Council tables proposed tree-mitigation fee and penalty language to March 11

Council briefly considered a proposed ordinance to increase tree-mitigation fees and to add penalties for illegal clearing. Planning/parks staff explained the proposal had been through Planning & Zoning and would: (1) raise the mitigation fee per caliper inch to $400 (Planning & Zoning recommendation) versus an alternative $250 figure cited in other boards, (2) allow credit for replacement trees when mitigation fees are paid, and (3) include a misdemeanor penalty for unauthorized clearing, with placement of the penalty language to be reconciled within different sections of the code.

Council members asked staff to ensure the ordinance included an administrative exception for emergent removals (for example, a tree creating an immediate threat to a structure) and to clarify the credit process for replacement trees so that the net impact on an owner seeking to remove a hazardous tree would be neutral. Staff recommended tabling to a date certain so the ordinance language could be finalized and placed in the correct code sections. A councilmember moved to table the item to March 11; the motion was seconded and the council voted unanimously to table the item until the March 11 meeting when the full ordinance and public hearing will resume.

No formal ordinance was adopted; staff will return with complete text that addresses administrative authorization for necessary emergency removals, the precise fee schedule and placement of misdemeanor penalties in the city code.