Street trees are a significant and highly visual portion of the urban forest and recognized as a vital infrastructure system essential to the quality of life in the urban environment. This living infrastructure provides the City economic, social, environmental, ecological, and aesthetic benefits.
The Bureau's Urban Forestry Division provides the following main functions:
• Prunes trees to provide pedestrian and vehicular clearance and visibility and promote health and vigor.
• Provides emergency service to correct immediate hazardous conditions resulting from fallen or defective limbs or trees in the public right-of-way.
• Removes dead or irreparably damaged street trees.
• Plants new trees to enhance the urban forest.
• Maintains and constructs landscaped or otherwise improved traffic median islands.
The Bureau's Urban Forestry Division goals are to maximize the benefits gained from the urban forest by providing optimum tree canopy cover throughout the many communities in the City. The Division will continue to encourage community involvement and private partnership, resolve conflicts between street trees and other vital infrastructure, and strive to minimize maintenance costs while ensuring the preservation of a healthy and safe street tree population.
This information sheet is provided as a public service. Hopefully, it answers the important questions regarding the management of the urban forest. If you have any further questions, please refer to the Urban Forestry Division Inspector or contact the Division at (213) 847-3077. For the hearing-impaired, the TDD number is (213) 473-6600. This and other information sheets may be obtained at the Urban Forestry Division office at 1149 S. Broadway Street, 4th Floor, Los Angeles , CA 90015 .
