Council hears introduction of tree protection ordinance; inspection and fine structure proposed

City staff introduced Ordinance 26-34, a proposed zoning amendment rebranded as the "tree protection ordinance," aimed at strengthening Westfield's tree preservation and inspection processes. Lauren Gilley Hemteig of the Community Development Department described the major additions: a required tree protection plan for major subdivisions over five acres, pre- and post-construction inspections to verify tree-protection fencing and measures, an expanded tree-credit system to better incentivize voluntary preservation, and a required subdivision handoff meeting before developers transfer common areas to homeowners associations.

Lauren said the ordinance includes a fine structure assessed per caliper inch for protected trees removed and that staff will add a fine schedule to the fee schedule and provide examples to councilors. Chris McConnell, director of Parks and Recreation, said inspections will be administered by parks staff and that tree protection fencing will be installed and inspected before clearing. On procedural questions, staff noted the ordinance will proceed to the Area Plan Commission for public hearing on August 8. Because staff did not provide an exact dollar-per-caliper-inch figure during the presentation, the fine schedule is not specified in the record and will be provided to councilors before adoption.