Clearing trees without replacing them in Arlington is about to become more expensive for developers.
Arlington City Council will vote Tuesday whether to raise the city鈥檚 tree preservation and mitigation fee to $200 per caliper inch 鈥� the diameter measurement of a tree's trunk a certain height above the soil. The city currently charges developers $100 per caliper inch of trees removed and not replaced if they do not meet certain city tree preservation requirements.
Money collected from the fees go toward the city鈥檚 Tree Replacement Fund, which is used to buy and plant trees in public spaces.
The current fee lags behind : Fort Worth charges $300 per caliper inch; Irving charges $195; and Grand Prairie and Kennedale charge $200. Arlington鈥檚 fee change would bring the city on par with the average regional fee for the region.
The adjustment would also mark the first time the city has adjusted the fee since its introduction in 1994.
鈥淨uite frankly, we鈥檙e probably a little bit behind schedule,鈥� said Kevin Charles, a city principal planner.
The vote will be the first step in council's planned revisitation of ordinances meant to preserve Arlington's unique ecosystem. Arlington houses part of the , which is home to trees including the post oak, blackjack oak and Texas oak. The trees are slow-growing and sensitive to development, which means replacing them is more difficult than preserving them.
"When you lose a stand of post oaks, it's almost impossible to replace them with a stand of post oaks," Charles said. "It is very, very important that we protect what we have left."
Sheri Capehart learned about the forest while on city council. She led the effort to educate other council members about the importance of preservation during her last few months in office.
鈥淲e have the largest remaining span of that forest 鈥� and that鈥檚 an asset that most cities would be proud to have, and we have done precious little to protect it,鈥� Capehart said.
Capehart and other city council members in 2020 that give developers 鈥渆xtra credit鈥� to preserve the oaks and extra penalties to clear them.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 go to Calloway鈥檚 and buy a blackjack oak 鈥� if they鈥檙e not allowed to stay and mature and drop their acorns, re-mature and continue to grow the first, reseed itself, well, shame on us,鈥� Capehart said.
Capehart and other council members at the time about raising the fee. They explored raising the fee three years ago, but received pushback from developers worried about costs during the height of the coronavirus pandemic and costs for landowners with thickly wooded property.
Through the women鈥檚 political affairs group MPAC Arlington, Capehart and other organization members asked council and candidates during this spring鈥檚 election to revisit the fee.
The group sent a follow-up letter in the past couple months.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very appreciative of them acknowledging the need, that after 30 years, the fee was certainly behind the curve,鈥� Capehart said.
City council members during an said adjusting the fee will not be enough to improve tree preservation efforts. Council members agreed Nov. 7 to send the discussion to a council committee.
Charles said the city has had limited success with the changes made in 2020, mostly due to the scarcity of developable, vacant land in town.
鈥淭he sample size is so small now because we don鈥檛 have the property that we originally had. The city of Arlington is 99 square miles, and I would tell you that probably the city of Arlington is probably 95% built out at this time,鈥� Charles said.
Got a tip? Email Kailey Broussard at kbroussard@kera.org.
四虎影院 is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider . Thank you.
