Olivette staff outline proposed tree-protection and replacement rules; commission seeks refinements

City planning staff presented a draft three-part tree protection and replacement proposal to the Olivette Planning and Community Design Commission on May 1 that would require a tree inventory, a tree-protection plan during construction, and replacement requirements tied to a point/area formula.

Carlos Trejo, director of Planning and Community Development, told commissioners staff tested the draft on recent petitions, including the constrained 11 Saint Alfred parcel, and adjusted the point system to account for trees retained on-site. “We started looking at…how did this impact these individual lots,” Trejo said. He and staff said the proposal attempts to balance maintaining the city’s canopy goals with feasible requirements for property owners and building inspectors.

Under the draft, minimum tree requirements would vary by lot size (for example, a 5,000-square-foot lot would be expected to provide at least two trees), and replacement obligations would reflect both tree health/size and the number of trees the applicant preserves. Trejo said staff will apply the method to additional properties and refine the draft so it is enforceable and “palatable” for both the city and property owners.

Commissioners discussed implementation and inspection details. Staff said inspectors will check tree-protection fencing at demolition and construction inspections and that a bill-of-sale-style itemization of protected trees would aid verification. Commissioners also asked staff to clarify how canopy is measured and to ensure the draft does not expect immediate parity between removed trees and new plantings; Trejo said the intent is to approach equivalent canopy as replacements mature, not replace the canopy piece-for-piece on day one.

The commission did not vote; staff will continue refining the draft, apply it to more sample lots, and return with revised plan requirements and submittal checklists.