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Jacksonville News - April 30, 2008
Tree committee puzzles over important issues
by Jennifer Bacchus
News Staff Writer

Public only or should it include private land?

If it includes private land, should existing homes be grandfathered in and what will happen when an existing home is sold?

Is a tree board enough or does the city need an arborist to enforce the law?

Monday morning, the Jacksonville ACE tree committee met and debated these important issues for the city's tree ordinance. No decision has been reached on any issue, but an ordinance applicable only to public land currently being written by Jacksonville City Attorney Grant Paris at the request of Councilman Truman Norred may serve as a jumping-off point for further debate, primarily the debate of how to incorporate private lands into the law.

"I'm saying let's look at Grant's public-only ordinance and then let's add to it before we go to the council," said David Class, chairman of the committee. "If we want to be pioneers, we're going to have to address something that's a little tougher and we can build support in our community."

Susan DiBiase pointed out to the group that, while there is a large amount of support in the city for a tree ordinance, most residents don't want that ordinance to infringe on their private property rights.

"A lot of homeowners are concerned about retaining their rights and their ability to choose their own landscaping and they just don't want people meddling in their business," she said.

DiBiase would like to see an end to clear-cutting and grading practices that are hard on the water cycle. She took the group through a slide presentation showing them how clear cutting and paving can prevent water from returning to aquifers and springs.

"When the water drains off and goes into the storm ditches and into the creeks and out to the ocean, your flow later on is lower than it would have been. This thing that is happening to creeks is also happening to our springs. We're not getting the recharging of the springs that we want unless we keep our groundwater protected and part of the protection is the trees," said DiBiase.

She would like to see a requirement for narrower streets in Jacksonville to allow more water to return to the local springs. Citing a 2000 study by the Center for Woodland Protection, DiBiase said people often drive slower and more safely on narrow streets.

The group set a few priorities at the meeting, things they would like to see included in an ordinance. Among them were regulations for green belt areas or buffer zones in and around a piece of property, regulations for developments with a tree replacement plan and education for the community.

"I think our first tree ordinance ought to be just on public trees and work toward the private as we educate our public," said Norred. "And our education need not start with homeowners. It needs to start with the grammar school."

The two builders at the meeting, P.D. Pritchett and Sam Almaroad said they would like to see the city hire a full-time arborist. They have seen situations where trees they had planned to save had to be taken down because the utility departments dug too close to the tree, destroying the root system.

"I don't feel that it's right for the city to be able to send out two uneducated private citizens, I'm talking about uneducated in this field, or a park and recreation man that's been cutting grass," said Pritchett. "If they're going to implement this [tree ordinance], the city needs to get off its pocketbook and spend $80 to $90,000 a year and pay a man to come out and assess my trees and tell me what I can cut and what I can't cut."

Hayes Jackson said he would contact the Alabama Urban Forestry Association to learn what qualifications other municipalities are using to hire arborists or urban foresters and learn the cost.

"Some of these smaller communities actually share resources and have an urban forester that works one day in each community in an area," said Jackson.

The committee will continue the debate at their next meeting, May 12 in the city council chambers.