HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-20-017 - Kitchener Urban Forest Canopy - UpdateREPORT TO:Community & Infrastructure Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING:November 2, 2020
SUBMITTED BY:Niall Lobley,Director of Parks & Cemeteries,
PREPARED BY:Niall Lobley, Director of Parks & Cemeteries
WARD(S) INVOLVED:All
DATE OF REPORT:October 20, 2020
REPORT NO.:INS-20-017
SUBJECT:Kitchener Urban Forest Canopy - Update
___________________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
That Council direct staff to undertake engagement and consultation with
stakeholders and the community in respect to developing an Urban Forest Canopy
Cover target for the City of Kitchener, and,
That staff report back to Council on a recommended target in late Spring, 2021
BACKGROUND:
Kitchener’s Strategic Plan (2019-2022) identifies the setting of a tree canopy target, which
was first identified in Kitchener’s Sustainable Urban Forest strategy (Action 13 - Set a tree
canopy target and develop a long-term plan ensuring a vibrant and resilient tree canopy
for future generations).Kitchener’s Sustainable Urban Forest Strategy was approved by
Council in April, 2019 (www.kitchener.ca/trees).
A tree canopy target is the setting of a target (goal) to achieve and maintain a desired
level of tree cover, based on goals set for the entire municipalityand each neighbourhood
and/or landuse. Increasing a city’s tree canopy is importantto significantly increase the
benefits that trees provide to the community.
The setting of a canopy target can often turn into a discussion of planting more trees.
While an important part, it is only one of the five required actions for communities to
maintain and enhance their canopy, with the priority being increasing the quality and
longevity of the existing canopy first, with tree planting seen as a long-term benefit.
Tree canopy, like all other facets of a sustainable urban forest are built around Kitchener’s
five branches (see Figure 1) of a sustainable urban forest.
*** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance.
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REPORT:
Using the North American standard for tree canopy assessment, a land cover map has
been developed identifying the tree canopy, grass/shrubs, bare soil, water, buildings,
roads/railroads and other paved surfaces in the city.It was created from the city’s
extensive GIS data along with aerial imagery, LiDAR (light detection and ranging data)
from 2014 and 2019. This detailed mapping helps to identify the;
Existing tree canopy
Possible tree canopy, and,
Canopy change by identifying the gains and losses in canopy from 2014 to 2019.
Existing Tree Canopyis the layer of branches, leaves and stems that cover the ground
when viewed from above and includes both public and private property. Possible Tree
Canopyis the grass and shrub areas in the city that could be available for the
establishment of tree canopy. These include both public and private property. Canopy
Changeis determined by the gain (e.g. growth of existing trees, natural regeneration,
tree planting) and loss (e.g. natural mortality, invasive tree pests, extreme
weather/climate change, removal of living trees) in the city’s tree canopy over a period of
time.
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In 2019, Kitchener had 27% tree canopy cover, that covered 3,615 hectares of land. At
the City Ward level percent canopy cover ranges from a high of 36% (Ward 4), to a low
of 17% (Ward 5). (See Figure 2.) Overall, there is an equal split of five wards having
canopy cover greater than and less than 27%.The variation between wards is as a result
of many factors and can be complex; factors differ ward by ward and in many areas,
neighbourhood by neighbourhood and street by street.
Ward 5, for example, has seen significant development pressure over recent years
removing agricultural and countryside lands, andthemature trees within them,replacing
this with suburban growth. While Ward 5 experiences the lowest canopy, it has also likely
seen by far the most significant tree planting efforts as new trees are planted in new
developments; these trees are as yet to young to contribute significant canopy but in 5 –
10 years, will likely do so.
Wards 4 and 8 by contrast have seen less development pressure and have some of the
more established urban forest canopies with more mature street and park trees and larger
private lots contributing canopy cover. Here, the existing canopy is already mature and
may not significantly increase; but development pressures for intensification could have
a more significant impact on canopy in these areas.
Ward 2 has extensive natural areas contributing to its canopy, while Ward 6 reflects more
dense residential space with lower available greenspace.
Existing Tree Canopy by City Wards
40%
36%
34%
33%
35%
30%
28%
30%
26%
27%
25%
25%
22%22%
20%
17%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Ward 1Ward 2Ward 3Ward 4Ward 5Ward 6Ward 7Ward 8Ward 9Ward 10
Existing TCAverage TC
Figure 2: 2019 Tree Canopy Cover by City Ward
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The change in canopy from 2014 to 2019 is another important metric, especially for
communities interested in maintaining or increasing their canopy cover. Across the city
there was a 2% net gain in tree canopy, which amounts to about 280 new hectares of tree
canopy. All City Wards had a gain in canopy cover rangingfrom 0.6% (Ward 5) to 3.2%
(Ward 7).
It is noted that while this growth in canopy against a backdrop of the impacts of Emerald
Ash Borer and significant development is certainly to be celebrated, it should be done so
with some caution: the growth in canopy is driven by existing maturing trees growing
larger; it is highly likely that while canopy has grown, the overall number of trees
contributing to that canopy has decreased, therefore making the amount of canopy
susceptible to significant losses if larger, maturing trees that are driving current canopy
levels are lost to development, disease or age.
A comparison of Kitchener’s tree canopy(Figure 3),is also made with six other
municipalities that have urban forest management plans in place, know their existing tree
canopy and have set canopy cover targets. Three of the cities are larger than Kitchener,
while the other three are smaller, and three have identified their canopy change over time.
Kitchener's Tree Canopy Compared to other Cities
30%
28%
28%
27%27%
25%
24%
23%
21%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
TorontoOakvilleKitchenerCambridgeLondonGuelphHamilton
Figure 3: Municipal Comparison of Urban Forest Canopy
Establishing a Canopy Target
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A Canopy Target is set by understanding community expectation and desires to see the
existing urban forest canopy retained and, potentially, grown. As noted, urban forest
canopy provides multiple benefits to communities from decreasing urban heat island
affects, helping provide cleaner air, mitigating the impacts of severe weather events and
providing an enhanced landscape benefitting quality of life for residents.
Urban forest canopy is retained and grown through implementing management strategies
to ensure the health and sustainability of our existing trees,protection of our existing trees
against the impacts of disease and invasive species and loss through development. Tree
planting helps support a long-termgrowth in tree canopy but it should be realised that
trees planted today will do little to enhance canopy for the next 5-10 years until they are
large enough to start providing community benefits.
It is also important to understand the opportunity for canopy growth; any urban area
reflects a diverse mix of land uses and Kitchener is no different – roads, buildings and
paved areas constitute a significant proportion of the land area of the City and cannot
contribute toward an increased urban canopy.
Figure 4:Existing and Possible Tree Canopy Cover by Ward
Work completed to date shows that across the City on a ward by ward basis,(Figure 4),
between 49% and 72% of the land area of each ward is potentially available to support
growth in the urban tree canopy. These are the areas of land in each ward that provide
greenspace that could, hypothetically, be planted and support tree growth and canopy
growth. However, even within the potential available greenspace, not all of this is able to
realistically be planted.
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Much of this greenspace is privately owned and managed; schools, businesses and
private residences all manage greenspace; front and back yards, playing fields and
gardens are all valuable uses of greenspace and will have competing interests to tree
planting. Within public greenspace, not all the land is available for tree planting and growth
of the urban forest canopy – playgrounds, sports fields, trails all use greenspace and
these areas are crossed with services such as hydro lines and gas pipelines that limit the
availability of greenspace to be planted with trees.
In establishing a tree canopy target, it is important to not only consider the community
desire for trees, but the communities desires and needs for other competing interests that
require greenspace and the fact that much of the available greenspace that could
contribute to the urban forest canopy is privately owned. Therefore, growth in the urban
forest canopy relies heavily on community support and engagement, and indeed
partnership, whereby tree planting on private property is a valuable contribution toward
the urban forest canopy.
Several urban municipalities havedeveloped a target for urban forest canopy(Figure 5).
It is interesting to note that many municipalities that established canopy targets early set
higher targets than those that have established targets more recently, reflective in part of
an increasing understanding of how complex increasing canopy cover is, particularly in
increasing the amount of greenspace land dedicated to tree cover, both public and private
and the competing interest for these spaces.
CityTC TargetExisting TC
Toronto40%28 %
Oakville40%28%
Guelph40%23%
London34%24%
Hamilton30%21%
Cambridge30%27%
KitchenerTBD27%
Figure 5: Comparison of Urban Forest Canopy Targets
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Next Steps
This update reportis intended to be an introduction to the city’s tree canopy and the
setting of a tree canopy target. The next phase of work, includes;
The development of a detailed technical background report that will present the full
set of metrics
The challenges and opportunities of setting a target, and,
The framework staff propose to use to set the target and implement a plan to
monitor and achieve the target.
Building on this background information an Engage survey will be used to hear from the
community. From this point a draft report and recommendations will be prepared which
the community will also be given the opportunity to comment on.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
Staff have met with the Environment Committee in advance of Council.
Based on direction received, staff plan an engagement process over coming months to
help inform a recommended urban forest canopy target. The nature of this engagement
is yet to be developed and will build on engagement completed during development of
the Strategy. Participation will be encouraged and welcomed by all members of our
community and stakeholders such as developers, businesses and partners, such as
REEP Green Solutions.
During the development of the Sustainable Urban Forest Strategy, staff heard repeatedly
that there was a desire that the urban forest canopy be enhanced and grown. As can be
seen even in the high-level findings shared within this report, there is significant variation
in both existing canopy and potential canopy, and that reasons that influence canopy are
complex and varied. Building on this, staff will seek to explore through engagement the
priorities for canopy growth within the community (protection, maintenance and tree
planting) and the appetite for differential approaches to canopy management across the
City. Based on what staff hear, staff will propose potential canopy targets and activities
toward achieving these.
Engagement will obviously be impactedby COVID-19. Discussions around tree canopy
and urban forest management have traditionally proven to be well supported by the
community with a high level of engagement. It is expected that much of the engagement
will need to be delivered in an online capacity and staff will explore ways to ensure that
this is as meaningful as possible.
Staff are also anticipating a more detailed Strategic Session with members of Council on
this topic in early 2021.
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INFORM:
This report has been posted to the City’s website with the agenda in advance of the
council / committee meeting.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
The development of an Urban Forest Canopy Target supports the theme of
Environmental Leadership within the City of Kitchener Strategic Plan 2019-2022.
Specifically, an action within this is to ‘Establish a Tree Canopy Target’.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
Work on establishing an Urban Forest Canopy target is embedded within existing
operational and capital budgets and there are no immediate financial implications.
Financial implications as a result of recommendations to be brought forward in 2021 will
beshared through subsequent reports and will be considered in future budgets.
PREVIOUS CONSIDERATION OF THIS MATTER:
The Sustainable Urban Forest Strategy was approved in April 2019 in report INS-19-
008 and was informed by a Council Strategy Session in May, 2018, INS-18-025.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Denise McGoldrick, General Manager, Infrastructure Services,
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