Northampton forestry commission adopts amended tree protection ordinance and sends draft to mayor

The Northampton Urban Forestry Commission voted unanimously May 7 to accept an amended Tree Protection Ordinance and will forward a cleaned-up draft to the mayor’s office for introduction to City Council.

Commissioners said the revised ordinance tightens replacement requirements and references the city’s tree list and planting guidelines, while leaving some mitigation-dollar specifics to be set later. The vote followed discussion that the measure represents an improvement over current rules and will spur more planning-board and developer dialogue on tree protection and replacement.

Supporters framed the change as a compromise that increases protections without blocking development. Commissioner Richard Parish said the ordinance and the accompanying planting guidance represented due diligence: “in a perfect world, we’d love to do more, for tree replacement. But understanding the needs of the city and the planning board, I think this is a reasonable compromise.” Commissioner Kent (not yet sworn in) urged prompt action: “Let’s get this into law.”

Commission staff said the draft will be cleaned of tracked changes, cross-checked against the rest of the zoning code for references to the previous Significant Tree Ordinance name, and forwarded to the mayor’s office. The commission expects the mayor’s office to coordinate introduction to City Council and said it would likely coordinate appearances before the planning board and city council during the ordinance review process. The commission mentioned outreach to Councilor Jarrett as a potential sponsor.

The ordinance language requires replacement trees to follow the city tree list and planting guidelines; staff noted those guidelines reference DCR planting specifications. The commission emphasized that the ordinance increases the likelihood of dialogue during site plan review, and that trees recorded over a 20-inch diameter-at-breast-height threshold must be inventoried for mitigation purposes under existing site-plan procedures. Commissioners said the mitigation fee schedule and administrative mechanics were not finalized in the document and may be adjusted later.

Formal action: a motion to accept the amended Tree Protection Ordinance was made, seconded, and approved by roll call. Roll call recorded unanimous affirmative votes. After approval, staff outlined next steps: clean the draft, send to the mayor’s office, and coordinate with Councilor Jarrett, the planning board and the city council for subsequent hearings.

The commission discussed broader tradeoffs—urban canopy goals versus other sustainability projects and development pressures—and members said they expect continued debate as new projects come forward. The commission also recommended updating the city tree list and planting guidelines to reflect current best management practices for planting and pruning.

A cleaned ordinance and the commission’s recommendations will move forward to the mayor’s office; the commission will notify members about any planning-board or city-council dates when presentations are requested.