IRVINE : Planting Plan Would Add 200,000 Trees

City Council members are preparing to launch a long-range landscaping program for the city that some officials predict will result in planting close to 200,000 trees within 10 years.

The plan, which officials expect to be presented at the council’s next meeting, calls for the city and its residents to cooperate on a tree-planting program on private property as well as in parks and open-space areas.

“This is an important thing for people and cities to do,” said City Councilman Cameron Cosgrove, who is drafting the planting plan. “As citizens, we all enjoy the benefits of modern technology such as our automobiles. But they produce carbon monoxide, which is a poison, and trees are the most effective natural means of cleaning out that poison.”

Under the plan, Cosgrove said, the city would buy 500 to 1,000 tree seedlings a year and plant them in open-space areas. Larger trees would be planted in parks and in strips of right of way.

Also, residents would be encouraged to plant trees on their properties as part of a related “Neighbor Woods” project. The city, Cosgrove said, will try to work with area nurseries to let residents buy seedling trees at a discount.

Another program would involve replacing landscaping shrubbery that demands heavy watering or requires large amounts of fertilizer.

Cosgrove and others say the landscaping and planting proposals would be inexpensive--seedlings, for instance, sell for about 50 cents each, so the city could buy a year’s crop for about $500. Volunteers would be sought to help with the planting, Cosgrove said.

With little city money required to kick off the program, the proposals appear to enjoy broad support on the council. Mayor Larry Agran backs the program, as does Councilwoman Sally Anne Sheridan, who often differs with the mayor on policy questions.

“It’s an apple pie and motherhood issue,” Sheridan said Thursday. “Is anyone against planting trees? No.”