Commissioners flag tree-replacement exemption for hillside homes as a potential policy conflict

Commissioners pressed staff to bring an apparent council exemption for some tree removals back to the joint tree committee for review, arguing the change could conflict with the city’s own goals to increase tree canopy.

A commissioner described a council action on May 20 involving applications from developers for three hillside homes and said new language inserted at the council level would exempt "3 removals required by government code for state mandated defensible spaces documented by a qualified fire protection plan" from the city’s one-for-one replacement requirement or in-lieu fee. The commissioner said that exemption appeared to conflict with council goals to grow and protect the city’s tree canopy.

Commissioners asked staff to convene the joint tree committee (which includes the parks commission, planning commission and climate action commission) to clarify the exemption’s scope and discuss options such as a citywide tree fund or raising in-lieu fees so that removals tied to defensible-space rules still result in replacement plantings elsewhere in the city.

Staff said a fee study proposal included increasing the in-lieu fee, described an initial draft figure of roughly $700 per tree for cases where a tree is not replaced, and said staff will follow up with specifics and municipal-code updates. Commissioners noted the current in-lieu fees and replacement requirements date to 1992 and urged modernization to reflect best practices and the Planet Geo canopy valuation presented earlier.

Several commissioners called for further review by the joint tree committee and for clearer policy that preserves ecosystem services and public benefits associated with the city’s tree canopy. Staff agreed to investigate and report back to the commission and the joint committee.

No final policy changes were adopted at the meeting; commissioners asked staff for follow-up analysis and potential code/policy proposals.