City tests tree giveaway program

In an effort to replenish the urban tree canopy in Sarasota neighborhoods, the city is willing to pay residents up to $500 to plant trees near their homes.

Within five days of an initial announcement, the city got 50 volunteers to sign up for its Mature Tree Canopy Pilot Program. That’s the maximum number of trees the city plans to give away in the first phase of the program, funded with $50,000 from the city’s tree replacement fund.

Under the terms of the program, homeowners pay a $100 deposit to an approved vendor to get one of more than two dozen approved native tree species planted. The vendor will bill the homeowner for the cost of planting the tree, but the city will reimburse the homeowner up to $500 for expenses beyond the $100 deposit. Trees must be planted in or within 10 feet of the public right of way.

The initiative is a collaboration between city officials and residents, with resident Lou Costa volunteering to administer the program. Costa, a retired engineer and vice chair of the Coalition of City Neighborhood Associations, developed the concept as a way to find residents motivated to maintain new trees on or near their properties.

City Senior Arborist Mark Miller said the city has tried in the past to develop a strategy for adding neighborhood trees to offset losses elsewhere. The city’s tree fund generates money from tree removal permits, including when new developments can’t replace removed trees on-site.

Miller said similar city tree giveaway programs in the past struggled for a variety of reasons, including issues with getting the trees planted and maintaining the trees once they were in the ground. Miller said he hoped the new program was more streamlined and the $100 deposit would ensure the participating residents were committed to growing healthy trees.

Although the program is still being tested, Costa expressed excitement about the enthusiasm he’s seen from the community. If the initiative works out, city staff said it could grow.

“Hopefully, what we could do is take an existing list of people who have already registered and just use that as a list of tree recipients moving forward if this program were to be successful,” Miller said.