Committee hears hours of testimony on tree code, forwards amended fee schedule after staff presentation

City officials from Portland Parks & Recreation and Urban Forestry briefed the Finance Committee April 1 on enforcement, compliance, and fee proposals under Title 11 — the city’s tree code — then took extended public testimony before forwarding an amended fee schedule to the full council with a recommendation to pass.

Deputy Commissioner Sonia Chimanski opened the briefing and framed Title 11 as a 10‑year check‑in for the city’s tree code. "This 10 year check-in is the time to review, revisit, and reset the course for the next 10 years," Chimanski said. Adina Long, director of Portland Parks & Recreation, described Urban Forestry’s work to preserve and grow Portland’s tree canopy, noting the program’s planting targets and emergency response responsibilities.

Casey Jogurst, manager of the permitting and regulation program in Urban Forestry, summarized how the code compliance program is complaint‑driven, focused on corrective action, and generally seeks restoration rather than punishment. Rick Faber, Urban Forestry code compliance supervisor, presented a district review showing that in a recent review of 109 active cases in District 4, about 61% required no enforcement fee and 30% required only the standard removal application fee; roughly 7% resulted in a $350 violation review fee and fewer…