Alachua County expands tree-planting program and broadens uses of mitigation fund

The Alachua County Board of Commissioners voted July 7 to approve updates to its tree-planting program and to expand how the county can use its tree mitigation fund, including paying for long-term care, equipment and staff, easements and pilot payment-for-ecosystem-services programs.

Lacey, the county arborist, told commissioners the eight-year program has planted "closer to 1,900 trees at this point" and tracked them in a GIS database, with 261 trees planted so far this year. She said the program maintains a roughly 90% survival rate and that the recommended changes would allow staff to protect and preserve canopy as well as increase planting where trees provide public benefits.

The changes add a third priority for planting that would target sites selected for specific ecosystem services such as stormwater or nutrient uptake, Lacey said, and expand the mitigation fund's allowable expenses beyond simple replacement to include maintenance, infrastructure reconfiguration, utility accommodations and acquisition or management of easements.

Commissioner Prizia, who moved the amendment, said the resolution should also allow the county to explore payment-for-ecosystem-services (PES) arrangements so private landowners could be compensated for protecting canopy that provides public benefit. "There's opportunity to work with private landowners to pay them to protect existing canopy on their own property and the ecosystem services that those trees are providing," Prizia said. The motion added review by the Environmental Protection Advisory Committee and coordination with Growth Management and Community Support Services on affordable-housing projects.

Commissioners cautioned the board should set clear limits to avoid using the mitigation fund for large infrastructure relocations that would deplete resources. The board asked staff to evaluate projects case-by-case and to develop oversight and prioritization standards before high-cost proposals proceed.

A public commenter praised local land stewardship while raising unrelated grievances about county staff; the board asked legal staff to provide a written update on that dispute.

The chair called the vote after discussion; the motion passed unanimously. Staff recommended the board approve the operating-procedure updates and adopt the resolution expanding permissible uses of the tree mitigation fund. Next steps include drafting implementation details, defining oversight and funding limits, and returning to the board with ordinance or procedural language as needed.