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A plan to improve Mountain View’s biodiversity and urban tree canopy got the greenlight last week, marking a major environmental milestone for the city.
In a unanimous vote, the City Council adopted a new Biodiversity and Urban Forest Plan that will serve as a roadmap for the city’s efforts to protect and manage wildlife, trees and sensitive habitats. The plan comes on the heels of the Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan, which the council signed off on last month.
At nearly 250 pages, the biodiversity plan puts forth Mountain View’s vision, goals and objectives for creating a healthier and more climate-resilient city. It includes more than two dozen action items related to tree management and other habitat improvements, like restoring and enhancing local creeks.
Council members praised the plan’s breadth and depth at the June 23 meeting. However, that did not stop them from modifying the document’s language before voting to approve it.
Community members had objected to the phrase “near-native” plants in previous drafts of the plan, arguing that the term was misleading and could include any plants, as opposed to those that naturally grow locally.
“Biodiversity means supporting our native wildlife, birds, butterflies and all forms of life that call California home,” said Ronit Bryant, a Mountain View resident who serves on the Parks and Recreation Commission. “Not planting a wide range of plants from across the entire globe.”
City staff had updated the plan before last week’s meeting to clarify terminology and emphasize the importance of using native and regionally appropriate species. But community members still identified some trouble spots in the document.
Council member Pat Showalter urged city staff to strike the term “native” when referring to plants that provide similar functions, but are not actually local. She said that it was appropriate to include other kinds of trees that could thrive in certain contexts but that calling them native was incorrect.
City staff incorporated the suggestion from the dais to better distinguish native and “functional” species. They also highlighted other updates to the biodiversity plan, including tools to strengthen its implementation, expanding annual reporting requirements and using adaptive management strategies.
Council members commended staff’s responsiveness as well as the community’s involvement, describing it as a highly collaborative effort.
Council member Lucas Ramirez expressed particular appreciation for residents’ push to ensure that biodiversity will be incorporated more systematically in new developments, not just on public land but also on privately-owned properties.
“This is remarkable work that would not have been possible without the persistent advocacy from our very well-informed community,” he said.
Does the city have excess money? Didn’t the city just pass a new hotel tax because they needed 5 million in cash? Don’t we need to build a new parking lot downtown?
As long as the city has people who are willing to vote for higher taxes they have lots of money.
Come November you will be able to vote on a bill that raises the number of people required to pass a tax bill from 51% to 66%, vote for it.
Go to city council meetings your voice counts.