The city of San Marcos Community Forestry Program is now accepting applications for the Tree Removal Assistance Program. Funded through the U.S. Department of Treasury’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the city was awarded $135,000 to aid low-income residential homeowners in removing unsafe, dying or dead trees over their homes with no out-of-pocket cost to the homeowner.
Property owners looking to receive assistance will need to first find out if their home falls within the geographical zone for removal by entering their address into the city’s Qualified Census Track.
Visit bit.ly/3NXpaOB for more information. If the resident’s home falls within this zone, they will then need to fill out the online application located on the Community Forestry website at sanmarcostx. gov/4267/Tree-Removal- Assistance-Program.
To qualify for assistance, an individual must:
• Own and reside at the property where they are requesting service.
• Qualify for a federal low-income program including WIC, Medicaid, SNAP Lone Star, Social Security, or an equivalent program.
• Respective tree(s) must present an immediate hazard to the house or high use area and cannot be moved.
“Many of our community members have trees that were impacted by the February 2021 winter storm and recent drought conditions,” Urban Forester Kelly Eby said. “These funds will provide some much-needed help and staff is eager to begin this process of helping our neighbors.”
