The success of urban forest management is frequently predicated upon achieving absolute canopy cover targets. This two-dimensional view of the urban forest does not provide a comprehensive assessment of urban forest stewardship in a community and does not account for an area’s potential to support a forest canopy. A comprehensive set of performance-based criteria and indicators concerning the community’s vegetation resource, community framework and resource management approach is described. This set of broadly based measures provides a more useful tool for the evaluation of urban forest management success and strategic management planning.