San Antonio Tree Preservation Policy

The city’s policy indicates that it within San Antonio and its extraterritorial jurisdiction, the city’s goals include measures to “preserve trees as an important public resource enhancing the quality of life and the general welfare of the city,” to “encourage the preservation of existing trees and the planting of new trees to provide environmental elements by adding value to property, and reduction of energy costs through passive solar design utilizing trees,” and to promote increased tree canopy particularly “in areas with a high combined equity score in the City of San Antonio’s Equity Atlas, as well as areas with significant Urban Heat Island (UHI) impacts.” The policy notes that tree species selection should consider future climate change impacts to ensure that San Antonio’s overall tree population is more resilient to climate trends.