Flower Mounds Environmental Conservation Commission met Oct. 7 for a work session to review potential revisions to the towns tree ordinance, including specimen-tree sizes for post oaks, mitigation calculations and the schedule of preservation credits.

The discussion matters because those definitions and credit rules determine whether developers must replant trees, pay mitigation fees or receive credits — decisions that affect tree preservation, development costs and the towns canopy over time.

Staff summarized comparisons of Flower Mound rules with nearby jurisdictions, walked commissioners through how other cities define "heritage," "specimen" or "protected" trees, and showed how changing the post oak specimen threshold would alter mitigation owed on recent applications. Staff said Flower Mound currently treats protected trees as 6 inches DBH and that post oaks become specimen trees beginning at 22 inches DBH under the towns present rules. Staff provided concrete examples: on one two-acre project (Dakota), cutting the post-oak credit schedule in half would have reduced preserved credits and increased potential mitigation liabilities by about $1,200; on other sites changes produced larger swings, in one hypothetical shifting from no mitigation to nearly $20,000 owed when credits were halved.

Staff member Katie, who presented the comparative analysis, summarized differences among cities: "For Colleyville, post oaks and blackjack oaks above 15 inches become heritage trees" and "Denton looks at post oaks 6 inches or greater as heritage trees," while Round Rock and Fort Worth use different size thresholds and appeal or director-level permit processes. Katie also noted, "Ours is $400 an inch, because we have that times 2 multiplier," when explaining Flower Mound's current mitigation math for specimen trees.

Commission members repeatedly pressed staff on policy trade-offs: whether stronger penalties (higher mitigation fees) or larger preservation credits are more effective at saving trees; whether to treat canopy retention versus per-tree DBH measurements; and whether to limit how and where preservation credits may be applied. One commissioner asked staff to test applying alternate ordinances to the same sample site so the commission could see an "apples-to-apples" comparison across cities; staff agreed to prepare that analysis for a future work session. A separate commissioner recommended exploring caps or restrictions on applying credits toward mitigation — for example, preventing credits from offsetting mitigation owed for designated post oaks — and asked staff to return with options.

Staff described Flower Mounds existing Smart Growth provisions, which add canopy-retention requirements for certain developments (the staff presentation said projects must preserve 50% of riparian or upland habitat or mitigate at $15,000 per acre). Staff also briefed commissioners on current replacement-tree costs and shortages of larger nursery stock, and noted the town can purchase and distribute mitigation trees; staff said the town has acquired 300 small post-oak seedlings for planned community giveaways and plantings.

No ordinance language was adopted at the session. The commission gave staff direction to: 1) prepare sample-site comparisons applying several peer-city ordinances (Round Rock, Georgetown, Fort Worth and others) to Flower Mound survey data, 2) return with options for limiting or capping the application of preservation credits, and 3) provide a consolidated slide showing the towns current protected and specimen-tree list and diameter thresholds. Staff said it would return with additional analysis and draft regulatory language for subsequent work sessions and that formal council direction would be sought as the process advances.

Members of the public and commission also raised broader planning questions during the session: whether higher-density development yields fewer opportunities to preserve trees and how parkland dedication or pocket parks interact with tree-preservation goals. Resident Claire Harris, speaking during public comment, urged elected and appointed officials to continue protecting trees, saying, "We have to keep fighting for these trees."

The commission scheduled additional work-session follow-ups (staff proposed November or December) and recommended briefing town council with specific draft options ahead of any formal ordinance amendment.