting our urban forest.”
To achieve the Tree City USA recognition, the City met the required four core standards of sound Urban Forestry Management: maintaining a tree board or department/division responsible for tree care, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry, and holding an Arbor Day observance and proclamation. In 2019, the City of Laguna Beach also hired a new City Arborist to lead the City’s Urban Forest Management Program and Tree Care Services.
“The City appreciates the benefits of trees in our community and takes great pride in maintaining our urban forest,” said Assistant City Manager Shohreh Dupuis. “Last year, the Public Works Department replaced over 30 street trees in our Downtown and along Coast Highway.”
The Tree City USA program is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters. More than 3,400 communities across the United States have made the commitment to becoming a Tree City USA.
The City will celebrate its 2019 Tree City USA designation at its upcoming annual Arbor Day celebration on Thursday, March 12 at Lang Park (located at the corner of Coast Highway and Wesley Drive) from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. The tree planting ceremony will tentatively start at 4:00 p.m. For more information contact Nate Faris, City Arborist at (949) 715-0821 or nfaris@lagunabeachcity.net.
