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Conway tree board approves mitigation reduction for Mill Upon townhomes: 252 plantings plus capped credit for retained trees
Summary
The City of Conway Tree Board approved a developer request to count 252 new plantings at 2.5-inch caliper toward mitigation and to use the cumulative DBH of retained, non-protected trees on-site to cover the remaining mitigation requirement — capped at the amount needed for this project.
The City of Conway Tree Board approved a mitigation plan for the Mill Upon townhomes development that allows the developer to count 252 on-site plantings at a reduced 2.5-inch caliper toward mitigation and to apply the cumulative DBH of retained, non-protected trees on a portion of the property as credit — but limited only to the DBH needed to meet mitigation requirements for this project.
Staff told the board the project would remove roughly 2,264 inches of DBH. Under the city's mitigation calculation, replacement requirements are typically based on inches removed: at the usual 4-inch minimum caliper standard that would equate to about 566 replacement trees; at the applicant's proposed 2.5-inch caliper standard it would equate to about 906 replacement trees. The developer asked the board to permit the 2.5-inch caliper standard and to accept retention of existing trees in an upland area that the developer said cannot reasonably be developed because it is largely constrained by flood zones, wetlands and a floodway.
Staff said the tree preservation ordinance does not allow retention to count as mitigation in a general sense, but the board has discretion to set mitigation in individual cases. Staff recommended not counting protected/landmark trees (254 trees identified by staff as either protected species or landmark trees) toward mitigation because removal of those would themselves trigger mitigation. The developer said they were not seeking credit to apply to other projects and offered to plant 252 trees on site. Developer representatives described the upland wooded area as publicly accessible open space with a planned mulched trail, boardwalk and lighting; they also said they would be willing to pursue a conservation easement to protect the area from future removal.
Staff calculated the developer would still have a deficit if only 252 new plantings were counted: original requirement 906 (at 2.5-inch caliper) minus 252 proposed plantings leaves a shortfall of 654 trees (about 1,634 inches). Staff suggested the board could grant credit from the retained non-protected trees but recommended the credit be capped at the DBH needed to meet mitigation for this project rather than allowing an open-ended credit that might be applied to other sites in the future. The developer said securing larger nursery stock was difficult and expensive, and that cutting mature, healthy on-site trees to plant younger nursery trees would be counterproductive.
A board member moved to accept the 252 proposed plantings (at 2.5-inch caliper) toward mitigation and to allow the cumulative DBH of existing, non-protected trees on the upland area to cover the remaining mitigation requirement — but no more than required for this project. The motion also included the developer's requested 2.5-inch caliper standard. A second was given and the motion carried.
Staff noted alternatives, including a fee-in-lieu. The developer reported a fee-in-lieu estimate of about $481,000 if the full obligation were satisfied at 4-inch caliper, or about $362,000 at 2.5-inch caliper. The developer also committed to work with staff on the possibility of a third-party conservation easement and to maintain the upland area as accessible passive open space.
