Phoenix Residents Want To See Action On Trees, Shade

Published: Monday, April 9, 2018 - 5:05am
Updated: Monday, April 9, 2018 - 1:37pm
Christina Estes/KJZZ
Some Phoenix residents are pushing city leaders to do more to add trees and shade.

It’s been more than eight years since the Phoenix City Council adopted a master plan for trees and shade. Some residents are so unimpressed with the progress that they’re petitioning city leaders to take action.

At last Wednesday’s council meeting, it took four hours for Dwayne Allen to get his two minutes before elected leaders.

“We’ve had several meetings over the past few weeks with city staff and they’ve been tremendously supportive of this process,” he told them.

Allen, who owns a downtown restaurant, chairs the Citizen Tree and Shade Committee, a group formed by residents and local groups to push Phoenix to reach its goal of 25 percent tree canopy coverage by 2030.

Allen told the council that city staff and citizens are counting on them, adding, “They need political support.”

The petition calls on the council to establish a citizen committee responsible for enforcing the city’s Tree and Shade Master Plan and to implement ordinance guidelines created by the volunteer group.

According to the group’s news release, the ordinance guidelines are "modeled on best practices from other cities, but shaped for our arid clmate.”

The council has 15 days to respond to the petition. It can accept, deny or take some other action.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story and headline have been modified to clairify the role of residents in the master plan.