Restoring the City's Tree Canopy

It is the goal of ReLeaf Cedar Rapids to replant all public streets within a decade. Street trees provide community benefits including stormwater and exhaust absorption, improved public health and safety, increased property values, reduced urban heat islands, and improved walkability. For this reason, they are a city utility and public infrastructure asset.

One of the biggest and most difficult tasks of the plan is to create a timeline for this work that reflects the plan’s principals and goals. The Street Tree Planting Prioritization must balance competing factors, giving appropriate weight to each. There is no single right answer to this challenge; the important thing is to establish a transparent, justifiable methodology, and to apply it consistently. Over 7,500 street locations were evaluated and scored based on eight factors: prior canopy, urban heat islands, population density, social vulnerability, derecho tree loss, pedestrian infrastructure demand, roadway classification, and available planting sites.

The ReLeaf Cedar Rapids plan has identified where trees will be planted over the next ten years. Replanting the tree canopy will make Cedar Rapids more beautiful and more resilient to weather extremes in the future.

Homeowners cannot opt out of having a tree planted in the right-of-way. Those who interfere with or remove trees planted along the right-of-way will be subject to fines. Fees may include the replacement cost of the tree, with additional fines levied on a per-tree basis. More fines will be levied for unpaid fees.

Read the plan at CityofCR.com/ReLeaf.