Growing Malibu back: Why we should become a Tree City USA community

By Opinion Columnist · Sat Aug 15 2026

By Haylynn Conrad, Malibu City Councilmember 

As Malibu continues to recover from the Palisades Fire, we have an opportunity to think not only about rebuilding what we lost, but about what we want our community to look and feel like for generations to come.

One of the simplest steps we can take is for Malibu to become a designated Tree City USA community.

Tree City USA is a national program through the Arbor Day Foundation that recognizes communities committed to maintaining and growing their urban forest. Malibu is not currently a Tree City USA community, but several cities in our surrounding area are, including Calabasas, Thousand Oaks, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Culver City, and Beverly Hills.

In fact, I recently noticed the Tree City USA sign when entering Moorpark. It made me think, why not Malibu?

For Malibu, this should be about much more than earning a designation.

After the fires, we are going to be planting trees. The question is what we plant, where we plant them, and how we make sure the decisions we make today benefit Malibu 20, 30, and 50 years from now.

We should be prioritizing native and climate-appropriate trees that provide shade, support habitat and wildlife, conserve water, and are appropriate for our very high fire hazard environment. Tree planting and wildfire safety do not have to be opposing ideas. We can create shade and restore our tree canopy while still respecting defensible space, Zone Zero requirements and the realities of living in Malibu.

Our 63 acres of Community Lands

This also connects directly to our Community Lands.

Malibu residents collectively own approximately 63 acres of Community Lands that all of you paid for. Throughout the Community Lands discussions, one message has come through loud and clear: People want trees.

Whatever these properties ultimately become, residents want shade. They want native landscaping. They want green space. They want places to walk, gather, and spend time outside that still feel like Malibu.

Becoming a Tree City USA community can help us create a long-term framework for doing that thoughtfully rather than planting trees property by property without an overall plan.

What does it cost?

There is no application fee to become a Tree City USA community.

The program does require a community to demonstrate an annual investment in community forestry of at least $2 per capita. That does not necessarily mean $2 per resident in new spending. Qualifying expenditures for tree planting, care, maintenance, staff time, and other community forestry work can count toward that requirement.

For a small city like Malibu, this makes the program especially worth exploring. We may already be doing and spending much of what is necessary.

There is another important financial benefit: funding opportunities.

There are grants, partnerships and other resources available for community forestry, tree planting, canopy restoration, and environmental resilience. Becoming a Tree City USA community can strengthen Malibu’s position as we pursue outside funding and partnerships to help restore and expand our tree canopy.

Rather than asking Malibu taxpayers to carry the entire cost, we should be looking for every opportunity to bring outside dollars into our community.

An Arbor Day tradition for Malibu

Tree City USA would also give us an opportunity to establish an annual Arbor Day tradition in Malibu.

Imagine our schools, families, seniors, businesses, and community organizations coming together every year to plant trees throughout Malibu. Children could help plant trees they will someday sit beneath with their own children.

Residents could learn about native trees, wildfire appropriate landscaping, water conservation, and caring for the trees we already have.

That is the kind of tradition that builds community while leaving something tangible behind.

Becoming a Tree City USA community requires communities to meet standards established by the Arbor Day Foundation, including maintaining responsibility for public trees, having a community tree ordinance, investing in community forestry, and celebrating Arbor Day.

These are not unreasonable requirements. They are an opportunity to create a thoughtful, long-term approach to Malibu’s public trees.

I also want to thank our city staff and our city manager for already looking into the Tree City USA idea after I raised it. They are working on it, and I appreciate their willingness to take an idea and start exploring what it would take to make it happen.

We have spent a tremendous amount of time talking about recovery and resilience. Trees can be part of both.

They provide shade during increasingly hot days. They create habitat. They help define our neighborhoods and public spaces. They can make our Community Lands feel like parks rather than developments. And when the right trees are planted in the right places and properly maintained, they can coexist with the wildfire safety measures our community needs.

Malibu has an opportunity right now to grow back thoughtfully.

We are rebuilding homes. We are rebuilding infrastructure. We are planning the future of 63 acres of publicly owned land.

We should also be thinking about what we are planting for the generation that comes after us.

Becoming a Tree City USA community is a relatively simple step, but I believe it represents something much bigger: recovery, resilience, stewardship, and leaving Malibu greener, safer, and healthier than we found it.

Let’s grow Malibu back. One more reminder: Know your zone

As we talk about making Malibu more resilient, I want to remind everyone about something equally important: Know your evacuation zone.

Every Malibu resident should know their zone, and everyone who regularly comes into your home should know it too. That means your children, housekeepers, caregivers, babysitters, dog walkers, contractors, and anyone else who could be at your home when an emergency happens.

Do not wait until there is smoke in the air to figure it out. Save your zone in your phone. Put it on your refrigerator. Talk about it with your family. Make knowing your zone part of living in Malibu.

Know your zone. Have Genasys Protect. Teach your children. Tell the people who work in your home. Make it second nature.

Stay connected

I want to hear from you. Please reach out with your ideas, questions, and concerns about Tree City USA, our Community Lands, emergency preparedness, or anything else happening in Malibu.

Email me at Hconrad@malibucity.org