In 2017, the City of Plano completed an Urban Forest Master Plan which provides goals and actions for improving the urban forest in Plano. One of the goals of the plan is to maintain an accurate tree inventory of maintained public land. The inventory takes into account trees located in maintained areas listed below. The inventory does not include trees found in forested areas, like Oak Point Nature Preserve. In 2007, the City inventoried nearly 28,000 trees in maintained areas. This figure is outdated and needs revising.
An accurate tree inventory enables the City to more effectively manage its tree assets, mitigate risk to people and property, and take a more pro-active approach to tree management. Also, the tree inventory serves as a baseline to effectively manage and maintain a healthy urban forest on publicly maintained lands in the face of extreme weather impacts like winter storms, periods of drought, and invasive insects, all of which the City has faced. The inventory will catalogue trees within the following categories:
- Medians/ROW’s
- Neighborhood Parks & Community Parks
- Public golf course(s), municipal buildings, special use facilities
- Non-parkland City of Plano (Public Works) maintained areas
This project, to inventory public trees, was solicited using the Request for Proposal process. The evaluation committee included members from Park Planning, Park Services, and Technology Solutions. The evaluation criteria were Qualifications and Experience (30%), Schedule (30%), and Cost (40%). The committee recommends award to PlanIT Geo, Inc., the highest-ranked offeror, for an estimated amount of $145,000.
If the project is not awarded, the City will be challenged to effectively manage trees on public land.