Mountain View Adopts a Biodiversity and Urban Forest Plan — Here's a Model Other Cities Can Use

On June 23, 2026, Mountain View City Council adopted the Biodiversity and Urban Forest Plan — a long-term roadmap for biodiversity conservation, urban forest management, habitat enhancement, and climate resilience, shaped by community workshops, surveys, pop-up events, and multilingual outreach.

Every Bay Area city faces the same pressures: rapid infill development, a shrinking tree canopy, and a warming climate. Mountain View's plan shows what a serious, community-informed response looks like — and GreenSpacesMV thinks it should be the starting point for every city in the region, not just ours.

We've distilled the plan's structure into a canonical biodiversity ordinance template — canopy targets, native-species requirements, tree protection standards, and a monitoring framework — that other Bay Area cities can adapt to their own code. Read the full adopted plan (PDF) for Mountain View's complete version.

If you're part of an environmental or civic group in another Bay Area city and want to push for something similar, get in touch — we're happy to share what we've learned.