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®luntar Y 1'//6/a t ree p1 an Page 8C THE REGIST2: draws fire TREES ■ Split vote: The Continued from Page 1C Jan Staszewskl, the city's urban for - council decides not to ester, also recommended voluntary compliance. "I'm being pragmatic as require preservation of opposed to being a purist," he said. "heritage" trees. "These are tough (economic) times for the city," Other cities with regulations re- By JEFF WRIGHT quiring tree preservation have found • The Register -Guard them to be ineffective when they can't be enforced because of limited staff A tree management plan for Eu• and money, he said. gene has been gutted as a result of the City Council's decision to encourage Staszewski said the plan's adoption rather than require that property own- is a positive step because It promotes ers and developers preserve healthy public education about tree preserve - trees, a longtime Tree Commission tion. "Once they have the right infor• member charged Thursday. mation, most people will make the "They might as well have saved right choice, which is saving good, two years (in preparing the plan) if healthy trees In most instances," he said. they weren't going to put some teeth into it," said Mary Bentsen, who Jacqueline Chama, the tree com - stepped down from the tree commis- mission's vice chairwoman, said the sion this year. "They've effectively council's original charge to create a gutted any change in the way we pro- plan that assures tree preservation test trees in this city." isn't possible without some regulation. She . said she wasn't surprised by Council members and city officials, Wednesday's council vote, "given the however, defend the adopted plan as economic and political times we're an Important tool for educating the in." public and encouraging volunteer ef- forts in tree preservation. Chama said she and other tree ad vocates were disappointed by the vote Besides, they say, now is not the of mayoral candidate Bascom, given time to add to the city's regulatory du. Bascom's longstanding support of tree ties — not when the city is planning to issues and work on the tree commis- reduce other services as it struggles to sion. • close a projected $9 million deficit in next year's budget. Bascom said her campaign played no role in her vote. She said she feared On a 5-4 vote, with Mayor Jeff Mil- that the council might not adopt any ler casting the decisive vote, the coun- tree plan at all, and considers Wednes- cil on Wednesday adopted an urban day's vote a victory because It places forest management plan that calls for the city on record as promoting the voluntary preservation of "heritage" planting and retaining of trees. trees and other trees on private prop. Bascom said she balked at re uir- erty ing tree preservation because of the Voting against the plan were Shawn regulatory costs involved — a point of Boles, Debra Ehrman, Randy Mac- • view shared by Ehrman, who favored Donald and Paul Nicholson. Boles was mandatory preservation for heritage alone in supporting mandatory protec- trees only, tion for trees on private property. The other three joined him in pressing for t ext have a very hard time in the mandatory protection of heritage context of our whole (budget•balanc- trees, roughly defined as those trees ing) process to add on a new major older than the city's founding. workload with no money for it," Ehr- man said. "I don't like starting things Joining the mayor in voting for vol- without being able to pay for them." untary compliance were council mem- • bers Ruth Bascom, Bobby Green, Kaye Bentsen, the former tree commis - Robinette and Roger Rutan, sion member, said she's disappointed The city has an estimated 200,000 by the council's priorities. • trees, including perhaps 200 heritage "It's our trees that give us our trees. The tree plan's major sections sense of permanence, of shelter, of re- address tree selection, trees on public spect for prior activities," she said. lands, trees on private property, heri• "It's been our way of telling visitors tage trees and education. what's important to us." As approved, the plan requires that the council review its decision in favor TTY • --- — of voluntary compliance in two years. The plan pertains only to trees inside the city limits — excluding those that are outside the city but within its ur- ban growth boundaries. The plan grew out of concerns about unregulated logging in the south hills just outside the city. Tree advo- cates also pushed for the plan after a landowner felled two heritage trees on Coburg Road north of Willakenzie Road in the spring of 1991. At a public hearing in April, speak- ers lined up 3 -to -1 against mandatory preservation. The Lane County Home Builders Association and the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce both have pressed for voluntary compli- ance. City bodies were divided. The tree commission recommended mandatory preservation while the planning com - micc {nn_ -- ' + -_ -... _...., •