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By Maximus Vogt
The Ramspondents
New ordinances to the city’s tree policy attempt to balance the need for new development and demand for affordable housing with canopy protection.
Since August, Fort Collins city council and city staff have discussed changes in Fort Collins tree policy around mitigation requirements with new mixed use and affordable housing redevelopments. City Forester Kendra Boot said the policy changes also attempt to prioritize and incentivize protection of larger trees and make tree policy in Fort Collins overall more simple and predictable.
Of the new seven proposed ordinances, Boot said five were unanimously passed with the other two at a split vote (4 to 2) during their first reading at the city council meeting on Oct. 29. During the second reading on Monday, Nov. 3, the two ordinances will be further discussed and voted on while the remaining five just need a consent vote to be passed.
Expanding tree protection
The ordinances establish a no-fee commercial tree removal permit for larger or established trees. The current policy requires no permit for the removal of these trees and the production of this would slow or stop undue tree removal.
Another proposed policy would also increase the protection of trees during the construction process, increasing the fencing around trees to start at the edge of the canopy and require signage provided by the city.
Conversely, in an effort to decrease unwanted species, the proposed policy is expanded to exempt protection of the Russian-olive, ash, Siberian elm and tree of heaven that have trunk sizes under 11 inches in diameter.
Currently, policy outlines that the city will take over street tree maintenance when they are established and in good condition. New policy would set a 3-year period where this establishment would take place, then the city would take over care.
Simplifying policy
The ordinances also propose several updates to tree mitigation policy. Boot said the term “tree mitigation” describes the replacement trees required to protect canopy coverage when trees may need to be removed for development projects.
“The reason we call it mitigation is because we are trying to place back the value that was lost from the existing trees on site,” Boot said.
The new policy specifies the amount of mitigation trees needed depending on the size of the tree removed. For example, if a tree is removed that has a trunk that is 6-14 inches in diameter, it requires one replacement tree. A removed tree that was 15-19 inches needs two replacement trees. When removed trees are over 30 inches in diameter, the number of replacement trees substantially increases, Boot said.
“In code today, it’s kind of subjective depending on who you get out to site from our staff to do tree inventory,” Boot said. “What this does is it creates a lot more predictability.”
Boot said mitigation trees can be expensive for developers so the new policy tries to work in some incentives for developers to protect trees on their site.
“If a developer decides to save that 30-inch tree, then that could help reduce their mitigation responsibility if they save that tree on site,” Boot said.
Boot said the new policy includes reductions that are worked into back-end costs. If a development company decides to save that 30-inch tree, which is worth 10 mitigation trees, then their overall responsibility would be reduced by five mitigation trees as a part of a 50% reduction incentive. This incentive increases for affordable housing projects as they can receive a 75% reduction for keeping a tree.
“We landed on the 50% and the 75% because across all different projects it brought the mitigation to cost-neutral, meaning, we were trying not to increase cost for developments going forward,” Boot said. “That doesn't mean it won't, because if they don't save any trees on site, it's going to cost them more because they're going to have to plant more trees back into the community.”
Boot said the policy update is important as it is a city-wide goal to support affordability. She said this often means building higher density housing, leaving not much green space left. Still, she said that with innovative policy, there is still potential to provide access to green spaces.
“There’s an opportunity to build these areas that still prioritize access to nature or green or shade, which is so important for physical and mental health,” Boot said. “As well as all that gray infrastructure, being able to bike or sit outside and wait for a bus in the shade.”
Maximus Vogt is an art history major and journalism minor at CSU, active in fine art happenings on campus. He is interested in the intersection of art, community and news.