Fiscal Note
The proposed ordinance changes are to enhance the City's street tree protection and to establish a Street Tree Replacement Fund.
Street Tree Protection will be enhanced by applying fines to violations of the existing Tree Protection Specifications of the City’s Standard Specifications for Public Works Construction. This ordinance includes a comprehensive structure of fines.
The purpose of the Street Tree Replacement Fund is to establish a mechanism whereby the City and the public will be made whole for the removal of a street tree. Under the ordinance, any person who removes, or causes the removal of a street tree, is required to replace the tree or reimburse the City for the value of the tree by paying into the Street Tree Replacement fund. The value of a tree would be determined by the City Forester’s Street Tree Valuation Policy. These funds may only be used by the Streets or Engineering Divisions, with the approval of the City Forester, to purchase and plant trees, or complete other work related to maintaining the City’s street tree stock. The City would also be able to accept private donations and other contributions to maintaining the urban forest through this fund. Revenues and expenditure from this fund would be budgeted in future years.
Title
SUBSTITUTE: Amending Sections 4.095, 10.05, 10.055, 10.08, 10.101, 23.24 and 1.08(3)(a) and Creating Section 10.105 of the Madison General Ordinances to enhance the City’s street tree protection provisions and to establish a Street Tree Replacement Fund.
Body
DRAFTER’S ANALYSIS: This ordinance makes numerous changes to the City’s ordinances to enhance the City’s protection of its street trees.
Under the ordinance, and in combination with contemporaneous changes to the Tree Protection Specifications of the City’s Standard Specifications for Public Works Construction, additional requirements will be placed on users of the public rights-of-way to identify street tree related conflicts earlier, to ...
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