Planning commission recommends mature‑tree ordinance to city council with edits after extended debate

The Encinitas Planning Commission on Feb. 20 voted 5‑1 to recommend that the city council move forward with a proposed mature‑tree ordinance, but the commission attached a set of requested edits and clarifications before the ordinance is considered by council. The ordinance, which staff has developed following council direction in 2021 and outreach with the Urban Forest Advisory Committee (UFAC), defines "mature tree," sets preservation requirements for public and private development, and establishes a mitigation hierarchy: preserve, relocate, replace or pay an in‑lieu fee.

Why it matters: The ordinance is the city’s first comprehensive attempt to define and protect mature trees across municipal projects and private development subject to review. Commissioners and stakeholders debated who the ordinance should apply to, replacement ratios, exemptions for certain species and fire‑hazard exceptions.

Staff presentation and proposed rules Senior planner Evan Jedinak told commissioners the ordinance would define a mature tree as any tree with an 11‑inch or greater trunk diameter (diameter at standard height), with a lower 9‑inch threshold for identified native species and a 4‑inch threshold for native scrub oaks. The proposal exempts certain trees regardless of size, including city‑defined invasive trees, fruit trees and monocot species (palm trees). Heritage trees would remain subject to separate regulations.

Applicability and mitigation hierarchy Staff proposed to apply the ordinance to city rights‑of‑way and public…