Planning for Trees
by Elizabeth Link, City of Greensboro's Planning Department
For decades municipal governments have conducted planning efforts to establish and protect urban tree trees. Although many citizens support ordinances benefiting trees, few fully understand how challenging the implementation process is.
Consider municipally owned land. The local Transportation Department may oversee the design of tree well and placement of trees along streets; however, the Operations Department will be the one planting, pruning, and maintaining all of the trees. Within municipal parks, the Parks and Recreation Department might be responsible for tree planting and maintenance while the Water Resources Department undertakes tree planting efforts addressing stormwater mitigation on public lands. The Water Resources staff may also regulate the distance trees must maintain from storm/sewer lines and manage trees within all easements. All of these departments work collaboratively to save and plant trees on public land.
On private property, development ordinances would guide tree protection efforts. Such ordinances determine how many existing trees must be protected and how many trees must be planted during development of a site.
Governmental entities should regularly review their tree ordinances to ensure the inclusion of the most current standards for tree planting and protection. During the last ten years, we observed changes in recommended best management practices for urban trees, including:
- soil amendment
- root space requirements for tree wells and parking lot islands
- tree irrigation
- young tree staking
- preferred tree species (to withstand intense heat and dryer soils; deterring spread of non-native invasive species)
Currently, many tree ordinances in North Carolina include a list of trees suitable for the area, as well as a list of trees suitable for parking lots and streets, as these usually endure worse soils and hotter, drier conditions than other planting areas. Some ordinances also have a list of prohibited non-native species.
Additionally, ordinance review teams should look for conflicts between development guidance and tree planting requirements. For instance, do required downtown building setback provide enough room for street trees to grow above and below ground? Are planting requirements in conflict with overhead and underground utilities? Lastly, review teams should examine state laws to confirm the absence of any liability concerns for urban tree establishment and protection efforts.
The process of setting and revising local ordinances should include the voices of developers, regulators AND citizens residing in the impacted communities. Among these citizens, ordinance planners need to hear from residents who love the idea of expanding their community's canopy coverage as well as those who do not. Even citizens who may distrust the ordinance setting process should have an opportunity to influence the final decision.
Managing the ordinance and review process is a time consuming task for municipal staff. This is when a local tree commission or tree task force could be useful. Whether they are volunteers or appointed by the municipality’s governing body, this dedicated group could work with governmental staff and the development community to establish or update local tree protection and planting policies. All members of the commission/task force would learn how all parties work together to achieve greater tree canopy coverage. The members could even establish funding priorities, identify tree planting sites on public property, and arbitrate conflicts with the ordinance.
The establishment of local tree commissions/task forces would provide a way in which citizens could involved in the development and implementation of tree ordinances. Not only would the citizens get to make their voices heard, but they would get to directly impact the value and practicality of local policy.
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