The “City of Trees” is facing a big backlog. Except in cases of an emergency, it could take crews one to two years to respond to concerns about trees on Sacramento property.Even as the city struggles to keep up, it is making plans to plant more trees in the years ahead, meaning the workload is only expected to grow.Sacramento’s identity is deeply rooted in its dense urban forest.”We pride ourselves on being the city with the most trees,” said East Sacramento resident Brett Davison.However, he and his neighbors say they have been dealing with a growing concern over the upkeep of all these city trees.”I have neighbors where it’s gotten under their roof tiles,” he said. “I just think of it as a safety issue.”A safety issue that has insurance companies taking notice.”Their insurance company flew a drone over their house,” Davison said of his neighbors.The issue comes as California is in the midst of an insurance crisis.”The insurance company had said, ‘You can’t. You’ve got to trim it back,'” he said.Davison heard the same thing from his insurance company.Since the trees are on public property maintained by the city, they say they have tried to report concerns to Sacramento over the last year or so. But the response had them stumped.”At that point, they were booked out for two and a half years for any sort of maintenance or thinning of trees in Sacramento,” Davison said. “I thought he was kidding.”KCRA 3 Investigates confirmed that, for requests the city deems non-emergencies, there is a backlog, often with a wait time of at least one year.”It’s been frustrating,” Davison said. Sacramento Media & Communications Specialist Gabby Miller, who handles inquiries involving the city’s Urban Forestry Division, declined an interview on the topic.Only by email would she say that the root cause of all this stems from staffing shortages and the 2023 storms that did unprecedented damage.Here is the prepared statement Miller provided:”The City of Sacramento maintains more than 100,000 trees in streets and parks across the city’s 100 square miles. Each tree is pruned on a proactive cycle that typically takes five to seven years to complete.”Residents who have concerns about City trees or would like to request pruning are encouraged to use the 311 Customer Service Center, either by dialing 311 or emailing 311@cityofsacramento.org. This system ensures requests are documented and tracked through to completion.”The City typically receives more than 500 service requests each month related to tree issues, with numbers increasing significantly during extreme weather. Emergency calls—such as when a tree or branch poses an immediate risk to public safety—are responded to within one hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Non-emergency requests usually receive an initial response within 48 hours. Crews prioritize work based on severity and efficiency, so that as many requests as possible are completed each month.”Severe storms in 2023 caused unprecedented damage to trees throughout Sacramento. Combined with staffing shortages in the Urban Forestry section, this created a backlog of non-emergency requests, with many taking a year or longer to address. Despite these challenges, the City has managed to keep up with emergency requests.”Substantial efforts have been made to improve the situation, including hiring more staff in Urban Forestry and directing additional resources to tree care service contracts. These steps have already accelerated pruning efforts and begun to reduce the backlog in recent months. While progress has been significant, the City recognizes there is still more work ahead before service levels fully meet public expectations.”One East Sacramento resident said he was finally able to get his concern taken care of after reaching out to Councilmember Pluckebaum.The councilmember told KCRA 3 Investigates that he usually gets a call a week about a limb falling on a car or a fence.However, on New Year’s Day in 2023, the calls to the city seemed endless.”That was a really big storm. It was significant and expensive,” Pluckebaum said.He said the city has a contract with West Coast Arborists, and the company had to bring in all its arborists from the West Coast to respond.”Fourteen hundred people to swarm the city and clear our streets, but it also cleared our budget,” Pluckebaum said.Nearly three years later, the city’s still feeling the fallout.”Our only answer is to figure out how to either reduce costs and/or raise revenue such to provide for that level of service that the folks expect,” he said.”Is there anything in the works to take any of those steps that you know of?” KCRA 3 Investigates’ Lysée Mitri asked.”No, unfortunately, it’s probably going to require yet another tax measure. We don’t have another strategy in the near term. We’re looking at budget cuts for the next three years,” Councilmember Pluckebaum said.Meanwhile, beyond three years, the job of maintaining trees is only expected to grow.In June, the city council voted unanimously to try to double the tree canopy by 2045, focusing on areas that currently lack tree cover. The plan will mean more trees on both public and private property.”Voting to increase the tree canopy is like, you know, voting for puppy dogs or apple pie, right? These are uncontroversial types of initiatives. Now, a discussion about how to pay for it is a whole other conversation,” Pluckebaum said.Currently, about 10% of trees in Sacramento are maintained by the city. It’s not clear if that would continue to be the case, but the newly adopted Sacramento Urban Forest Plan estimates that full implementation means the city would need an extra $12-13 million a year. “I’m all about more trees. Bring it on. I love, I love the trees, but you better have enough maintenance crews to handle what you’ve got going on first before you add any more,” Davison said.For many, the current financial landscape is sowing seeds of doubt.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
The “City of Trees” is facing a big backlog. Except in cases of an emergency, it could take crews one to two years to respond to concerns about trees on Sacramento property.
Even as the city struggles to keep up, it is making plans to plant more trees in the years ahead, meaning the workload is only expected to grow.
Sacramento’s identity is deeply rooted in its dense urban forest.
“We pride ourselves on being the city with the most trees,” said East Sacramento resident Brett Davison.
However, he and his neighbors say they have been dealing with a growing concern over the upkeep of all these city trees.
“I have neighbors where it’s gotten under their roof tiles,” he said. “I just think of it as a safety issue.”
A safety issue that has insurance companies taking notice.
“Their insurance company flew a drone over their house,” Davison said of his neighbors.
The issue comes as California is in the midst of an insurance crisis.
“The insurance company had said, ‘You can’t. You’ve got to trim it back,'” he said.
Davison heard the same thing from his insurance company.
Since the trees are on public property maintained by the city, they say they have tried to report concerns to Sacramento over the last year or so. But the response had them stumped.
“At that point, they were booked out for two and a half years for any sort of maintenance or thinning of trees in Sacramento,” Davison said. “I thought he was kidding.”
KCRA 3 Investigates confirmed that, for requests the city deems non-emergencies, there is a backlog, often with a wait time of at least one year.
“It’s been frustrating,” Davison said.
Sacramento Media & Communications Specialist Gabby Miller, who handles inquiries involving the city’s Urban Forestry Division, declined an interview on the topic.
Only by email would she say that the root cause of all this stems from staffing shortages and the 2023 storms that did unprecedented damage.
Here is the prepared statement Miller provided:
“The City of Sacramento maintains more than 100,000 trees in streets and parks across the city’s 100 square miles. Each tree is pruned on a proactive cycle that typically takes five to seven years to complete.
“Residents who have concerns about City trees or would like to request pruning are encouraged to use the 311 Customer Service Center, either by dialing 311 or emailing 311@cityofsacramento.org. This system ensures requests are documented and tracked through to completion.
“The City typically receives more than 500 service requests each month related to tree issues, with numbers increasing significantly during extreme weather. Emergency calls—such as when a tree or branch poses an immediate risk to public safety—are responded to within one hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Non-emergency requests usually receive an initial response within 48 hours. Crews prioritize work based on severity and efficiency, so that as many requests as possible are completed each month.
“Severe storms in 2023 caused unprecedented damage to trees throughout Sacramento. Combined with staffing shortages in the Urban Forestry section, this created a backlog of non-emergency requests, with many taking a year or longer to address. Despite these challenges, the City has managed to keep up with emergency requests.
“Substantial efforts have been made to improve the situation, including hiring more staff in Urban Forestry and directing additional resources to tree care service contracts. These steps have already accelerated pruning efforts and begun to reduce the backlog in recent months. While progress has been significant, the City recognizes there is still more work ahead before service levels fully meet public expectations.”
One East Sacramento resident said he was finally able to get his concern taken care of after reaching out to Councilmember Pluckebaum.
The councilmember told KCRA 3 Investigates that he usually gets a call a week about a limb falling on a car or a fence.
However, on New Year’s Day in 2023, the calls to the city seemed endless.
“That was a really big storm. It was significant and expensive,” Pluckebaum said.
He said the city has a contract with West Coast Arborists, and the company had to bring in all its arborists from the West Coast to respond.
“Fourteen hundred people to swarm the city and clear our streets, but it also cleared our budget,” Pluckebaum said.
Nearly three years later, the city’s still feeling the fallout.
“Our only answer is to figure out how to either reduce costs and/or raise revenue such to provide for that level of service that the folks expect,” he said.
“Is there anything in the works to take any of those steps that you know of?” KCRA 3 Investigates’ Lysée Mitri asked.
“No, unfortunately, it’s probably going to require yet another tax measure. We don’t have another strategy in the near term. We’re looking at budget cuts for the next three years,” Councilmember Pluckebaum said.
Meanwhile, beyond three years, the job of maintaining trees is only expected to grow.
In June, the city council voted unanimously to try to double the tree canopy by 2045, focusing on areas that currently lack tree cover. The plan will mean more trees on both public and private property.
“Voting to increase the tree canopy is like, you know, voting for puppy dogs or apple pie, right? These are uncontroversial types of initiatives. Now, a discussion about how to pay for it is a whole other conversation,” Pluckebaum said.
Currently, about 10% of trees in Sacramento are maintained by the city. It’s not clear if that would continue to be the case, but the newly adopted Sacramento Urban Forest Plan estimates that full implementation means the city would need an extra $12-13 million a year.
“I’m all about more trees. Bring it on. I love, I love the trees, but you better have enough maintenance crews to handle what you’ve got going on first before you add any more,” Davison said.
For many, the current financial landscape is sowing seeds of doubt.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
