A watered-down version of TreeAction's tree ordinance was adopted by the City of Chico a couple weeks ago, requiring property owners of undeveloped lots larger than 10,000 square feet to obtain a permit to remove a tree 18" in diameter or greater.
Umm, yay?
A good start, but I would have liked to have seen trees down to 12" protected, or even better, a clause that addresses the number of trees that can be removed from a given location based on the total number of trees and their respective sizes. For example, a site that has lain fallow for 20 years may have numerous young valley oaks less than 18"; if would be good to see some of them be allowed to continue to grow and mature. The goal: Insure that the urban forest canopy continues to improve and provide shade, oxygen, beauty, and CO2 sequestration for future generations to enjoy.
On a related note the approved ordinance will also require future parking lot developers to include shade trees in parking lot designs if the lot holds 25 or more vehicles.
Looks great on paper, I would like to see it enforced in practice.
About Me: Jeremy wears many hats, including substitute teacher, school garden educator, hike leader, youth group advisor, Gardener's Swap Meet coordinator, husband, and father. His lifelong quests include the search for the perfect burrito, and more recently, how to sprout an avocado tree from a pit.
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