Tree Pruning and Removal Services

This work consists of pruning, removal, stump grinding, and other maintenance of trees, palms, and other woody plants, along street corridors, and throughout parks, open spaces and facilities within the City of Palo Alto. The City of Palo Alto has contracted tree pruning and removal services since 2000, providing a proactive cycle of basic tree maintenance for designated areas in the City. Area tree pruning contracts allow City tree maintenance personnel to respond to varied work tasks including tree removals, plantings and pruning requests in areas outside the current contract maintenance area.

The Department of Public Works Urban Forestry Section is responsible for maintaining the health of nearly 38,000 publicly maintained trees. These include street trees and trees in various City-owned or maintained public places. Tree pruning is a key maintenance task in keeping the urban forest tree population healthy. The purposes of tree pruning are to improve tree structure, enhance vigor, and maintain safe conditions for all motorists and pedestrians as they move through the street corridor. This maintenance is achieved through pruning all City-owned trees on a cyclical basis and involves removing trees when necessary.

Within the urban forestry profession, documented studies have shown that a five- to seven-year pruning cycle is optimal for maintaining tree condition and value, managing risks, and being cost-effective for a community. The City of Palo Alto has a target pruning cycle of seven years for publicly maintained trees. The estimated work quantities included in the bid items sheet are intended to represent a typical seven-year cycle. Actual work quantities for each bid item in the final contract may differ from those in the bid items sheet. Once a lowest bidder has been determined, quantities may be adjusted up or down to match available contract funding. Payment and performance bonds will be required for the final contract amount.