As a landscaper, your job might not be to manage tree ordinance compliance, but planting trees from this specific list will help your client (the contractor) keep their costs down. Planting trees from the list below will count toward the tree mitigation fines. Any plantings that are done as a requirement to the landscape plan do NOT count toward tree mitigation. But, if you happen to plant above and beyond the requirements then the extra will count.
75% of the trees planted must be from the class one list; 25% can be from the class two list.
pdf version of list
Some more tree ordinance mitigation tips:
- Trees 19″ diameter trunk and larger on residential sites are considered protected. Trees 8″ diameter and larger are considered protected on commercial sites.
- Any tree pruning done can be used to count toward mitigation fines.
- Tree fertilizing can (should) be done and counts toward tree mitigation fines.
- Any fines remaining after replacement trees, pruning and fertilizing may be settled in two ways:
- Paying the fine, or
- Purchasing future tree services. For example: pre-paying for two years of a fertilization program.
There are specific guidelines for landscaping on new construction sites that are not related to the city’s tree protection ordinance. And, your landscaping plan doesn’t have to consider the tree ordinance to get approved. Because of these two facts there is often a complete disconnect between what needs to be done for tree ordinance mitigation and what actually gets planted.