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Edina adopts revised tree‑protection ordinance, creates 'Canopy Connect' options
Summary
Council adopted ordinance 2026‑04 updating tree protection rules: moving the chapter, refining definitions, allowing certified professional attestations, permitting up to 20% alternate species in replacement plantings, and enabling off‑site mitigation, plus annual reporting and a Canopy Connect pilot to match developers with planting opportunities.
The Edina City Council voted March 3 to adopt ordinance 2026‑04, a set of technical and operational amendments to the city’s tree protection code. The changes move tree protections into Chapter 30 (vegetation), tighten definitions and measurement rules, revise replanting requirements (allowing up to 20% of replacements to be different species), and provide exemptions where trees pose structural risk.
Parks and Recreation Director Perry Vetter described operational clarifications and the proposed "Canopy Connect" approach to permit off‑site mitigation and help property owners and developers match on planting opportunities. Director Vetter emphasized the use of certified professionals to attest to situations meriting exemptions: "With these changes, that person who is a certified professional as defined by this, these changes could attest to that tree … which then would not require mitigation," he said.
Council members supported annual reporting on the ordinance’s effects and acknowledged the tradeoffs between preserving mature canopy and the practicalities of lot development and remediation. The council approved the second reading and adoption and authorized summary publication.
Next steps: the ordinance will be published in summary; staff will implement the Canopy Connect approach and provide an annual report on tree protection outcomes and exemptions.
