Moline council debates tree bank, leans toward forestry-management approach

City planning staff presented a proposed "tree bank" policy to the Moline City Council and council members signaled a preference to revise the city’s strategic goal to emphasize forestry and tree-management rather than adopt a payment-in-lieu program as written.

Joel, Community & Economic Development staff member, summarized the draft: the tree bank would allow developers to pay a fee instead of installing required trees and the fees would be used to plant or maintain trees elsewhere in the city. Joel said the policy is intended "to establish a creative alternative means to meet the spirit and intent of the requirements concerning planting and maintenance of trees and landscape as supported by the code of ordinances."

Council and staff reviewed current rules: Moline’s landscape requirements apply to new development and include provisions for street frontage, impervious area and building improvements; the ordinance also contains protections for woodlands and steep slopes intended to prevent wholesale clearing of forested areas. Joel said the city’s landscaping code was updated in February 2006 and that the city uses a variance process for situations where required plantings are impractical.

Several council members and staff referenced past development disputes where required islands or plantings were challenging to implement, including large parking-lot developments and commercial expansions. Council Member Julian said he is "not really a fan of payment in lieu, especially for trees," and argued that allowing cash payments can worsen the city’s parking-lot and heat-island issues. Other council members noted the importance of choosing appropriate species and suggested updating the city’s approved tree list so plantings provide ecological value (pollinator benefit, native species) rather than only aesthetic landscaping.

Staff noted existing grant and planting programs — including U.S. Forest Service grants administered locally through Wharton Arboretum — and said the city has been able to replace canopy lost to pests and storms through grant-funded plantings. Council members raised enforcement and private-property management as continuing challenges; staff observed that many grant programs do not fund private backyards and that forestry/maintenance remains a complex issue.

Council discussion moved toward revising the strategic goal language rather than adopting a standalone tree bank ordinance. Council Member Timmy said reworking the goal and focusing on a forestry-management plan could achieve similar outcomes while preserving flexibility for developers and staff to address specific situations. Several council members expressed broad support for updating species guidance, pursuing forestry management, and continuing to seek grant funding to replant street trees and public canopy.

Next steps: staff will take council direction to revisit the strategic goal and return with recommended language and an approach to forestry management, updates to the landscaping/species lists, and a plan to align grants and street-tree programs.