NEWMAN

[email protected]

Is

Fayette County's tree ordinance prompting an

adverse effect on residential tree retention?

The

real possibility that developers might clear-cut

sites to get around the tree ordinance surfaced

at Thursday evening's meeting of the county's

Planning Commission.

Under

the current ordinance, lots can be legally

clear-cut before development, according to

Chairman Bob Harbison. Apparently, land owners

are being asked by developers to cut trees before

they purchase and subdivide the land into lots.

Residential lots are exempt from the tree

ordinance. This eliminates the need for

developers to mark specimen trees, which

currently includes 22-inch pine trees.

The

commissioners said they did not realize the

extent of controls they were putting on

developers with respect to the time it takes to

tag numerous pine trees, which most people do not

value, nor the possibility of the clear-cutting.

They agreed to take another look at the ordinance

and determine whether language interpretation or

enforcement was the source of the problem.

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