Testify on October 29 on proposed City of Portland tree code amendments!
On October 29, 2020, at 2 p.m., make your voices heard, remotely, on strengthening Portland’s tree code when the Portland City Council holds a hearing on the City staff’s proposals for two amendments to the tree code. Click here to testify live or in writing and learn more about the proposals.
The proposed amendments, with our comments for or against:
Remove the exemptions on tree preservation for general industrial (IG1), central employment (EX), and central commercial (CX) zones. We support this!
Retain the tree preservation and tree density exemptions in areas zoned as heavy industrial (IH). We do NOT support this! The City is concerned about complying with a state industrial land inventory standard that ties land acreage to jobs; we believe the City's analysis here is not convincing and that removing these exemptions is crucial to meeting the City's equity and climate preparedness goals.
Reduce the threshold from 36 inches to 20 inches in diameter at which inch-per-inch fees in lieu of tree preservation begin, for development on privately owned sites. We support this!
Trees for Life Oregon aims for much broader tree code reforms and will argue vociferously for them in the near future. For now, it’s crucial to support these two amendments!!