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Worcester hopes to buy trees with funds through Inflation Reduction Act
WORCESTER – The city hopes to receive $23.5 million in federal funds to plant thousands of trees, with much of it focused on so-called “environmental justice areas.”
If the city’s request through the Inflation Reduction Act comes through, it will pay for:
● 3,000 trees in public areas, mostly along streets, with some planted in parks and conservation areas.
● 4,000 trees on private residential and commercial properties, with the owner’s permission.
Those details come from John Odell, the city’s chief sustainability officer, who stressed there’s no guarantee Worcester will get the entire $23.5 million that covers a five-year period. Competition is fierce for a share of the total $1.5 billion for urban tree planting nationwide through the Inflation Reduction Act, said Odell.
Environmental justice focus
The focus of any money that arrive will target Environmental Justice Areas identified by the federal government. In Worcester’s case, that essentially means the Green Island neighborhood and areas directly next to it. Those areas were named in a consultant’s report as being the hottest areas in the city.
That same consultant and prior studies by Clark University identified those areas as “urban heat islands,” locations where there is an abundance of concrete that traps heat and fewer shade trees to cool things off, compared to other parts of Worcester. As a result, those neighborhoods can suffer with temperatures on some summer days that are at least 10 degrees hotter than other parts of the city that have more leaf cover.
Since Worcester’s focus is on environmental justice areas, the city requested a match waiver in its application. That means the city doesn’t have to match any grant funds it gets. Typically, the match is 50%, said Odell.
Additional details provided by Odell include:
● No charge for any trees planted on private property. Plus, grant funds will help owners pay to maintain the health of existing trees.
● If a unhealthy tree needs to be taken down, grant dollars will pay for removal. One tree will be replanted, and up to three trees, if there’s space on that particular spot.
● All replanting will be paid for by the grant.
The grant application follows the city’s release in April of a draft plan to beef up its inventory of public trees, mostly along streets and roadways.
A city councilor, a member of the city’s urban forestry tree commission and the members of an advisory committee appointed by the city manager all said the draft plan was well meaning but didn’t move fast enough to plant trees, especially in the city’s urban heat islands.
The report said a more comprehensive study should be done in 2025 and plantings could start in 2027 or beyond.
Unacceptable timeline
Critics said that timeline was unacceptable, and it appears city officials got the message.
The plan now is to do the additional study while planting trees in urban heat islands, said Rob Antonelli, assistant commissioner of parks and recreation and Worcester’s tree warden.
“We’re not going to do one or the other. Both can be done simultaneously,” said Antonelli.
The tree work could happen in the downtown area this year, said Antonelli. He also noted a tree inventory needs to happen, especially in District 4 that includes Green Island and Main South, with the goal of planting trees in those areas next year.
If the grant money comes through, Odell said those plantings should move ahead quickly once all plans are in place.
Response to other community comments
Antonelli commented on some of the other community suggestions to strengthen the draft of the Urban Forest Master Plan, many of them from the Green Worcester Advisory Committee, Mass. Audubon and the city’s department of sustainability and resilience, which Odell runs.
That department recommended Worcester plant 40,000 trees by 2050, primarily in environmental justice areas, in order to achieve 50% shade cover.
The only way that can realistically happen, said Antonelli, is if there is enough private property to plant on.
Odell’s department also noted Antonelli needs more manpower and money to carry out the master plan that identified more than 8,000 spots in Worcester to plant trees. Antonelli has said a more realistic number is half that number when all factors are taken into account, including underground infrastructure that could obstruct planting.
While not arguing with the point that his department needs more resources, Antonelli mentioned his staff was trimmed from 72 to 62 during an economic downturn in 2004, and the jobs lost were never replaced.
Consistency is what Antonelli said he needs when it comes to any budget increase. It doesn’t help his department to get a financial boost one year and a decline in the next budget cycle.
“We have to make (tree planting) a priority for the long term, even when times get tough,” said Antonelli, who equated dollars devoted to the city’s urban forest on equal footing with funds for schools, fire and police.
As for calls for a new ordinance that requires all street and development projects to protect current trees and replace any that are lost, Antonelli believes the current system works. Any design plan that involves trees – whether they stay or must be removed – requires a public hearing, said Antonelli. City engineers and designers determine the next steps.
On the point of trees blocking solar panels on roofs and interfering with electricity generation, Antonelli said there are opportunities to work with homeowners and businesses so trees and solar systems can coexist. That can mean planting ornamental trees that provide shade while not achieving a height to block the panels.
As for some who call for the city to replant two or three trees every time one is removed, because the current one-to-one plan isn’t adequate because of the high risk that young trees will die, Antonelli questions where the money will come from to make that happen on a yearly basis.
Also, some have called for a subcommittee of the Urban Forestry Tree Commission to work with the city to revise the draft plan. Antonelli doesn’t think that step is necessary, as he prefers to work with the five-member commission. Some districts in the city may not have a seat on the subcommittee, a situation Antonelli feels could be problematic because it doesn’t provide fair representation.
Not a done deal
Antonelli is weighing all public comments as City Hall continues its work to finalize the urban forest masster plan.
His goal was to finish the job by Wednesday night’s meeting of the Urban Forestry Tree Commission, but the work will take a little longer.
Contact Henry Schwan at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @henrytelegram.
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