Tree Ordinance Modernization

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Overview

Tree Ordinance Modernization is an initiative to update the Municipal Tree Ordinance to be used to carry out the recommendations of the adopted Syracuse Urban Forest Master Plan (2020) over the next 20 years. 

Trees are an essential part of a healthy, livable city. Trees are also city infrastructure, just as much as roads and utilities. Therefore, to be recognized as the valuable infrastructure components they are, public trees need to be treated as such by not only actions and policies, but in municipal codes and regulations.

Goals / Objectives

The goal of this initiative is to analyze current city codes and ordinances impacting trees, compile and review data, and solicit stakeholder and community feedback to develop a new, updated Municipal Tree Ordinance. The primary goals of the Syracuse Urban Forest Master Plan are to:

1. Grow canopy equitably
2. Improve urban forest safety and resiliency 
3. Connect the entire community to the urban forest

Objectives:

  • Develop definitions to clarify and support the Municipal Tree Ordinance.
  • Establish basic provisions for the City’s authority.
  • Develop procedural regulations that explain the process for the administration and enforcement of the Municipal Tree Ordinance, the design-review process, administrative approvals, City Planning, Commission approvals, Board of Municipal Tree Appeals approvals, public hearings, and outline the regulations that govern grandfathered nonconforming uses and structures.
  • Develop regulations and design standards in the right-of-way.
  • Develop regulations and design standards on private property as it relates to landscaping, buffers, parking, soil amendment and rooting volumes under hardscape, as well as protection standards for heritage trees, woodlands and primary forests.
  • Align with relevant city ordinances including Zoning, Building Codes, and Land Use.
  • Define performance standards for tree protection and replacement.
  • Clarify and update the permitting process.
  • Clarify and update enforcement procedures and penalties for non-compliance.
  • Additions or improvements to elements in the Syracuse Zoning Ordinance and Administrative Manual for design standards.
  • Standardize mitigation standards and process for loss of public trees due to development, damage, or illegal removal.
  • Establish tree and forest assessment standards for site plan review.
  • Develop standards for tree removal and disposal practices that prioritize reutilization of trees in solid wood form.
  • Facilitate increased public awareness of, and participation in Municipal Tree reviews and processes.
  • Increase ways to use technology to provide and receive information from the public.

Background

The City’s current Municipal Tree Ordinance was adopted in 1958 and modified in 1981. With limited tree protection and mitigation measures for public and private land, or design standards, this ordinance requires modernizing to reflect the City’s current vision for urban forestry as outlined in the Urban Forest Master Plan. The Urban Forest Master Plan serves as a roadmap for how the Syracuse community can work together to protect, preserve and grow our urban tree canopy.