Tree Ordinance Proposed in North Carolina

Too many trees are being cut down in Forsyth County, N.C., neighborhood advocates say, and they want to get to the root of the problem. One way to do that would be an ordinance that would protect existing trees from construction projects or require that trees be planted in new developments.

"We're noted for our greenery, our beauty, our trees, and it's really about identifying the fact that we need to start being aware," says Glynis Jordan, the deputy director of the planning department for Winston-Salem and Forsyth County.

Such an ordinance was proposed a year ago, but it got little support from the Forsyth County commissioners or the Winston-Salem City Council, and it was remanded back to the city-county planning board.

Now the idea is making a comeback. An advisory committee began meeting last week to reconsider a potential tree ordinance. Participants say that this time around, they will avoid the kinks that scuttled the proposed ordinance last year.

The existence of the committee in itself is an important step, says Melynda Dunigan, the president of the Winston-Salem Neighborhood Alliance. Last year, the ordinance was proposed by the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Community Appearance Commission, but other groups had little input in the proposal.

"Part of the process was flawed in that way, in that it wasn't open," Dunigan says.

The new committee brings together a variety of representatives from interests such as home builders, real-estate agents, the chamber of commerce and the Sierra Club. Thanks to a grant from the Winston-Salem Foundation, the neighborhood alliance also hired a mediator to guide the committee. The mediator, Steven Smutko, is an environmental specialist at N.C. State University and an expert in public decision-making.

"My goal is for this to reach consensus on the committee, because it's not going to be easy to get something like this approved," Dunigan says.

The committee is still in the very early stages of a process that could take two years before any ordinance is approved. One member who represents Realtors and home builders said he is not sure if an ordinance is necessary.

"It's a little early to say," says Glenn Cobb, the governmental affairs director for both the Winston-Salem Regional Association of Realtors and the Home Builders Association of Winston-Salem. "That's always one of the major questions you have to answer. Sometimes you do more harm than good" by passing an ordinance, he says.

But Jordan, who is also on the committee, says he believes that an ordinance is needed. Unlike many other jurisdictions, Winston-Salem and Forsyth County have no regulations preventing the destruction of trees.

"We have determined that we want something," Jordan says. "Now the committee is going to be looking at: Do we want to preserve trees? Do we want to plant trees? Do we want to do both? Do we want this for all properties, commercial, residential, industrial?"

The scope of any ordinance would be the most important issue the committee would have to decide. Last year's proposed ordinance would have required commercial developers to preserve some trees, but it did not include preservation measures for most residential properties. It would have required residential developers to plant one new tree for every lot.

Proponents emphasize the aesthetic and environmental benefits of trees. When an area is cleared of all of its trees, they say, it can leave a glaring hole in the landscape.

"With the increase in development and the number of subdivisions," Jordan says, "there seems to be a propensity toward clear-cutting and moving dirt from side to side, front to back, which then brings up issues of erosion, wildlife corridors, natural resource sustainability."