Heritage Tree Ordinance Takes Root

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Trees with a trunk diameter of 19 inches or more were already considered protected trees in Austin, but neighborhood and environmental activists complained that the ordinance lacked teeth. Developers and others who might want a large tree removed, they said, could simply chop the tree and hope not to get caught or pay the fine as a cost of doing business, and city staff was too quick to grant variances. So last week, after a two-hour public hearing (preceded by months of being vetted by various boards and commissions), the council approved an ordinance creating the category of heritage trees, defined as 24 inches or greater in diameter. It was, according to Mayor Lee Leffingwell, the first updating of the tree protection ordinance in 27 years.

Heritage trees can now only be removed if granted a waiver by the director of the Plan???????(R)?ning and Development Review Department; that waiver can only be granted if the applicant has already been denied other variances that would eliminate the need for the tree?EUR??,,????'?????<