File #: Int 1065-2023    Version: Name: An urban forest plan.
Type: Introduction Status: Enacted
Committee: Committee on Parks and Recreation
On agenda: 6/8/2023
Enactment date: 11/5/2023 Law number: 2023/148
Title: A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to an urban forest plan
Sponsors: Erik D. Bottcher, Shekar Krishnan, Gale A. Brewer, Farah N. Louis, Tiffany Cabán, Amanda Farías, Kevin C. Riley, Chi A. Ossé, Sandy Nurse, Sandra Ung, Shahana K. Hanif, Lincoln Restler, Shaun Abreu, Jennifer Gutiérrez, Kristin Richardson Jordan, Julie Menin, Carlina Rivera , Alexa Avilés, Diana I. Ayala, Pierina Ana Sanchez, Lynn C. Schulman, Christopher Marte, Mercedes Narcisse, Linda Lee, Marjorie Velázquez, Keith Powers , James F. Gennaro, Julie Won, Eric Dinowitz, Rita C. Joseph, Robert F. Holden, Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
Council Member Sponsors: 32
Summary: This bill would require an agency selected by the Mayor, in consultation with the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, and other relevant government agencies and entities to create an Urban Forest Plan that aims to help the City expand the tree canopy from the current 22% coverage to 30% coverage. The plan would be required to evaluate the distribution, health, and stability of the City’s urban forest, identify the causes of tree canopy cover and urban forest gain or reduction, and recommend strategies to remediate any urban forest loss, as well as prevent similar loss in the future and facilitate gain in the tree canopy. It would also include an outreach plan to educate real property owners by providing them with information and strategies on how to protect and expand the trees and vegetation located on private property. The plan would also require the City to collect LIDaR data to monitor the effectiveness of the plan and the condition of the tree canopy at least every 5 years. Finally, the plan would be required to be submitted to the Mayor and Council and be updated every 10 years.
Indexes: Report Required
Attachments: 1. Summary of Int. No. 1065-A, 2. Summary of Int. No. 1065, 3. Int. No. 1065, 4. June 8, 2023 - Stated Meeting Agenda, 5. Hearing Transcript - Stated Meeting 6-8-23, 6. Minutes of the Stated Meeting - June 8, 2023, 7. Committee Report 6/13/23, 8. Hearing Testimony 6/13/23, 9. Hearing Transcript 6/13/23, 10. Proposed Int. No. 1065-A - 9/7/23, 11. Committee Report 10/5/23, 12. Hearing Transcript 10/5/23, 13. Committee Report - Stated Meeting, 14. October 5, 2023 - Stated Meeting Agenda, 15. Hearing Transcript - Stated Meeting 10-5-23, 16. Minutes of the Stated Meeting - October 5, 2023, 17. Int. No. 1065-A (FINAL), 18. Fiscal Impact Statement, 19. Local Law 148, 20. Legislative Documents - Letter to the Mayor
Date Ver.Prime SponsorAction ByActionResultAction DetailsMeeting DetailsMultimedia
11/6/2023AErik D. Bottcher City Council Returned Unsigned by Mayor  Action details Meeting details Not available
11/5/2023AErik D. Bottcher Administration City Charter Rule Adopted  Action details Meeting details Not available
10/5/2023AErik D. Bottcher City Council Sent to Mayor by Council  Action details Meeting details Not available
10/5/2023AErik D. Bottcher City Council Approved by CouncilPass Action details Meeting details Not available
10/5/2023*Erik D. Bottcher Committee on Parks and Recreation Hearing Held by Committee  Action details Meeting details Not available
10/5/2023*Erik D. Bottcher Committee on Parks and Recreation Amendment Proposed by Comm  Action details Meeting details Not available
10/5/2023*Erik D. Bottcher Committee on Parks and Recreation Amended by Committee  Action details Meeting details Not available
10/5/2023AErik D. Bottcher Committee on Parks and Recreation Approved by CommitteePass Action details Meeting details Not available
6/13/2023*Erik D. Bottcher Committee on Parks and Recreation Hearing Held by Committee  Action details Meeting details Not available
6/13/2023*Erik D. Bottcher Committee on Parks and Recreation Laid Over by Committee  Action details Meeting details Not available
6/8/2023*Erik D. Bottcher City Council Introduced by Council  Action details Meeting details Not available
6/8/2023*Erik D. Bottcher City Council Referred to Comm by Council  Action details Meeting details Not available

Int. No. 1065-A

 

By Council Members Bottcher, Krishnan, Brewer, Louis, Cabán, Farías, Riley, Ossé, Nurse, Ung, Hanif, Restler, Abreu, Gutiérrez, Richardson Jordan, Menin, Rivera, Avilés, Ayala, Sanchez, Schulman, Marte, Narcisse, Lee, Velázquez, Powers, Gennaro, Won, Dinowitz, Joseph, Holden and Brooks-Powers

 

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to an urban forest plan

 

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

 

Section 1. Chapter 1 of title 18 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 18-164 to read as follows: 

§ 18-164 Urban forest plan. a. For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

Designated agency. The term “designated agency” means an agency or office designated by the mayor to implement the requirements of this section.

Light detection and ranging. The term “light detection and ranging” means a form of measuring variable distances to earth from the air using a laser or other light source to gather 3-dimensional information about surface characteristics of the earth.

Urban forest. The term “urban forest” means all the trees contained within New York city, whether or not they are under the jurisdiction of the commissioner or on property owned by the city.

b. On or before July 31, 2025, and every 10 years thereafter, the designated agency, in consultation with the department and the mayor’s office of long-term planning and sustainability or successor office, shall develop and report on an urban forest plan that identifies strategies and sets goals to protect, care for, and expand the urban forest canopy with an overall goal of equitably expanding the urban forest canopy to cover 30 percent of land within the city. Such plan shall be submitted to the mayor and the speaker of the council and be posted on the website of the designated agency.

c. The designated agency shall collaborate with any other agency, state agency, public authority, or person that the designated agency deems to have appropriate information or expertise to assist in the plan’s development.

d. Such plan shall:

1. Consider data relevant to evaluating the distribution, extent, health, and stability of the city’s urban forest, including the light detection and ranging data required by subdivision e of this section;

2. Identify the causes of tree canopy cover and urban forest gain or reduction, and recommend strategies to remediate any urban forest loss, prevent similar loss in the future, and facilitate gain;

3. Describe any initiatives or programs to be undertaken by the city, and any initiatives or programs known to the designated agency that are to be undertaken by any other government entity, to reach the goals set in the plan; and

4. Include an outreach strategy to educate real property owners and other stakeholders by providing them with information and strategies on how to advance the goals set in the plan by protecting and expanding the number of trees located on property not under the jurisdiction of the commissioner nor owned by the city.

e. On or before July 31, 2025, and every 5 years thereafter, the designated agency shall collect or procure light detection and ranging data, or other data that similarly provides tree canopy assessment information, to monitor the canopy coverage of the urban forest and measure the growth or loss of tree canopy coverage and track progress towards the goal of urban forest canopy cover provided by subdivision b of this section.

f. Nothing in this section shall require or authorize the commissioner to take control of any tree not already under the commissioner’s jurisdiction.

§ 2. This local law takes effect immediately.

 

 

 

CoJM/KS

LS #10017, 10023, 10024, 10323, 12257

9/6/23 4:45PM