Medford public tree ordinance at the finish line

A new, reworked Public Tree Ordinance was finally approved by the City Council Committee of the Whole Tuesday, July 14, bringing an end to more than six years worth of work – almost.

City Council President Zac Bears said they’d been working on the Public Tree Ordinance in one form or another since 2019, “so let’s finish it.” And they did, except for one question raised by Councilor Justin Tseng.

First, the history

Councilor Anna Callahan said the Public Tree ordinance is one of three tree-related ordinances the council is working on aimed at protecting the city’s trees and making sure there is a “beautiful tree canopy here in Medford.”

The public tree ordinance essentially asks the city to uphold what was written out in Medford’s urban tree management plan, she said. According to Callahan, the management plan talks about the removal and replacement of public trees, notification, and fines for those who remove them without permission. It also spells out definitions for public trees, talks about the Tree Fund, and outlines “a number of things that basically help our city to follow through with our ability to support and sustain our tree canopy,” Callahan said. 

To see the full plan, check out Medford Resilient Urban Forest Management Plan.

A question from Councilor Tseng

While Callahan offered up only one tiny change, which generated no discussion or concern, Council Justin Tseng did have one sticking point in regards to fines for anyone who removes a  public tree, or trees, without permission. 

Callahan said enforcement is up to the tree warden or their designee, and the fine would be compensating the city for the cost of replacing the canopy that was lost.

“There’s a little bit more in there about how it’s calculated, but that’s essentially what is being talked about,” Callahan said, adding, “this is only if you’re chopping down a tree that is on a sidewalk or in a public park.”

Tseng wondered, however, what would happen if an older, large tree was cut down and for whatever reason was only replaced with one or two trees when it would have taken four to cover the loss of the canopy created by the original tree.

“Do you know if the fine would be determined by the number of trees of the canopy coverage or by how many trees are actually planted to replace that tree being cut,” he asked. 

Callahan said she did not know the answer but that the language of the ordinance, which was also approved by the Department of Public Works and K.P. Law, was pretty clear.

“The compensation shall be calculated by measuring the canopy cover using recent aerial photography, determining the number of young trees that would have the equivalent canopy coverage and the sum of what you described,” she said. 

Tseng said he thought there could be trouble down the road if a clarification was not made. Tseng put together two lines, which say essentially the same thing, that the compensation shall be calculated by measuring the canopy cover using recent aerial photography, determining the number of young trees that would have the equivalent canopy coverage. Then the fine will be based on the cost of preparing the site and planting the given number of trees, including staff time as well as watering and monitoring the replacement trees. 

Sarah Gerould from Trees Medford, which worked closely with the administration, urged the council to accept the original language in the penalty section of the ordinance.

“It was envisioned as a compensation for the city for the entire canopy that was removed … In other words, if only one small tree is planted, then the intent is not fulfilled,” she said. 

The committee declined to choose between Tseng’s two options, voting instead to send the ordinance to the Council by way of the DPW and K.P. Law and letting them decide how best to amend it.

“Honestly, my preference is what they prefer,” Tseng said.