Title
Annual Parkway Tree Pruning Program - Phase 1
History
On June 16, 2025, the Village Board heard a presentation from Public Works about the establishment of an annual Parkway Tree Pruning Program, including details on an update to the Village's municipal code regarding tree pruning, communication to residents and residents' overall response to tree pruning. The Village Board directed staff to develop a comprehensive annual parkway pruning plan to be presented to the Board on July 21, 2025.
A parkway tree pruning program, also referred to as a cyclical tree pruning program, is a planned, recurring process of removing branches from trees to maintain their health, structure, and safety, as well as to manage tree size and appearance. The goal of a pruning program is to improve tree structure, enhance tree vigor, increase aesthetic appeal, provide adequate clearances, and maintain safe conditions in the right-of-way, while reducing costs associated with storm damage and tree failure.
Local communities such as Downers Grove, Woodridge, Hinsdale, Riverside, Oak Lawn, Park Ridge, Wheaton, Oswego, Arlington Heights, Romeoville, Westchester, Schaumburg, Lombard, Naperville, Glencoe, LaGrange, and Oak Park all have well-established cyclical tree pruning programs. To date, the Village of Orland Park has not conducted a comprehensive Village-wide cyclical tree pruning program, resulting in an inconsistently maintained urban forest.
The proposed Parkway Tree Pruning Program has two (2) primary objectives: to establish a comprehensive annual pruning service for all parkway trees throughout the Village, and to clarify maintenance responsibilities for these trees through Village code amendments. This current agenda item focuses specifically on implementing the annual pruning service, although code amendments are discussed briefly below. Other key aspects of the Parkway Tree Pruning Program include:
Frequency and Zones: The Village maintains 36,134 public trees across...
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