The pulse of a Coquitlam urban park - described by the mayor as the city's "most precious jewel" - will be taken this year.
On Monday, council-in-committee okayed a recommendation to spend $60,000 to hire a consultant to look at Mundy Park with community users and environmental stewards.
And the basis of the consultant's findings will form part of a new Mundy Park Forest Management Plan that will include the park's overall health as well as tree and invasive species risks, potential wildfire conflicts and recreation amenities.
The city is expected to host an open house in the the fall to gauge public feedback before city council approves the document in November.
Lanny Englund, Coquitlam's urban forestry and park services manager, told the committee the 440-acre second-growth forest park - dedicated as an urban forest park in 1993 in a referendum - is regularly maintained by city crews along the 15 km of trails.
However, he said, much of the data the city has about Mundy is now out of date.
The review comes after a massive windstorm in 2006 knocked down thousands of trees in Lower Mainland parks, including in Mundy. As well, in 2010, a commercial business proposed to have a forest adventure playground that would include zip lines, ladders and swings in part of Mundy's tree canopy (city council voted down the idea after logging hundreds of complaints from the public).
Coun. Selina Robinson said Mundy Park is a sensitive topic with residents while Coun. Craig Hodge said a management plan should be in place to protect it for future generations.
"Mundy Park is our most precious jewel," Mayor Richard Stewart said.
Meanwhile, Coun. Mae Reid said she would like the consultant to review the dog walking hours and whether they are obeyed. (Last week, the city Tweeted an online message to remind residents of the off-leash times).
"There's a lot of people who just ignore [them] because it's their dog and they can do whatever they want," Reid said.
