Encinitas committees debate "mature tree" ordinance: who it would cover and how to replace removed trees

City staff presented a draft "mature tree" ordinance and members of the Environmental Commission and Urban Forest Advisory Committee spent the meeting debating how broadly it should apply and how to ensure removed trees are meaningfully replaced or preserved.

Senior Planner Evan Jednak told the joint meeting the effort began after city council direction in December 2021 and the draft would formally define a "mature tree," set objective preservation standards and a mitigation hierarchy, and create a funding mechanism for tree preservation. "This effort was initiated by the city council in December 2021," Evan said during his presentation.

The draft defines a mature tree as any tree with an 11-inch or greater trunk diameter at 4.5 feet above the base, with a lower 9-inch threshold for native species and a 4-inch threshold for native scrub oak. The ordinance would exempt certain species categories (city-listed invasive trees, monocots, fruit trees and heritage trees, the latter subject to separate rules). It would apply to public property and to private properties in new development and to redevelopment that affects landscaping; in addition the staff version would cover multifamily, commercial and mixed-use properties regardless of whether development is proposed.

Under the draft mitigation hierarchy, preservation is the first…