Tree Adoption Seen as City Fund-Raiser

In an attempt to raise funds for public parks and open space, Councilman Dan Del Campo said he will propose an Adopt an Oak Tree program at the Oct. 19 City Council meeting.

The community program, said Del Campo, would ask residents to pay $250, $500 or $1,000 to sponsor an existing oak tree on public property.

Under the plan, donations would be handled by a nonprofit organization and used for parks and open space.

“I thought this might be an opportunity for the community to come together,” said Del Campo, who estimated that the city has about 15,000 oak trees on public land.

Del Campo said he thinks many of the city’s 40,000 households would be interested in helping out.

“I think this community thinks a lot of itself and would want to participate in that way,” Del Campo said. “That’s why [city] staff has to look into it.”

With a proposed golf and recreational facility at Hill Canyon now history, the Conejo Recreation and Park District has been looking for new ways to fund parks and maintain open space. Del Campo hopes this proposal will do just that.

“We had a golf course eliminated, and whether there was any revenue to come out of that was questionable, but we need some money to fund open space and parks.”