PP 14-0005: Tree Code Amendments Related to Forest Management on Large Tracts of Land

The proposed amendment (Ordinance 2664) is based on input from a technical advisory committee comprised of City residents and staff in Planning, Parks, and the City Attorney’s office. The committee’s charge was to closely follow the City Council’s direction in providing a more flexible permit process, one that moves away from regulating individual trees and focuses more on urban forestry principles, while maintaining the wooded character of the city.

Ordinance 2664 is based on the following objectives:

1. Maintain forest cover, consistent with the current Tree Code purpose[1], while minimizing the risk of catastrophic events such as wildfire, drought, infestations, storms/tree blow-down, and landslides.
2. Create a separate permitting process for forested properties of one acre or larger, leaving intact the existing Tree Code for residential lots and new development.
3. Provide for removal of a small number of trees with a simple, over-the-counter permit process that is scalable (e.g., based on forested acres) and uses objective criteria.
4. Allow for the removal of a greater number of trees (e.g., thinning) subject to approval of a forest management plan prepared by a qualified professional. Consider existing models for establishing tree stocking levels, such as the Oregon Forest Practices Act.
5. Encourage and assist owners of large forested tracts in managing their property, while providing safeguards for neighborhood character, protection of water quality, and erosion control.
6. Provide for public comment prior to approval of major forest management activities.

[1] The purpose of the Tree Code is “… to regulate the removal of trees and prescribe preventative protection measures to avoid damage to trees during site development in order to preserve the wooded character of the City of Lake Oswego and to protect trees as a natural resource of the City.” (LOC 55.02.010)