Government & Policy · Council Briefing
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Office of Sustainability · City of Riverton · 2026

Closing the canopy gap: a funded path to 30% tree cover by 2032

An urban tree-canopy ordinance and funding package for Council review — the public need, the evidence, and the decision ahead.

Prepared by Dept. of Sustainability Council Session · July 14, 2026
01
01 / Context

Riverton's canopy has fallen to 19% while heat-related ER visits are up 41% in five years.

An honest look at where the city's tree canopy stands in 2026, and why the current voluntary-planting model can't close the gap.

The Thesis
Public Need 03
The Public Need

Neighborhoods below 15% canopy run 8°F hotter and see twice the heat-related ED visits. The deficit tracks income, not geography.

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The Evidence
Canopy Survey · 2025 04
What The LiDAR Survey Found

The canopy gap tracks income, not geography

The 2025 citywide LiDAR canopy survey, cross-referenced against census tracts, shows the same pattern in every ward: the lowest-canopy blocks are also the lowest-income blocks.

  • East Riverton and the Mill District average 12% canopy versus 34% in the northern hillside wards
  • Surface temperatures in low-canopy tracts run 6–8°F hotter on summer afternoons than the citywide average
  • Zip codes below 15% canopy account for 61% of heat-related emergency-department visits despite holding 38% of the population
[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER]

2025 citywide canopy LiDAR overlay — Dept. of Sustainability GIS team

04 / 12
By The Numbers
Canopy · Cost · Health 05

Three numbers that define the case

19%
Citywide canopy · down from 26% in 2010
8°F
Summer surface-temp gap, lowest- vs. highest-canopy tracts
$3.20
Return per $1 of canopy investment over 20 years

Source: Dept. of Sustainability 2025 canopy survey · Riverton Public Health Dept. · county stormwater cost-benefit study

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The Policy Option
Ordinance Package 06
The Proposed Ordinance

One package, five provisions

Each provision targets a specific failure of the current voluntary program — together they replace hope with a funded plan.

  • Canopy overlay zoning — mandatory minimum canopy ratios for new development in the eight lowest-canopy wards
  • Dedicated funding — a $0.35 monthly stormwater-fee surcharge feeding a ring-fenced Urban Forest Fund
  • Priority planting — 6,000 trees per year targeted first to the eight wards below 15% canopy
  • Maintenance endowment — three years of contracted watering and pruning per tree, ending the "plant and abandon" pattern
  • Public canopy dashboard — ward-level tracking published annually, reviewed by Council each budget cycle
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“

We treat heat like weather. It isn't. It's infrastructure — and right now, half this city doesn't have it.

Dr. Marisol Ferrante Riverton Public Health Dept. · 2026
Before / After
Risk Control 08
Status Quo · Voluntary Program

Grants and goodwill — canopy shrinks anyway

Trees go where nonprofits already have relationships, not where heat risk is highest. No dedicated fund means planting stalls whenever the general fund tightens.

  • No maintenance budget — 1-in-3 saplings die within 2 years
  • Funding competes yearly against every other line item
  • No enforcement on new-development canopy loss
Proposed Ordinance

Funded, targeted, and reviewed every year

A ring-fenced fee funds planting and three years of maintenance per tree. A sunset clause and annual Council review cap the city's exposure if results fall short.

  • Fee is capped at $0.35/month and reviewed every 3 years
  • Phased rollout — 2 wards in Year 1, citywide by Year 4
  • 5-year sunset clause forces a re-authorization vote
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02
02 / Decision

What we're asking Council to approve

A funding ordinance, a zoning overlay, and a phased four-year rollout — with risk controlled at every step.

The Recommendation
Council Decision 10
The Path Forward

Stop planting reactively. Start budgeting for canopy like infrastructure.

We're asking Council to adopt Ordinance 26-114, establishing the Urban Forest Fund and the canopy overlay zoning district for a first vote on July 14.

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The Data
Urban Forest Fund · $8.6M over 4 Years 11

Funding by source

$ millions, 4-year total · FY2027–FY2030
0.4
State Grant
0.9
Federal Grant
1.6
Development Fee
1.7
General Fund
4.0
Stormwater Fee

Source: Ordinance 26-114 fiscal note · Office of Budget & Finance · 2026

Dept. of Sustainability · 2026 11 / 12
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Office of Sustainability

The ordinance takes effect the day it's signed.

Requesting a first vote at the July 14 session — questions to sustainability@riverton.gov

Ordinance 26-114 · Council Briefing · July 2026