Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/07/2006

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Got Trees? By Chris Duerksen, Molly Mowery, and Michele McGlyn Tree protection legislation has burgeoned at the local level, with hundreds of communities adopting tree conservation ordinances over the last decade. These regulations have evolved well beyond the tirst generation of ordinances that focused on preserving large specimen trees into more mod- ern approaches such as requiring the protection of a percentage of the existing tree canopy on a site. Some local governments are even contem- plating tying tree protection to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from new develop- ments as part of their programs to address global warming and climate change. This issue. of Zoning Practice discusses recent trends in' local tree protection, including: . reliable sources that can help communities establish the value of trees and the ratio- nales for protecting them; . key legal issues and recent court decisions regarding tree protection; . popular regulatory approaches t~ saving trees; and . cutting-edge tree protection programs around the United States. SmlNG THE FOUNDATION: WHY SAVE TREES? The rationale for saving trees falls into three broad categories: aesthetics and community character, environmental health, and economic benefits. While community officials have been aware of the aesthetic and environmental bene. . . o ~ o o . u 98 tits of tree conservation for many years, only in recent years have they begun to fully appreciate its economic benetits. Community aesthetics and domestic well-being. Trees and other greenery .help shape our view of the built environment in a positive way, making the places where we live, work, and do business more attractive and livable. Trees help provide tranquil spaces and havens from the sun, wind, and noise. They make buildings more "human" in scale, softening hard edges and creating a sense of place and identity. Trees are even adopted as municipal symbols in communities nation- wide, reflecting aesthetic values upon which they build a name for themselves; For exam. pie, Tallahassee, Rorida, is increasingly known as the dogwood capital of the South for its aggressive program of planting dog. woods along streets throughout the city. Annually, dozens of communities compete for the honor of being designated a "Tree City USA" by the National Arbor Day Foundation. Beyond aesthetics, however, growing evi- dence suggests that trees may even serve to promote domestic well-being. In The Experience of Place, author Tony Hiss writes that in Chicago's public housing projects the residents of buildings surrounded by green space with trees (vs. barren land) had a stronger sense. of community, better relationships with their neighbors, and fewer incidents of domestic vio- lence. Similarly, scholarly works have long docu- mented the ways in which the incorporation of natural features into design can promote well- ness and reduce stress. Environmental health. Trees are a funda- mental component of the movement to "green" our infrastructure. Natural green infrastructure, consisting of functioning ecosystems with trees and vegetation, pro- vides many valuable services related to groundwater recharge, stormwater manage- ment, pollutant filtration, and soil and water conservation. American Forests, the nation's oldest nonprofit citizens conservation organi- zation and a pioneer in the science and prac- tice of urban forestry, has developed the Urban Ecosystem AnalysiS process to study the green infrastructure benefits of a forest canopy. The benefits relate primarily to resi- dential summer energy impacts, air pollution ZONING PRACTICE 7.06 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION 1 page 2