What is an Urban Forest?

An urban forest is all trees in the City, like those that grow along streets, in parks, and on private and commercial properties. Urban trees that grow within communities help Guadalupe residents adapt to more extreme weather such as heat, storms, and flooding by providing shade, cleaning air, and reducing stormwater impacts, and supporting local wildlife.

Why does Guadalupe Need an Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP)?

• Healthier and Safer Trees: A UFMP helps us maintain the health and diversity of our trees, ensuring trees are thoughtfully planted and maintained to serve the next generations and minimize risks to life and property.
• Environmental Benefits: Trees provide shade, absorb pollutants, reduce stormwater runoff, and combat climate change by sequestering carbon. A UFMP will help the City leverage trees strategically to address challenges faced by the community of today and the future.
• Community Well-being: Guadalupe’s parks and green spaces promote physical and mental health, offering places for recreation and relaxation. The City’s UFMP will help guide the City toward growing and maintaining Guadalupe’s urban forest so that everyone in the community has equal access to trees and the benefits they provide.
• Economic Value: Well-maintained trees can increase property values and attract businesses, boosting our local economy. The UFMP will create strategies for enhancing and preserving these valuable community assets. A  well-maintained urban forest also provides more opportunities for workforce development in the green jobs sector.

Share Your Perspective!

The foremost goal of this plan is to serve the community. If you live or work in the City of Guadalupe, we would love to hear from you! Our short, easy urban forest online survey (link survey here) is currently open and will close October 31, 2025 and is available in both English and Spanish.

Outreach Events: We will be updating this section to inform the community of in-person and virtual engagement sessions and opportunities to share your priorities and insights as a Guadalupe community member.

• • Outreach Event Number 1: Fiestas Patrias in Leroy Park, September 14th, 2025, 12 pm – 5 pm. The City’s consultant Dudek will be tabling at this event and have information on the community survey and the UFMP effort.
  • Other outreach events: TBD

UFMP Focus Group Meetings: The City and their consultant Dudek will have an open invitation for community members to attend one of two virtual Focus Group meetings for the UFMP.  At these virtual one-hour meetings, the City’s consultant Dudek will lead participants through facilitated discussions and activities to understand the priorities of the community. We will have live Spanish translation at the meetings to facilitate conversations with all community members. If you are interested in attending one of the Focus Group meetings, please contact the Dudek community engagement lead Dana Link-Herrera at dlinkherrera@dudek.com 

Contact

Have any other questions or input? Please email: Dayanira Cruz at dcruz@ci.guadalupe.ca.us 

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Project Schedule

The development of the UFMP will take place over the next several months, with a public draft expected to be released for community input by January 2026. The community survey will be open from August through October 2025, and other community engagement events will take place on that same timeline. The final draft of the UFMP is expected to be completed by February 2026.