Hudsonville’s tree canopy is estimated at 21% (Table 16), which is on the lower end of the reference Michigan communities. Impervious surfaces (buildings and roads) make up 33% of the land cover. Grass and low-lying vegetation comprise 39% of the community. The city's borders, particularly on the southern portion of the city, have the greatest canopy cover, while the major neighborhoods and commercial areas have the greatest amount of impervious surfaces (Figure 11).
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The planting priority levels map (Figure 13) can be used to focus in on the locations in which plantings may deliver the highest impacts in terms of ecosystem benefits and overall benefits to the community. Hudsonville can use this as a guideline for deciding where future trees can be planted to have the greatest impact on benefits and stormwater runoff. Of the 1,118 plantable acres, 19% of those acres (214 acres) are listed as a planting priority of Moderate or above. If only these areas are planted, Hudsonville’s canopy would increase from 536 acres to 750 acres, increasing the total canopy cover to 29%.
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The potential tree planting opportunities at Creekside Park were analyzed utilizing a tree placement model. This custom analysis models tree placement by planting trees according to random placement and size. These outputs gave the number of large, medium and small mature-sized trees that could be planted on the proposed park.
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