Amendments threatening Tree Ordinance

On November 2nd, San Antonio's City Council will vote on amendments to the Tree Preservation Ordinance written by City staff. We strongly urge you to attend this important meeting to show your support for trees.

Public Hearing and Vote on Tree Ordinance Amendments

DATE: Thursday, November 2, 2006
TIME: 9:00 am (to speak, you must sign in before 9:00)
PLACE: City Council Chambers, 103 Main Plaza
AGENDA: Item #6 on the City Council Agenda for 11/02/06
PARKING: Frost Bank Garage at Commerce and Main

Native trees in peril

Development industry groups are asking for major changes, including elimination of 9 native tree species and no less than two amendments that would make clear-cutting legal under the tree preservation ordinance.

Why is the ordinance being amended?

Staff put the ordinance into play last year with a package of amendments (see table below) drafted in response to development industry complaints and a shortage of actual tree preservation. Because of the many "alternatives" purposely written into the ordinance, developers have a multitude of ways to short-circuit the preservation standards.

Consequently, staff proposed relaxed preservation and construction standards in an attempt to reduce costs and mitigation fees paid to the City and encourage better compliance. Now, Deputy City Manager Jelynne Burley wants to hire an independent expert to completely rewrite the ordinance and facilitate another round of meetings to iron out differences between developers and the community.

Developers have even more in mind

With the door opened by staff amendments, the development industry rushed to submit its own radical menu of changes. During an April bus tour and reception for City Council members, developers handed out documents calling for, among other things, elimination of 9 native tree species and a halt to enforcement of the ordinance in the ETJ. Council was primed for the tour by publication of an op-ed piece by former Attorney-General Jim Mattox calling the ordinance "reckless", "fanatical" and a "monster" while claiming developers plant more trees than they remove.

While Council is presumably voting only on staff amendments November 2nd, development industry amendments could be offered at the same time if there is Council support for them.