Signal Hill’s streets are about to get a whole lot greener, as over 500 trees are being prepared to adorn the south side of the city later this month.
The Signal Hill City Council officially entered phase II of its Street Tree Master Plan on Aug. 26, when they finalized a contract with Kormex Construction to select what trees get planted where and to plant the hundreds of trees. Each of the 500+ locations has the option between 36 types of trees, and residents will soon find out what tree species they’ll see around their home.
Two weeks before planting begins, residents will receive fliers with a link to a website where they can enter their address and see what kind of tree will be planted near their home and learn about the species.
Trees in Signal Hill’s Street Tree palette include:
- African Fern Pine
- Peppermint Tree
- Incense Cedar
- Western Redbud
- Dessert Willow
- Australian Willow
- Crape Myrtle
- Blue Palo Verde
- Red Push Pistache
- Olive Tree
- Coast Live Oak
- Island Oak
The City received a $1 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture for this project. As part of the grant agreement, Signal Hill’s trees must be planted in neighborhoods that need it most, based on air quality and heat index data from CalEnviroScreen. The identified areas that will receive new trees include streets bound by Willow Street on the north, Cherry and Stanley Avenues on the east, the city of Long Beach on the south, and Myrtle Avenue on the west.
Any already existing trees in good condition will be left alone, according to the Street Tree Master Plan. Only two corridors are designated to have palm trees now: East Spring Street and Cherry Avenue.
Currently, around 15% of Signal Hill’s street trees are Chinese Elms. In order to have a diverse palette, these types of trees are not included in the new plan. The City also has less than 1% native species, so the Street Tree Master Plan put an emphasis on planting more native species.
Signal Hill began this plan in 2023 when they identified vacant sites in need of green beautification and updated their inventory of what trees the City can choose from.
Also in 2023, the City hired SWA Group to create a street tree palette and a method for choosing which trees will go in certain locations. Several factors help determine which tree works best in different settings, such as growth rate, size, planting area needed, potential root damage, water usage and if the tree is powerline friendly.
The City then put out notices for companies to implement phase 2, the planting phase. The chosen company was to find 511 trees at designated nurseries, notify residents who would be impacted by the planting and take care of the trees for 90 days afterwards. They will also install 2,000 square feet of existing concrete for 4-foot by 6-foot tree wells.
The city received four bids:
- Kormex Construction – $365,500
- FS Contractors – $441,170
- West Coast Arborists – $477,450
- Marina Landscape – $726,560
The grant Signal Hill received slated $391,450 for the planting phase. The City chose Kormex Construction, with a 60-day extension option for up to $402,050.
The City has a schedule for trimming trees, but if residents require maintenance outside of the schedule, there is an online “Street Tree Request Application” that they can fill out.
