Adopt a tree preservation or native landscaping ordinance.
Best Practice of this action
Rating Guideline
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Enact an ordinance that preserves/replaces trees and soils and encourages resilient, non-invasive landscaping. Report protection of large wooded areas by means of zoning or development review under BPA 10.3, report landscape-level resilient plant cover under BPA 10.6, and pollinator-friendly landscaping ordinances under BPA 18.5. |
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Address tree preservation and soils conservation on both public and private lands; require amended soils in post-construction or reconstruction areas with compost; enact requirements such as removing requirements to establish turf grass (this does not refer to removing maintenance standards for turf grass) and permitting climate-resilient, non-invasive, diverse native landscaping throughout the city. |
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Adopt quantitative performance metrics; require approval of a tree preservation plan before development (tree inventory, tree saving zones, soil preservation measures, tree replacement for damaged/destroyed trees at a 2:1 ratio or greater). |
Resources
- On the GreenStep model ordinances page see Landscaping and Maintenance of Vegetation, Natural Resources Performance Standards and Model Landscape Ordinance for a Municipal Zoning Code. The zoning code language, developed by ORANGE Environmental and reviewed by state organizations, regulates the review process for new developments. Based upon Burnsville and Minneapolis code, topics covered include soil and tree health, biodiversity, water infiltration, irrigation, sun and wind orientation, parking lots, and industrial buffer yards.
- For example, in 2005 Bemidji adopted an ordinance that requires tree planting in parking lots, and some cities have a replacement policy for cut/lost trees, such as replacement at a 3:1 ratio, and specify the replacement tree caliper.
- For example, in 2022 Edina adopted an ordinance that include “heritage trees” (a protected deciduous tree above 30” dbh or coniferous tree taller than 30’) in the Tree Protection Ordinance which requires the tree to be replaced at 100% of the dbh or feet or a payment fee of $500 per dbh/feet below the 100% removed.
- MN Dept. of Natural Resources community forestry web pages include Guidelines for Developing and Evaluating Tree Ordinances and Conserving Wooded Areas in Developing Communities.
- See climate change predictions for individual tree species (Climate Change Response Network).
- For actions and resources related to street tree standards, greening parking lots, native landscaping, and woodlands, see GreenStep best practices #11 (Living Streets), #17 (Stormwater Management), #18 (Parks & Trails), and #10 (Conservation Design), respectively.
- See the City of Edina’s Stormwater Ordinance (4.34.F.1.f.) that includes soil management strategies for construction projects with sites greater than 10,000sf of land disturbance.
- For resources related to compost use, see BPA 17.5.
Order Number
5
Action Type
Finite