Germantown is reviewing the suburb’s overall tree health and making adjustments to its ordinances aligning them with an emphasis on sustainability.
No federal or state statutes related to tree mitigation exist, so the city must decide its plan to preserve the suburb’s tree canopy. On Monday night, the city will hold the last of three required readings to amend the tree ordinance although more changes are on the horizon.
The city last adjusted the tree mitigation ordinance in 2019. That ordinance states a developer should replace trees that are removed in preparing a site. For example, if a 24-inch tree is removed, the developer could replant eight trees with a diameter of 3 inches. If those will not fit on the site, the developer can choose where to plant the trees so long as Parks and Recreation approves the spot.
However, an option is included in the ordinance allowing developers to pay based on the trees they removed and the size. The equation factored the trees removed and their diameter with the market rate of trees with a 3-inch diameter. The payment in lieu of planting trees formula is not changing yet. That portion of the ordinance will likely be reviewed this spring, according to Cameron Ross, economic and community development director.
If the new language is approved, the city arborist will have discretion over where trees are planted rather than the developer’s choice on replacement. Ross told board members in January, moving that role to the arborist helps the overall tree health in Germantown.
Currently, the tree plan is reviewed by the Design Review Commission. The new ordinance gives the authority to the Planning Commission. Ross said it’s better to discuss that when the Planning Commission reviews the site plan.
Last summer, Alderman Scott Sanders noted uneasiness with the Design Review Commission’s approach, feeling it was inconsistent across developments, and asked the item be reviewed in a work session.
“We were setting a dangerous precedent,” Sanders said by phone last week . “We needed something in the ordinance that made it fair to every developer. That was consistent.”
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen discuss some of the changes in an October work session. Sanders believes the Planning Commission is a better place to review the changes. However, he wants to see the payment plan if developers choose that option.
Ross told board members in January that Wes Hopper, the city’s arborist, is already reviewing tree plans and making appropriate recommendations, however the ordinance formalizes that.
The ordinance ensures “he or a future she is empowered to provide these recommendations to the Planning Commission,” Ross said.