POSSIBLE IMPACT OF PROPOSED TREE ORDINANCE

To: Common Council
From: Travis Drake, Director of Public Works
Date: August 20, 2009
Re: Proposed Tree Ordinance and Policy

Pursuant to Mayor Kramer’s request, I am providing my view of the impacts of the proposed documents. While the proposed ordinance is very similar to the existing ordinance, the proposed policy is an entirely new document.
General Items:
• There is a need to coordinate the ordinance and the policy particularly in regards to the duties of the arborist / forester.
• It appears that a volunteer would have authority over all plantings on City lands.
• Procedures should be called out for appeal of the arborist decisions.

Particular Items
• “No equipment use within the drip line of the trees”. With many areas having full canopies over the street this will really limit the possibly for street work. It is also suggested that barrier fence be placed around the tree drip line for protection.
• “No material storage within the drip line or on the terraces.” I am not sure where the material could be stored. Complaints already abound with small amounts of storage on side streets. It is critical to efficient construction to have the need materials at hand.
• Tunneling and boring of utilities to reduce the disturbance of roots. This method of construction costs 2-3 times more than open cut. The City of Appleton has pursued tunneling and boring for some time. I have been unable to connect with their engineer as of this time but will continue to try to get some feed back from him.
• Reference is made to hand forming curb instead of machine slip forming to reduce impact on tree root close to the street. Slip form curb runs between $7 & $8 per foot. Hand form curb was $26.50 per foot in 2008. Both systems require excavation beyond the back of curb. The difference in the space needed varies with the contractor and the particular piece of equipment.
• “No change of terrace grade”. This makes it extremely difficult to change curb grade and therefore the ability to correct street drainage patterns.
• Discussions with contractors who have worked in communities with similar policies suggest that the actual added cost of compliance is in the 10% - 15% range. I don’t believe that we will actually know until we bid a project with the tree save alternative.