Draper's Tree Committee will vote Tuesday, Oct. 6, on whether to expand its mandate to include citywide landscaping, a move that would broaden the volunteer panel's role beyond planting and maintaining trees.

The committee meets at 8 a.m. in the Administration Conference Room at Draper City Hall, 1020 East Pioneer Road. Residents needing accommodations can contact City Recorder Nicole Smedley at (801) 576-6502. If members approve the expansion, the proposal goes to the Draper City Council for final sign-off, according to the committee's posted agenda.

The shift has been building for months.

At the May 5 meeting, Chair David Cloward and member Michelle Coker were assigned to draft new duties and responsibilities for City Council review, working with Rhett Ogden. At the time, the committee operated with a $10,000 annual tree-purchasing budget, a separate $10,000 in donated funds and another $10,000 in general committee funds, according to meeting minutes.

At the Sept. 1 City Council meeting, Councilmember Bryn Heather Johnson told colleagues the Tree Committee "welcomed the idea of revisiting the Committee's duties and name," according to council meeting minutes. Councilmember Tasha Lowery suggested involving the committee in planning gateway areas, including the Smiths project.

The committee already stretches beyond its original tree-planting mission. It partners with Localscapes to offer free water-wise landscaping classes at City Hall and has discussed beautification projects for city entrances and parks.

Draper has held Tree City USA status for 26 years and has roughly 10,000 trees citywide. At the city's June 11 Arbor Day ceremony, Cloward spoke about the committee's long-term vision. "A healthy city is not just measured by progress but by creating places where families want to live and future generations will feel great," he told attendees, as reported by the Draper Journal.

Tuesday's agenda describes the proposal as "Expansion of Tree Committee to be Landscaping," though it does not detail the full scope of the change. Other items include plans for a tree inventory, a street tree guide, planting standards for new developments and a potential project at the splash pad.

If the committee approves the expansion, the proposal still needs City Council action. No council meeting date for that vote has been announced.