Main Street Mexico seeks council sign‑off to plant about 90 trees downtown at no cost to city

Main Street Mexico asked the Mexico City Council on June 23 for permission and the council’s support to plant trees in existing downtown planter wells, a volunteer-driven proposal the group said would come at no cost to the city.

“We're here really, as Main Street to ask for permission from, the Mexico City Council and the support from Mexico City Council to proceed with planting trees in Downtown Mexico and existing planter wells, essentially at no cost to the city,” said Alex Fink, speaking for Main Street Mexico.

Fink said the effort is modeled on the national Main Street movement’s downtown‑revitalization work and would aim to improve walkability and bring more foot traffic to downtown businesses. He told the council he counted “92 plus or minus a few” planter wells that could host trees and that many wells are bricked but not fully concreted.

The group proposed to organize volunteers to remove removable brick and install organic matter under the supervision of John Grama from Callaway Fields. Fink said Main Street would supply the trees and materials and would pursue grant funding; he told the council Main Street has already submitted one grant application and identified others.

Fink described a watering plan the parks department tentatively supported: using the parks department’s 500‑gallon mobile water tank to fill 20‑gallon watering bags placed on new trees. Fink said a full tank could be refilled about four times to cover the roughly 92 trees and that the work could be staggered so it would place minimal demand on parks employees’ time.

He acknowledged potential problems raised by business owners — short‑term sign blockage as trees mature, branches or fruit drop, and birds — and said Main Street selected species intended to avoid aggressive roosting behavior and foul‑smelling fruit. Fink said some species, such as certain ginkgo varieties, shed leaves in a single day and that towns sometimes plan one‑day cleanup events to manage fall leaf drop.

Council members asked logistical questions about tree species, long‑term pruning responsibility and whether concreted planter wells would need full removal. In response Fink said Main Street planned to start with the existing, serviceable wells and did not intend to remove concrete, which would be costly. He said pruning and longer‑term care could be handled by the parks department or by volunteers organized through Main Street.

No formal vote on the tree proposal appears in the meeting transcript; council members expressed support during the discussion.

If approved and implemented, Main Street Mexico said the project would be phased by season (fall or spring plantings), could be split into smaller batches to reduce disruption to businesses, and would rely on volunteer labor plus grant funds rather than direct city funding.

Main Street Mexico’s presentation and the council discussion took place during the agenda’s presentation section; follow‑up details (a formal agreement or timeline) were not specified in the meeting record.

Ending

Main Street Mexico presented a volunteer‑led, grant‑funded plan to add trees to downtown planter wells and requested the council’s permission and support. The group proposed using existing parks equipment for initial watering and emphasized species selection and phased planting to limit impacts on businesses. The council asked clarification questions; no formal contract or funding commitment was recorded in the meeting transcript.