As Council President Eric Garcetti so kindly reminds us in his blog yesterday, L.A. is NOT a “paved-paradise caricature of itself.” As it turns out, L.A. has more trees than roads, imported cars, and celebrity hangers-on: more than 20 million trees to be exact. Who knew?
Anyway, the City Council passed the Protected Tree Ordinance last night to make sure that the celebrity hangers-on don’t EVER outnumber the trees in our beloved city. What this means to you and me is that with this new ordinance you can’t go all Texas Chainsaw and start hacking up your yard.
Our newly revised and revitalized Protected Tree Ordinance regulates the removal of oak, walnut, bay and sycamore tree species. (The original 1980 ordinance only regulated oak trees.) Property owners can still remove trees, but they must seek a permit for trees over a four-inch trunk width. And there are penalties for developers who ignore or flout the process. While some homeowners may find happiness in a nice concrete yard, most of us agree that trees are a nice “upgrade” to any home and should be left there. It seems that the City Council agrees. After all we certainly do find our view beautiful when the hillsides are all green after a nice rain. Awww.
· Protecting Our Native Trees [Eric Garcetti’s blog]
· City’s Tree Ordinance Branching Out [L.A. Daily News]