Patricia Gooch - Correspondence regarding Urban Forest Strategy

Urban Forest Strategy Canopy Targets and Programming

Dear View Royal Mayor and Council,

I am writing with some feedback regarding the Urban Forest Strategy Canopy Targets and Programming that proposes a net neutral 30% tree canopy target.

The 2024 urban forest report card is on the low end of fair, so I feel that aiming for a "net neutral" over the next five years is not sufficient. 88% of respondents are willing to increase taxation to pay for increasing urban forest program, so options to fund this may not be as limited as presented. The canopy was over 40% in the early 2000s, so aiming for at least a 40% canopy cover in light of increasing housing density seems like a better minimum target. 30% seems too low of a bar.

Increasing canopy cover to 30% (figure 2) costs only $16-$17 per person, which is approximately the cost of, or less than, one quick-serve lunch meal out at a restaurant. It stands to reason that increasing this to 40% would have negligible financial implications per person. Aiming for 30% and using cost as a reason sends the message that our urban forest is worth less per year than one cafe sandwich with a coffee. That is a very dismal reality to me. I do not want to accept that.

I hope you will consider setting your sights higher at 40% instead. The people and nature of View Royal deserve to have nice things, breathe nice air, and not to suffer heat stroke all summer and flash floods in winter. Urban forest helps with all of that.

Sincerely,

Patricia Gooch, BA, BLA (Honours), LAA (Cert)