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• Provide adequate mitigation when significant trees are lost • To NOT have this ordinance be a tool to turn down development Scope The scope of the ordinance, and the policies that will accompany it,will set the tone and determine how much regulation a local authority desires to assert over the protection and/or preservation of its forest resource. In addition,it will outline which trees are considered worthy of saving and which are not. The scope of this tree preservation ordinance is likely to include commercial, industrial, large- scale residential developments, and subdivisions submitted after the date of adoption of the ordinance. The Council and Commission also discussed including all subdivisions,plats, new construction, and expansions of building footprints for all properties. This would include single family residential as well as larger projects. Regardless of scope, a tree survey will be required for those projects which are determined to fall under the purview of the new ordinance. This survey must identify the significant or high priority trees on the site, their sizes,root zone, and species. In addition to identifying which properties will be affected by the tree preservation ordinance, this code must also indicate the level of regulation to be undertaken, the extent to which lost trees must be mitigated or replaced, and penalties for not complying with the regulations. Tree preservation ordinances can be developed to coincide with current zoning or property subdivision regulations in the form of landscape requirements. They can be very simple or complex in their scope. For example, a simple ordinance may stipulate that the cutting of any tree larger than a certain diameter can be done only by permit and must be within a designated construction area. A complex ordinance, on the other hand, may include formulas to determine percentage of tree loss,prioritize different sizes and clumps of trees, and regulate the mitigation of the trees lost during construction with a specified number and species of newly planted trees. Most tree preservation ordinances identify which trees are to be preserved or their loss mitigated, and which do not fall under the scope of the ordinance. Arden Hills' tree preservation ordinance will be no exception. Trees greater than a certain caliper inch will be considered significant, trees smaller than this will not be included. In addition, dead, dying, or hazardous trees would be able to be cut with no penalty. Lastly, certain species would be excluded from the ordinance entirely; these could include Buckthorn, Box Elder, Cottonwoods, Elm,Willow, etc. City ofArden Hills P7RC Meeting for November 20, 2007 I Mhdocs]WHL4HdatalPlanninglPlanning Cases1200710X-OXX Tree Preservation Ordinancel112007-PTRC Report-Tree Preservation.doc Page 3 of 6