Stakeholder speaks out on Citywide Tree Project
An example of a skinny house built on a small lot in Portland. (northassoc.org)
Jeffrey Paul Fish is a local home developer who is a member of the Citywide Tree Project (CTP) stakeholder group. Fish Construction NW, Inc., started in 1973 and has since built close to 1,200 single family homes in the area. In 2004 the native Portlander was named the Home Building Association’s Builder of the Year and in 2008 he received their Lifetime Achievement Award.
FOT: Here are some of Fish’s comments on the CTP, edited for length and brevity:
I’m a little disappointed in the product that came out. I think it’s too restrictive in housing.
Especially on the small lot issue—you don’t have a lot of options on saving trees–I feel the policy is too restrictive.
FOT: Speaking on the issue of development on small lots and replacement trees, Fish said he’s concerned when Portland is compared to statistics from Baltimore or Austin, cities he says don’t have lots smaller than 5,000 square feet.
(The policy is) probably workable on the 10,000-square-foot lot, but when you get up into the smaller footprints, you get less and less to plant and preserve.
I don’t want to see a lot of loss of tree canopy—or any loss.
I can honestly say, in all the homes that I’ve built, I don’t know that we’ve ever lost a tree in a neighbor’s lot.
I try to save every tree. For the most part, builders leave trees.
FOT: The overall state of development and trees in the Portland-metro area:
We’re rapidly increasing the cost of affordable housing.
In accepting an urban growth boundary, you accept a little bit that we’re going to be denser in the city and have a little loss of trees to preserve that urban growth boundary.
I feel like some people want to have their cake and eat it too. I want people to be reasonable.
If the general public was concerned with canopy, the general public would plant more trees.
FOT: The prospect of success for the Citywide Tree Project:
Portland has a history of putting policy together to say they did something. I’m for putting this policy together to make it work.
I just hope we don’t pass something that’s bad policy just because people want policy.
Communication and trying to find something that works for both sides—that’s what’s going to make this work.
We have a dog in the fight, too.
The next opportunity for public discourse on the Citywide Tree Project is tonight, 7-9 p.m., at the Multnomah Arts Center. The next open house after that is March 16, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at the Floyd Light Middle School.
Email, fax and regular mail comments will also be entered into the record. The email address: planningcommission@ci.portland.or.us The mail address: 1900 SW 4th Ave., Suite 7100, Portland, OR 97201 The fax number: 503-823-7855
–Toshio Suzuki
Tags: CTP, development, policy
Very interesting. Density v. canopy is an issue in many cities nationally. We need to make it density + canopy rather than one or the other. A note (I live in MD and have worked on these issues in Baltimore for many years) on the comment that Baltimore has no lots less than 5,000 sq ft. This is not accurate. A major housing type in Baltimore is row house – these are on 32nd acre lots and are stacked one next to other for blocks at a time. I would also note that unlike Portland, Baltimore is not codifying its tree canopy goal – it is a goal, not a regulation, and has not translated into many planning + zoning or other regulatory changes.
Mike, it’s great to get some perspective from another city–and thanks for clarifying that data. Density plus canopy sounds like a good jumping off point.
We appreciate your comment and all the work you do as Deputy Director for Casey Trees in D.C.
[...] tree policy still creates a lot of problems for the housing industry,” said Jeffrey Fish, a local builder who took part in CTP stakeholder meetings. “We need to sit down and model [...]