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Senate passes bill asserting property owners’ rights over trees; planners, cities warn of unintended consequences
Summary
The committee passed SB 634, which sponsors described as protecting homeowners’ rights to remove or maintain trees on private property; city planners and Fayetteville’s environmental director warned the bill’s broad language could disrupt development tools such as vegetative buffers and emergency tree management after storms.
Senator Hester told the committee SB 634 is intended to clarify that property owners retain the right to manage vegetation, including removing nuisance or hazardous trees on their land. "If I wanna go cut a tree on my property or a bush, I have the right to do that," he said, adding the bill is aimed at maintenance rather than changing municipal development requirements.
James Wallen, representing the City of Conway and the American Planning…
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