Ask City Council to close the "ag exemption" loophole
April 7, 2009

Please contact your City Council member and ask them to close the tree ordinance loopholes which allow clear-cutting of land before it is sold for development. Although loophole-closing amendments were sent to a committee for consideration, they were voted down and are currently going nowhere. Council should adopt these amendments immediately and put a stop to the tree clearing.

Under the current ordinance, landowners who claim an "agricultural operation" are exempt from the tree ordinance. This loophole was exploited in the widely-publicized case of the Village at West Pointe, which prompted action by Mayor Phil Hardberger and Councilwoman Diane Cibrian. In October, Cibrian spearheaded a request for Council consideration co-signed by Hardberger, Philip A. Cortez, Lourdes Galvan, and Mary Alice P. Cisneros.

In addition, the ordinance exempts lots where construction of a single-family house has been completed. This loophole has been exploited by owners of large "estate" residences or ranch houses.

Citizens clamored for closure of such loopholes when the City began revising its ordinance in 2000. When the 2003 revisions failed to stop preemptive clear-cutting, Council voted in 2006 to close the loophole, but that amendment was later rescinded. Subsequently, Council voted against closing the loophole, explaining the issue "needed more study".