The Crestwood Board of Aldermen held a preliminary discussion on future sustainability efforts within the city at its Aug. 25 meeting. During the discussion, aldermen spouted ideas for potential city policies that would affect city-owned and residential landscaping, as well as native plants and tree planting.
Sustainability was listed as one of the long-term goals in Crestwood’s strategic plan. Mayor Scott Shipley has described 2026 as a “foundation year” that will be used to establish “policy clarity” around sustainability and launch “practical, visible initiatives.”
Much of the conversation centered around trees that are being torn down or trees that could be replanted in the city. Ward 4 Alderman John Sebben brought up a comment made by local conservationist Angie Weber, who called his street a “desert” due to its lack of large trees.
Ward 1 Alderman Jesse Morrison later added, “In the neighborhood of Ridgewood … I feel like we’re at a critical moment with the number of trees that are coming down.”
Ward 3 Alderman Grant Mabie agreed, saying that he’s noticed more trees being trimmed or coming down in recent years. He discussed the benefits of having streetside trees in the city — cutting down on air pollution, mitigating stormwater, increasing property values and pedestrian activity — and called it “truly astounding” to feel the difference between walking on a shaded versus unshaded street, especially with recent high temperatures.
“You also get more lifespan out of concrete and especially asphalt roads, because the trees mitigate some of the intense heat that reduces the lifespan of the road,” Mabie said. “That’s generally our biggest budget item every year when we’re not building buildings — the roads.”
Mabie mentioned Grantwood Village’s “intense” tree codes, which include a requirement that a “replacement tree” be planted when one is cut down for disease, hazard or an approved construction project. Mabie said that he didn’t think such a strict tree code should be required in Crestwood, though Ward 2 Alderperson Rebecca Now took a different stance, agreeing with the neighboring village.
Another idea was put forward by Ward 4 Alderwoman Megan Gadallah, inspired in part by “plant swaps” done in other municipalities like Sunset Hills. She noted that if residents were given a tree sapling, they might be more likely to plant it and nurture it into a full tree.
The aldermen’s discussion also included native plants and how to incorporate them on a city and residential level.
“I think a lot of the native, meadow landscaping we’ve done in some of the parks is great, but I get that there’s a time and a place for doing more traditional, ornamental landscaping next to buildings and things like that,” Mabie said. “That doesn’t offend me.”
Ward 2 Alderperson Kitty Nangle Lohrum said she wants to “go further” with native plant initiatives in the city.
“I would vote that nothing but native (plants) go into anything we put our hand on,” Nangle Lohrum said. “But also, keeping it reasonable — making sure that we’re making it beautiful and manageable, and even if someone is not a tree hugger like me, they still walk by and say, ‘This is beautiful.’ Once people see that, and they see the birds and butterflies that come back into the area because of (these plants), you will start proselytizing everyone in the area.”
