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REGISTER -GUARD, Eugene, Oregon, Monday, May 11, 1992 Page 11A Tree p lan issues spin complex web By TIM VOLLMER expenditure of hundreds of thousands of dollars for additional city staff to adminis- T HE CITY OF EUGENE is often ter a mandatory approach was neither noted for its livability. A healthy necessary nor fiscally responsible. Some population of trees, well main- were primarily concerned with private tained and rich in diversity, on both public costs of tree surveys and mapping re- and private property, certainly contrib- quired under the mandatory approach. utes to that livability. There were others who said the city's plan The city of Eugene at present exerts did not take into account the liability control over trees and other vegetation on borne by private property owners re- private property within city limits through quired to keep trees they judged unsafe. its Tree Preservation Ordinance, Hillside Some said that there was inadequate pro - Development Regulations, Planned Unit vision for compensation in the event there Development and Site Review processes, was a "taking" of property value in the Land Division Regulations, and Minimum interest of tree protection. Yards and Landscaping requirements. Still others said that the plan was deli- The regulations are not wholly consistent cient for failure to address fire hazards with one another, they lead to arbitrary connected with preserving Douglas fir and decisions by city officials that can signifi- pine thickets in residential areas; or they cantly affect a landowner's use of proper - saw contradiction in a mandate to pre - ty and the cost of improvements, and, in serve the maximum number of trees jux- the eyes of some, still fail to provide ade- taposed with the Metropolitan Area Gen - quate protection for sylvan values. So it is eral Plan's emphasis on compact urban appropriate that an effort be made to growth. The voluntary approach would bring order to the city's treatment of trees sidestep these difficult problems. in the urban environment. It is the HBA's position that, to be ef- City staff drafted a comprehensive fective, the UFMP must have broad public plan for urban trees last summer under support. It should address all major issues the aegis of the city's urban forester, Jan raised by those most concerned about tree Staszewski, and titled it the Urban Forest protection as well as by those who are Management Plan. The first draft of the equally concerned about public safety, UFMP was studied by the Eugene Tree private property rights and by the costs Commission and later submitted to the associated with regulation. public for comment. The draft plan and To be practical, the UFMP must de- subsequent revisions ultimately were the scribe in clear, unambiguous terms the subject of three public hearings: before community's standards by which tree the Tree Commission on Oct. 10, 1991, the planting and removal are to be judged. It Planning Commission on Dec. 3, 1991, and should stipulate that interpretations of the City Council on April 13, 1992. these standards by city officials can be The Home Builders Association of appealed. Lane County followed this lengthy and ex- Given the financial constraints that are pensive planning process closely. As the likely to remain with the city for some representative of the local home building time, the UFMP must identify high priori - industry, the HBA was concerned about ty issues and logically support the choices. the effectiveness and practicality of the It should identify the lowest cost options UFMP, its public and private costs, and for achieving the desired results. the impact the plan and its implementa- tion would have on home construction and In addition, related issues such as the remodeling. These three areas of concern way in which additional regulatory or pri- are intertwined. vale development costs become barriers to affordable housing must be accounted Two policies in the draft plan dealing for within the plan. The citizens have eve - with trees on private property drew the ry right to expect the City Council to con - lion's share of public comment. They are sider the UFMP within the broader per - Policy 12.0 (healthy, well -sited trees) and spective of established city priorities like . Policy 17.0 (heritage trees). Most of the affordable housing. discussion regarding these two policies has focused on the choice between the Trees do contribute to a community's words "encourage" and "require," or put livability, but livability also depends on a another way, between a voluntary or man- host of other factors, including the avail - datory approach to the preservation of ability of decent and affordable housing. trees on privately owned land within the Livability also can be described as a local city limits. A majority, approximately 70 climate free of an oppressive municipal percent, of those testifying at each of the tax burden and unnecessary regulation. three public hearings favored the volun- All of these issues surface in the ongoing tary approach. examination of the city's proper role in protecting the urban forest. The voluntary approach was espoused by different people for different reasons. Tim Vollmer is executive officer of the Some said that private property rights Home Builders Association of Lane Cover should be sacrosanct. Others said that the ty.