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Council introduces amendments to tree ordinance to broaden in-lieu fee application
Summary
Council voted to introduce changes to the municipal code that would allow an in‑lieu fee to be applied to all tree removals and remove a fixed fee amount from the ordinance (fee set by council resolution). Staff said the fee reflects estimated planting costs.
The City Council voted unanimously Aug. 5 to introduce an ordinance amending the tree section of the municipal code (section 12.8.35). Community development director Jennifer Gates told the council the proposal would permit the city’s in‑lieu fee to be applied for all tree replacements — not only when a development project is proposed — and would remove a fixed dollar amount from the code so the fee can be updated by council resolution.
Gates said the change was intended to avoid frequent ordinance updates when the fee amount changes. “So the proposed modifications are two different things. One is to allow the application of the in‑lieu fee for all tree replacements, not just when a development project is proposed, as well as to remove the identification of that specific amount of the in‑lieu fee,” Gates said. Council members asked how the $700 figure now in the fee schedule was derived; staff said it reflects the cost to buy and plant the replacement (the current ordinance calls for a 15‑gallon tree or equivalent planting standard).
After clarifying questions about whether the dollar amount would be adjusted by resolution or inflationary schedule, council moved and seconded the ordinance introduction and voted to find it CEQA‑exempt.
