What is the Cleveland Forestry Commission?

The Cleveland Urban Forestry Commission was revived in 2021 after Cleveland City Council approved updates to Cleveland’s codified ordinances (Chapter 163, Sections 163.01 to 163.04). Its first meeting was held in 2023. 

This meeting began at 4:03 p.m. The following commission members were present: 

• Jennifer Chandler, commission chair (CHN Housing Partners)
• Xavier Bay, commission secretary (Cleveland City Planning Commission)
• Tom Schreiber (Western Reserve Land Conservancy)
• Rick Switalski (Capital Projects, City of Cleveland)
• Nikki Hudson (Ward 11 council member)
• Jinan Berard (youth resident representative, student at Hathaway Brown School)
• Ammon Danielson (Cleveland Public Power)
• Laura Marks (resident representative)
• Sara Tillie (Cleveland Tree Coalition)
• Phil Jubert (Cleveland Urban Forestry)

Whitnye Long-Jones (Organic Connects, Inc.), Ryan Lopez (Cleveland Water Pollution Control) and Sarah O’Keeffe (Cleveland Mayor’s Office of Sustainability) were absent.

The commission approved the minutes from the January meeting.

Commission Chair Jennifer Chandler said the commission recently released the application for two vacant spots on the commission. The deadline was April 3. They received nine applications: Eight for the resident representative and two for the nonprofit/non-governmental organization representative (one applicant applied for both positions). Chandler said she hopes the new members will be onboarded for the July meeting.

The commission does not have a vice chair, Chandler added. She told commission members to contact her if they are interested in the position. 

Webex issue cancels maintenance committee meeting

1. Laura Marks said that she had “no idea” what happened with the March 18 committee meeting and asked Secretary Xavier Bay to “tell the commission and the public what happened.”
2. Bay said that the meeting was canceled due to issues with the Webex software. A city staff member who was needed to start the webinar was not present, Bay said. Marks seemed frustrated and expressed concern about the committee’s status, suggesting one of its members — youth representative Jinan Berard — will depart after Berard graduates high school in May.
3. Marks distributed data related to Cleveland’s overpopulation of deer and its effects; she said this is what she has been working on as a committee member. Marks said the deer population is a hurdle to growing trees in Cleveland.
4. Berard said that the whole commission should revisit the goals that the Maintenance Committee developed in 2025 and reallocate them if the commission decides to scrap the Maintenance Committee. 

Policy updates for city’s tree code

• Tom Schreiber said that the committee met on Feb. 11 and April 8.
• They focused on drafting specific motions to recommend policy updates for Cleveland’s Tree Code. 
• They are very close to finalizing a draft, Schreiber said, and will bring their proposals to their next meeting. 

Budget committee meets May 9 

• Sara Tillie said that the committee had to reschedule its March meeting to April 3. They did not realize the city was closed for Good Friday and could not start the virtual meeting; a city employee has to do it.
• They are scheduled to meet on May 9. 

Reforest Our City

Schreiber gave a presentation on the Western Reserve Land Conservancy’s Reforest Our City Program, which he leads. He said that the goal of the program is to increase Cleveland’s tree canopy by growing trees, advocating for mature trees, and empowering residents to do the same. There is an emphasis on ongoing tree maintenance, he said, not just planting. 

The program consists of tree plantings, tree giveaways, and a Tree Steward Program, which trains residents on tree planting and maintenance. Schreiber said that tree plantings take a lot of planning (usually six to eight months), and that his team knocks on doors, hosts tables at events, and conducts other outreach to make sure that they are planting in places where people will welcome their work. 

Schreiber said that the program has been growing a lot: they have increased their tree giveaways and tree plantings, their tree maintenance team will water over 1,200 trees in Cleveland per week this summer, and they are expected to graduate 60 tree stewards this year, which is double the number from last year. 

Suggested Reading

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One commission member asked how the team decides which species of trees to plant. Schreiber said that they try to plant native trees with a large shade canopy as much as possible, but that landowners often prefer small flowering trees. “At the end of the day, we’re going to be most successful if we’re meeting folks where they are,” he said. 

Council Member Nikki Hudson asked about the origin of the 43,000 gallons of water that the program uses for tree maintenance. Schreiber said they use city hydrants and that the new city permitting process has saved them money because they can use multiple hydrants within a four-block radius of their planting sites. 

Division of Urban Forestry’s goal to hire more staff

Phil Jubert, new commissioner of Urban Forestry, said that the division was established in summer of 2024 with support from the Urban Forestry Commission. He gave updates on the first quarter of 2026 and said that the division’s response to recent storms was the largest response in two years because staff worked mandatory overtime over the weekend and brought in Davey Tree for support. Jubert said that many trees fell on homes, including trees that fell from vacant lots. 

Jubert shared the division’s new purpose statement: “To grow the next generation of Cleveland,” which includes both people and trees. He said that they can fulfill this statement through careers, reforestation and policy, and that his number one goal is to build the Urban Forestry team. Currently, over 50% of field arborist positions have not been filled; only two people have been hired in the last few years. He hopes to create new positions and fill vacant openings. 

Jubert said that Cleveland has enough money to plant trees, but previously, all of the money was not used. He said he thinks the division can plant 2,000 trees per year once more staff are hired and equipment has been modernized. He said he hopes to make the Rockefeller Greenhouse a Level I Arboretum, but you do need a “tree board” to monitor efforts. He said he thinks the commission can function as that board, and he added that there are no recognized arboretums in Cleveland. 

Looking ahead

Hudson asked why the commission was dependent upon city staff to host meetings. Bay said that a previous Zoom meeting was hijacked because there were fewer protections built into the platform. The Webex system they use now has more protections and requires staff with certain permissions to start the webinars. He said he would talk more with IT to figure out a solution. 

Schreiber said that new committees, like an arboretum committee, would be beneficial for the commission, but that he was not able to sit on a new committee at this time. 

Jubert said that he had only been in his position for six months, but that the philosophy needed to shift so that the city’s Urban Forestry Division can use the commission and its networks as a resource. “The philosophy of the commission should shift from ‘how do we help get Urban Forestry off the ground,” Jubert said. 

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Chandler asked if anyone would be interested in an ad-hoc committee to discuss which committees the commission currently has. 

Hudson said that once the tree ordinances have been updated, there may no longer be a need for a policy committee. 

Chandler asked everyone to send her their feedback; the commission is at a point where they need to look ahead. 

Public comment

Michael Armstrong said that he has been speaking in public at these meetings for a long time and that he feels more encouraged than in the past. He said that he wanted to remind commissioners of Chapter 163 in the City of Cleveland’s Charter, which outlines recommending public policy as part of the commission’s purpose.

“The city needs to set a better example,” Armstrong said. Historically, he said, the city has been behind projects like the clearing of an urban farm to make place for the Old Lorain Connector Trail. He said that Cleveland Public Power anchors trees to utility poles. He said that updating City Hall’s facade has damaged trees. 

Angela Shuckahosee submitted a written comment, stating that two trees were cut down on the tree lawn at Clifton Boulevard and West 115th Street. She saw Enbridge flags in the tree lawn. She asked why this happened and if residents were notified beforehand. 

Announcements

Jubert said that the commission shares a group email and that he is responding to the specific questions about tree issues they all receive. 

Schreiber said that the Western Reserve Land Conservancy is celebrating Arbor Day at Thurgood Marshall Green in Hough. 

Chandler thanked everyone, reminded them to give her feedback about what they want the commission to be, and said that this can be a big ask for a volunteer commission. She said, as someone who does not work for the city, that she understands there may be some distrust that the city will actually reach its goals and that that is for Jubert to prove otherwise. She adjourned the meeting at 5:28 p.m. 

These notes are by Documenter Ava Carubia.

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@signalcleveland.org  with “Correction Request” in the subject line.