Norwalk City commission advances draft legacy-tree nomination form, flags private-property limits

David presented a draft nomination form for a proposed Legacy Tree program and asked the commission to refine how nominations would work, especially for trees on private property.

"I don't know if everybody got this, but last Thursday I'd sent out a draft of ... the application for the nominations," David said, explaining the draft borrows elements from programs in Seattle and Portland and seeks to balance simplicity with necessary documentation. He urged the commission to consider a short web flow and to decide how nominator and owner consent would be handled.

Why it matters: The program is intended to recognize and, where possible, protect notable trees in Norwalk City and to provide clear guidance for residents who want to nominate specimens, historic trees or notable collections. Commissioners said examples and a simple web form will help spur public nominations.

Sarah told the group the commission lacks jurisdiction to enter private property, so any nomination process that involves site inspection will need owner permission or collaboration with outside volunteers. "It gets a little bit confusing when it comes to any if we're going to consider legacy trees on private property, we have no jurisdiction entering to take a look at the tree," she said.

Members discussed four practical issues: (1) whether to allow both paper and online nominations, (2) how to obtain owner signatures when the nominator is not the owner, (3) whether to populate the program with commission-initiated nominees as examples, and (4) how to treat collections or stands of trees versus single specimens. Peter and others recommended starting with public trees and a short set of categories (historic, specimen, landmark) and postponing a full treatment of "collections" until the program is established.

Commissioners cited existing local examples they expect to use as early nominations, including campus specimens at Norwalk Community College, large focal trees at Cranbury Park, and established cemetery specimens such as a state-champion sourwood in Riverside Cemetery. Gay Anne said the commission could "prime the pump" by nominating trees the group already knows meet the criteria.

The group also referenced prior local action: members said the legacy program originated from an ordinance adopted several years ago; one commissioner summarized that history, noting the program structure predates GPS-based tree inventories.

On potential financial implications, one commissioner observed that ordinance language discussed during the meeting could require replacement calculations in the event of removal. "By ordinance an individual legacy tree must be replaced—I believe it's times six the DBH or value," a member said; however commissioners treated that phrasing as a recalled point of ordinance language and not as a definitive legal citation.

Next steps: Commissioners agreed to research the Connecticut state tree registry and example narratives to refine form fields and to coordinate who will take photos and nominate early examples. David asked members to send candidate trees to him and to Sarah so the tree warden can maintain a registry once nominations begin. The commission did not vote on program rules at this meeting and left the draft open for edits and follow-up work.