Sugar Land Earns Prominent Scenic City Certification

Sugar Land Earns Prominent Scenic City Certification

Sugar Land, TX - Scenic Texas recently awarded Sugar Land gold level Scenic City Certification.

Moving up from its 2010 Silver Certification Level, Sugar Land joins 20 Texas cities earning a five-year certification from 2015-2020.

Texas cities must initially meet three criteria including a strictly regulated and enforced sign code, a ban on new billboards and a landscaping and tree planting program. Existing standards are assessed and scored on criteria ranging from percentage of park and open space, landscaping, programs promoting trees and more.

Scenic Texas took note of Sugar Land’s dedication to cultural arts, urban beautification, landscaping and preservation/expansion of trees and green spaces.

• Sugar Land’s streetscape policy ensures that major roadways incorporate landscaping, including trees that not only screen large buildings but also expand the City’s canopy to provide valuable shade and wildlife habitats. Targeted areas have included U.S. Highway 59, U.S. Highway 90A, Eldridge Road, University Boulevard and Dulles Avenue. Burney Road will be added in the near future.
• An historic agreement was recently struck with the city of Houston and the Cullinan Park Conservancy that will add 754 acres of forest and wetlands to Sugar Land’s park system. Future improvements will include improving access to the property north of Sugar Land Regional Airport through nature trails and bridges, as well as installation of a picnic pavilion and a children’s nature area.
• In observance of Arbor Day and Trees Across Texas, Sugar Land annually hosts tree planting activities. Past events have resulted in thousands of new saplings in Memorial Park.
• Sugar Land recently engaged a professional arborist to assist with the preservation of the City’s canopy along public right of ways. This project is intended to preserve a canopy system that has become overly dense and threatens the health of the entire system. Thinning the canopy will preserve Sugar Land’s tree system and is consistent with other preservation efforts throughout the City.
• The Arbor Day Foundation previously named Sugar Land a Tree City USA community, one of 73 communities in Texas recognized for an established tree board or department, a tree-care ordinance, a community forestry program with annual expenditures of at least $2 per capita and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.

Scenic Texas is a 501 c 3 non-profit organization. The mission of Scenic Texas is to preserve and enhance the visual character of Texas. The group promotes enhanced design standards for public projects, billboard reduction, freeway landscaping, sign control and scenic byway development. Visit www.scenictexas.org.