Public is invited to speak out on long-awaited tree policy reforms
The public is invited to testify before Portland City Council at 6 p.m. on February 2 on the Citywide Tree Policy Review and Regulatory Improvement Project. The project’s proposed reforms will make Portland’s tree policies more equitable, comprehensive, and simpler to understand and enforce.
Friends of Trees urges support for these long-overdue reforms.
“Currently the tree code exempts more than 50 percent of Portland’s trees,” said Friends of Trees Neighborhood Trees Specialist David Odom, who serves as vice chair of Portland’s Urban Forestry Commission.
If adopted by Portland City Council, the reforms will add at least 100 more acres of future tree canopy per year through improved tree preservation and planting requirements.
In 2005, following the adoption of Portland’s 2004 Urban Forest Management Plan, the Southwest Tree Committee proposed reforms to address overlapping codes in several city departments. After years of input from multiple city bureaus and stakeholders, the Portland Planning Commission (now the Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission) and the Urban Forestry Commission held their first-ever joint public hearing last year to address the reforms. In July the two commissions voted unanimously to recommend that Portland City Council approve the project.
The reforms proposed in the Citywide Tree Project will:
- Consolidate tree regulations under a new single tree code (Title 11, Trees)
- Standardize and streamline Portland’s tree permit system and create a simple permit process for homeowners
- Improve standards for tree preservation and planting when development is proposed without causing undue increases in permitting timelines or development costs
- Improve customer service with a new 24-hour tree hotline, single point of contact for public inquiries, community tree manual, and an online tree permit tracking system
The reforms will safeguard millions of dollars in public and private investment to improve Portland’s watersheds; improve neighborhood livability; increase neighborhood property values and public safety; help Portland achieve its targets for increasing tree canopy; and elevate planning and protection for trees in the planning and development review process for public and private development projects.
The Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission and Urban Forestry Commission endorse a cost-effective, phased-in implementation and funding strategy for the reforms.
What can you do to help?
Read the new Citywide Tree Project summary and frequently-asked questions at www.portlandonline.com/bps/treeproject.
Email City Council members and urge them to adopt the tree policy reforms.
Provide public testimony to City Council, 1221 SW Fourth Avenue, at 6 p.m. on February 2.
Submit written testimony in advance a) by mail to: Council Clerk, 1221 SW Fourth Avenue, Room 140, Portland, Oregon 97204; b) by FAX to 503-823-4571; or c) by e-mail to [email protected]. Written testimony must be received by the time of the hearing and must include your name and address.
You can read more about the Citywide Tree Project on our blog, Growth Rings:
March 8 – Stakeholders heat up over tree project agenda
March 15 – City Council and the state of Portland’s urban forest
March 22 – Area tree policy discussed tonight, tomorrow
March 26 – Public urges commissions for tree policy action
–TR