There are trees on Cleveland streets that haven’t been pruned in more than 20 years, but the Urban Forestry division hopes that a pilot program it launched over the winter will dramatically improve its timelines for this investment in tree longevity.

“We would like to be ideally on a five- to seven-year pruning cycle. Right now, we’re on a 26 [year cycle],” said Urban Forestry Manager Jennifer Kipp at the April 8 meeting of the Urban Forestry Commission. Kipp explained that, historically, the department responded to resident complaints and pruned the “worst of the worst” trees.

Under the pilot program, city foresters surveyed streets to determine which had the most trees “in dire need of pruning,” Kipp said. Now, she added, “we are sending our tree crews to start tackling those streets one at a time and getting every single tree pruned on that street.”

Pruning is different from trimming, which is only for appearances. Pruning is the selective removal of branches to ensure a tree’s health. “Unlike forest trees, landscape trees need a higher level of care to maintain structural integrity and aesthetics,” according to TreesAreGood.org, a web site of the International Society of Arboriculture. “Pruning must be done with an understanding of tree biology because improper pruning can create lasting damage or shorten the tree’s life.”

In other pruning news, Kipp said the city will alter part of its plan for spending the $3.4 million, five-year grant that the city secured in September from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Initial plans had called for spending almost $571,000 of that money per year in years three, four and five of the grant on pruning.

“But given the federal climate [of spending cuts], … we are concerned that the funding may not last the five years, so we have moved those activities up to year one,” Kipp said.

The city’s foresters are also visiting parks to assess trees growing near benches, playgrounds, pavilions and other places where people gather to determine which need maintenance immediately, Kipp said.

Committee reports

The commission’s three committees — maintenance, policy and budget — had little to report, mostly due to the commission recently welcoming seven new members.

The policy committee discussed “sidewalk and tree conflicts” (see below) at its February meeting, according to chair Tom Schrieber, manager of community forestry for Western Reserve Land Conservancy.

Jenny Spencer, a Cleveland City Council member and chair of the commission’s budget committee, assured the new members that council is excited about the commission, which the city revived within a newly organized Department of Parks & Recreation in 2024.

“There is a tremendous appetite and desire [among council members] to see Urban Forestry succeed and ensure it’s properly resourced,” said Spencer, who is also serving as interim chair of the commission.

Urban Forestry’s budget for 2025 is almost $6 million. That covers 28 full-time-equivalent employees and about $2 million in contracts with vendors to provide maintenance services.

‘Sidewalk and tree conflicts’

Urban Forestry is still working on a new policy for sidewalk repair and replacement that should help the city avoid damaging the roots of trees growing on tree lawns.

Federal law generally requires that sidewalks be at least 48 inches wide. But guidelines set last year allow for sidewalks as narrow as 36 inches if it spares the life of a tree.

“If every other tool in our toolbox fails to avoid removing a healthy tree during sidewalk construction, if we’ve tried everything, then as a last resort this policy makes an exception to a four-foot-wide sidewalk,” Kipp said.

The new policy was not in place before the start of sidewalk maintenance season, as previously hoped, but is still moving through the necessary approval steps with other city departments.

Read the meeting notes from Documenter Collin Cunningham: