Committee pauses on Urban Woodlands ordinance amid enforcement and developer concerns

The Sustainability and Environmental Committee continued its discussion Sept. 10 of a proposed Urban Woodlands ordinance that would apply to trees 6 inches and larger on parcels of 5,000 square feet or more, but committee members and staff agreed more drafting and stakeholder meetings are needed before the measure moves forward.

The discussion matters because the ordinance is intended to protect wooded land and urban canopy across Springfield while committee members and city staff warned its current language could impose broad permitting requirements on homeowners, create enforcement challenges for the forestry division and complicate housing development.

Forestry staff said the proposal as written would be difficult to enforce and could be “overly burdensome to residents in the city.” Alex, a representative of the forestry division, told the committee that the draft would require identifying virtually every tree 6 inches and larger on covered parcels and that on larger sites “it’s gonna be very difficult to interpret” how to apply that requirement. Alex also described how the city’s existing significant-tree rules work: “If that tree is healthy and in good condition then I deny removal of that tree,” and property owners can appeal that decision to the Board of Park Commissioners, which may grant relief based on demonstrated hardship.

The…