The summer of 2023 was the hottest on record for both the world and in Phoenix. However, Phoenix was already the hottest major metropolitan area in the US. Over the past 25 years, Phoenix went from having an average of 5 days of 110+ degree days, to 31 consecutive days of 110+ degree days in June/July, 2023.
Exacerbating the effect of rising temperatures, Fairview has been designated “shade disadvantaged” by the City of Phoenix. This means that we have less tree canopy coverage than other neighborhoods. This is due mostly to trees that died and were never replaced. Because of this lack of tree canopy, Phoenix City Council identified Fairview Place as the District 4 recipient of a “solar pave” overlay on neighborhood streets to reflect heat and cool nighttime temperatures.
Phoenix also receives most of its rainfall during powerful storms. In Fairview, these rains cause flooding in the lower half of the neighborhood below Palm Lane. Fairview residents are looking at “green infrastructure” projects to mitigate flooding and help water native trees which will increase our tree canopy coverage.
Tree Planting
Fairview Place, already designated as “shade disadvantaged by the City of Phoenix, suffered the loss of many mature trees during the 2023 “hottest summer on record”. The Neighborhood Association is currently exploring funding opportunities to host an educational event and tree planting in 2024, partnered with ongoing education on watering and pruning in the future. The goal is to reach 15% minimum tree canopy coverage by 2030 by planting 50-100 new trees each year and continually holding maintenance training and events. Our progress will be monitored on this website, and at the Fairview Neighborhood Nook on a “Tree Scorecard”.
Next Steps
1. Do Immediately: Please fill out this form and submit it immediately. Failure to return this form by September 4 will result in you being removed from the NeighborWood project.
This form will collect important information for the mandatory workshop on Saturday, September 14th from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the Willo Rm at Phoenix College.
2. Attend Mandatory Workshop on September 14: At least one person from your household must attend the mandatory educational workshop in order to receive your trees.
Please add the following information to your calendar:
Fairview Place NeighborWood Workshop, Saturday, September 14 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the Willo Room at Phoenix College – see map below.
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Fairview Place NeighborWood Workshop – What to expect
10:30 -10:45 AM: Sign in and get materials. The workshop will start at 11:00 AM sharp.
11:00 AM: Workshop starts.
12:30 PM: Lunch, tree activity and personalized Q&A.
1:30 – 2:00 PM: Workshop resumes, Group Q&A, first chance to order trees!
Important Program Updates
The City of Phoenix will NOT allow us to plant trees in the rights-of-way.
The right-of-way is the strip of ground between the street and the sidewalk – see image below. This restriction comes from the City of Phoenix, not Trees Matter or APS.
Please choose an alternate location for your trees if you had planned on planting your tree(s) in the right-of-way.
If you no longer want one or both of your trees due to this restriction, please email Jennifer at FairviewPlaceAZ@gmail.com so she can allocate the trees to someone on the waitlist.
Why does the City of Phoenix have this rule? Excellent question! Several organizations dedicated to making Phoenix a cooler, more livable city are advocating for this rule to change!
Fairview Neighborhood Nook
In early 2023, Fairview Place worked with the Arizona Exposition and State Fairgrounds to design a demonstration parklet on an empty lot owned by the State Fairgrounds in Fairview Place. The parklet, named the “Fairview Neighborhood Nook”, would demonstrate how to harvest nuisance stormwater from a nearby street and channel the water into the parklet to water native trees and shrubs. The project beautifies this property that Fairview regularly uses as a staging area for events. Letters of support for this project were received from City of Phoenix departments and nonprofit organizations, including:
- Arizona Exposition and State Fair
- Watershed Management Group
- City of Phoenix, Office of Environmental Programs
- City of Phoenix, Office of Heat Response and Mitigation
- City of Phoenix, Street Transportation
We are currently exploring funding options to install this project.
2022 Flooding
