Havre de Grace council adopts changes to landscaping code after residents object to raising tree-protection threshold

Havre de Grace The Havre de Grace City Council on July 21 adopted Ordinance 11-93, amending Chapter 102 of the city code (landscaping) to modify the city's tree-protection provisions. The ordinance as adopted includes language that treats 30-inch-diameter trees as a distinct protected category and makes other changes to administration and scope; the final vote was 3-1 (Councilmembers Boyer, Shenagas and Jones in favor; Councilmember Ellis opposed).

Members of the public who spoke during the meeting urged the council not to weaken protections for smaller but ecologically important trees. "This ordinance changes the city's tree protection laws from protecting trees of 6 inches in diameter to 30 inches in diameter," said Chip Place, a Havre de Grace resident, during public comments. Christopher Wolf, also a resident, said removing the existing language that covers trees over 6 inches "will lead to unnecessary clearing of forested areas."

Why it matters: Chapter 102 is the city's landscape ordinance and has been a local mechanism to protect trees that are smaller than the large "specimen" trees referred to in the city's forest conservation chapter (Chapter 81). Several residents said the proposed…