Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environmental Fund topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning board backs cleanup to rename tree fund, broaden uses to environmental protection fund
Summary
The board recommended that the City Commission approve an amendment to ULDC section 6.13 to rename the tree fund as an Environmental Protection Fund and clarify permissible uses, including tree planting, acquisition/maintenance of environmentally sensitive lands and resiliency projects.
The City of North Port Planning and Zoning Advisory Board on April 16, 2026 unanimously recommended that the City Commission approve a targeted amendment to section 6.13 of the Unified Land Development Code that renames the existing "tree fund" to the "Environmental Protection Fund" and clarifies permitted uses.
Laurie Barnes, deputy director of development services, told the board the amendment is a language cleanup requested after the ULDC rewrite adopted in 2024. Finance raised concerns about how revenues collected under the prior tree‑fund rules would be handled; the amendment is intended to provide transparency and confirm that previously collected tree‑fund revenues can be combined into the new Environmental Protection Fund and used for an expanded set of purposes. Barnes said the expanded uses include continued tree planting plus resiliency projects, acquisition and ongoing maintenance of environmentally sensitive lands and invasive‑species removal.
Board members asked whether the change would reduce tree‑planting activity; Barnes said it would not and that the fund will still support planting alongside other environmental and resiliency work. The board moved, seconded and voted unanimously to recommend approval via ordinance number 2026‑11; staff said the ordinance will be presented to the City Commission for final action.
No public comment was recorded on the amendment at the advisory meeting.
