Developers

can be jailed for wanton tree destruction under

Fayetteville's new, toughened tree protection

ordinance approved by City Council Monday.

The

new law carries penalties of up to a $1,000 fine

or 12 months in prison for each offense.

Additional

administrative penalties also are available to

the city, including temporary stop work orders,

or if the matter is more severe, moratoriums of

up to six months.

Under

the new law, developers are required to submit

tree protection plans along with their site

plans, and are not allowed to remove any trees

over eight inches in diameter, or four inchers

for ornamental trees, until the removal is

approved as part of the overall plan.

Developers

also must preserve at least 100 tree density

units, defined as inches of diameter at breast

height, for each acre of developed property, not

counting buffers. If the demands of the

construction project force them to remove too

many trees, then they have to replace them as

part of the landscaping process, and the

replacement trees must be approved by the city

using a set of 12 requirements. There is also a

list of accepted species for replacement.

Council's

vote Monday brings to a close a three-month

discussion aimed at preserving more of the city's

tree canopy of older, more mature native trees

and preventing developers from stripping

construction sites of native trees to replace

them with small ornamentals that will take years

to grow.

After

developers in October complained that the law may

be too harsh, City Council delayed action on the

ordinance and formed a committee of developers

and citizens to work with the city in refining

the new law.

At

the same time, council imposed a moratorium on

development to prevent loss of trees during the

discussion period.

After

unanimously approving the new law, Council Monday

lifted the moratorium 4-1. Councilman Bill Talley

voted against resuming development, saying he

wanted to know more about how many new

developments are waiting in the wings before

taking that step.

While

Fayetteville has been examining its tree

protection rules, Fayette County officials have

been doing the same.

The

county's new tree protection law is on the County

Commission agenda for Jan. 27.

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