Springfield City subcommittee backs summary for urban-woodland ordinance, asks law department to begin drafting

Councilor Davila convened the Springfield City Sustainability and Environment Subcommittee on Monday the 18th to continue work on a proposed urban-woodland ordinance intended to protect significant tree canopy on private parcels while allowing necessary development.

The committee reviewed a short summary document prepared by SCANS that, according to Jay (SCANS), lays out the ordinance’s vision, scope and examples for how the law department could translate the ideas into municipal code. Jay said the solicitor advised that a concise summary plus a clear vote of support from this committee would give the law department what it needs to draft enforceable ordinance language.

The summary clarified two numerical thresholds the committee is treating as the ordinance’s baseline: the ordinance would apply to parcels at least 5,000 square feet in size where at least 4,000 square feet of the lot is covered by tree canopy — a combination that the presenters said would constitute an "urban woodland" subject to regulation. Jay illustrated the point with a 5,000-square-foot lot example and explained that a single tree with 1,000 square feet of canopy would not trigger the ordinance because it would represent only 20% canopy coverage of the lot.

On mitigation and permitting, Jay said the draft limits regulation of small, routine tree removals (for utilities, solar access or hazard trees) and focuses on larger removals that could constitute clear cutting. For larger removals the document proposes a permitting process that would require applicants to provide specific information, allow for partial approvals, require mitigation plantings, and in some cases assess mitigation fees to support replanting over years or decades. "We don't want to be overly burdensome to homeowners," Jay said, but the ordinance aims to prevent wholesale clear-cutting and to ensure the city is compensated and the canopy restored over time.

Alex, Springfield’s city forester, urged the committee to run a set of case studies and a simple fee calculator so members can see how a $50-per-diameter-inch fee (the fee level referenced in the public-shade-tree ordinance) would scale for different parcels and forest conditions. "I think it would make sense to understand what those costs could potentially be before something is said into law," Alex said, offering to work with SCANS on the exercise.

The committee discussed who should produce surveys and cost estimates — in-house staff, an outside consultant, developers’ consultants, or the tree companies that commonly perform permitting work in Springfield. Members agreed to include a range of stakeholders in outreach, including larger homebuilders and smaller lot developers, and tree-removal contractors, to gather practical perspectives on implementation and cost enforcement.

On fee allocation, Jay told the committee that application and mitigation fees would be deposited into Springfield City’s existing tree fund, while fines for ordinance violations would be remitted to the city’s general fund in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws, as the solicitor had advised. The committee also discussed establishing a new commission or advisory body to review permits and ensure appropriate expertise in decision-making.

After discussion the committee set two near-term action items: SCANS and the city forester will prepare sample calculations and a case study of likely fees and mitigation costs so the committee can see realistic financial impacts; and the chair will ask appropriate city departments for a list of developers and contractors to invite for consultation. Councilor Davila asked the law department to begin drafting a general ordinance based on the committee’s summary so the group can iterate on text rather than delay the process.

The subcommittee scheduled its next meeting for July 28 at 11:00 a.m. to review the case study and continue the ordinance discussion. The committee did not take a formal vote to adopt an ordinance text at this session; the law department was directed to prepare a draft for future review.