The Shasta Lake City Council approved a new Tree Conservation Ordinance at a City Council meeting
on October 6.
The 2004 tree ordinance was enacted following wholesale cutting of an entire hillside of all trees and the outrage led to a new tree ordinance.
The old ordinance required planting of 3 new trees for every tree removed over 10 inches in diameter. This led to problems of where to plant the trees when large amounts of trees were required to be planted and then a required variance from the Planning Commission to allow an exception from the ordinance.
The new ordinance allows for payment of a mitigation fee in lieu of planting new trees. Unfortunately, the ordinance does not distinguish between a 10-inch wide tree and a 30 or 40-inch wide tree. This will allow a developer to cut down any size tree and either plant three saplings in 15-gallon containers (At $50 a tree wholesale) or pay an as yet to be determined mitigation fee. As this mitigation fee change was done at the instigation of developers, expect few trees to be saved and little money in the City coffers. Any trees planted are only required to live for five years, another bone tossed to developers. If the trees die after five years, more land to pave.
In an ironic note, Jim Hamilton, who is a consultant Shasta Lake hired to revise the ordinance was Director of Development Services in 2006 when the Redding Tree Management Ordinance was developed by a panel of real estate development interests and planning staff, one of the weakest and loophole ridden ordinances I am aware of. The proposed ordinance will result in the gradual denuding of the hills and flatlands of Shasta Lake. Thus, a win for developers and a loss for the citizens and trees of the City of Shasta Lake.
The vote was 4 to 1 with Mayor Janice Powell the only vote supporting Shasta Lake trees.