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<br />National Association of State Foresters, fir~t <br />designated Urbana a "Tree City" in 1975. It <br />has come a long way since then, in large <br />part by diversifying its tree population to <br />reduce vulnerability to insect pests and dis- <br />eases and by adopting a long-term rotation <br />for pruning, a program managed by the city <br />arborist, Mike Brunk. <br />However, the city arborist's responsibili- <br />ties do not stop there. A section of the city <br />code dealing with vegetation offers specific <br />details for planting trees, plants, and shrubs. <br />The city's Arbor Specifications Manual serves <br /> <br />One interesting feature of the Urbana <br />program is what Brunk calls its "safety <br />valve." Citizens and landowners who wish <br />to appeal his decisions can turn to a seven- <br />member tree commission, which advises the <br />city, arborist on matters concerning the <br />. selection, maintenance, and removal of <br />trees and shrubs, as well as arbitrating any <br />disputes. Of the seven members, four must <br />come from related profess'ions, and three <br />are at-large citizens. <br />The city is currently working on a revi- <br />sion and update of the city's subdivision <br /> <br /> <br />as a guide for tree maintenance. The code <br />also incorporates requirements for tree plant- <br />ing for screening and in parking lots, and <br />those designs must be approved by the city <br />arborist. Contractors who want to remove trees <br />in the right-of-way for commercial develop- <br />ment must get city approval (through the city <br />arborist), remove them at their oWn expense, <br />and replace the tree's value according to stan- <br />dards developed by the Council ofiree and <br />Landscape Appraisers and published by the <br />International Society of Arboriculture. The <br />arborist routinely reviews for the planning <br />department questions relating to street trees <br />in proposed new developments, a role first <br />formalized in the 1970S. <br /> <br />A section of the Urbana <br />city code dealing with <br />vegetation offers <br />specific details for <br />planting trees, plants, <br />and shrubs. <br /> <br />code, in which it plans to include a reduction <br />of right-of-way from 31 to 27 feet, which some <br />argued would squeeze the space available for <br />accommodating both trees and utilitylines. <br />The draft ordinance is expected to gobefore <br />the plan commission and city council for <br />approval later this year. <br /> <br />OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON <br />Quite possibly the greenest community stud- <br />ied in the APA project was Olympia. The citY <br />has an impressive .array of well-integrated pro- <br />grams and included a chapter on urban <br />forestry in its 1994 comprehensive plan. The <br />ambitious program has a shorter history than <br />the one in Urbana. It began in 1989 with a <br />grant frDm the WashingtDn State Department <br />of Natural Resources to conduct an urban for- <br />est inventory through the city's long-range <br />planning division with help from volunteers. <br />The comprehensive plan element states that <br />Olympia wishes to become "a city of trees." It <br />is worth noting, however, that the city was <br />motivated by the loss of approximately 430 <br />acres of trees to development in the 1980s. <br />What is significant is how quickly that initial <br />concern over tree loss was converted into a <br />holistic approach to making Olympia a well- <br />forested community. <br />The program now has five elements, <br />which include: <br />. the "Neighborwoods" program to provide <br />free trees to residents to plant near city <br />streets; <br />. a hazard tree abatement program to remove <br />dangerous trees; <br />. the Streetscapes program for designing, <br />planning, and managing major street tree <br />planting projects; and <br />. educational and outreach programs that <br />partner with educational institutions and non, <br />profit agencies. <br />The fifth element is the city's Tree <br />Protection and Replacement Ordinance. Its <br />purpose is to ensure that trees are protected <br />and planted when property is developed. <br />One full-time urban forestry employee is <br />dedicated to administration and enforce- <br />ment of the ordinance. Any permit for tree <br />removal requires the preparation of a tree <br />plan, which is also required for any land <br />development on property with a tree density <br />below a required minimum of 30 tree units <br />per acre on the buildable area of a site. Tree <br />replacement requirements are spelled out in <br />a table (see sidebar on page 6). <br /> <br />ZONING PRACTICE 6.08 <br />AMERICAN PlANNING ASSOCIATION I page 5 <br />77 <br />