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Winston-Salem / Forsyth County Tree Ordinance Committee
Summary of Committee Actions
May 2006
1. Drafted a committee charter. The charter is the document that defines and governs the committee’s deliberation process in connection with discussing and developing a tree ordinance.
2. Committee members generated a list of information they felt would be important to gather to guide them in their decision making.
June 2006
1. Reviewed and discussed the City-County Buffer Yard ordinance with respect to implications for a tree ordinance
2. Reviewed and discussed the City-County landscape ordinance with respect to implications for a tree ordinance
3. Reviewed the potential purchase of Citygreen software by the City-County Planning Department
July 2006
1. Reviewed and discussed the City-County stormwater regulations and implications for a tree ordinance
2. Heard a report on septic fields and lot sizes. The question posed by this committee was whether there is flexibility requiring minimum lot size and lot configuration to provide space for trees and septic fields.
3. Heard a report on conservation of tree canopy and implications for a tree ordinance.
August 2006
1. Completed the review of the City-County landscape standards. Drafted a list of concerns and opportunities to address in the development of a tree conservation ordinance.
2. Continued the review of the City-County buffer yard standards. Began drafting a list of concerns and opportunities address in the development of a tree conservation ordinance.
September 2006
1. Heard a report on a baseline assessment that could be contracted through American Forests. Assigned further investigation to a subcommittee.
2. Completed the review of the City-County buffer yard standards. Drafted a list of concerns and opportunities to address in the development of a tree conservation ordinance.
3. Reviewed standards for revegetation of slopes (Section 5-7(A)(1 and 2) and (B)(2)); floodway fringe limits of encroachment (Section 2-3(B)(3)(b)); density bonus for steep slopes (Section 2-5.60 Planned Residential Development); street standards governing vehicle pedestrian circulation (Section (Section 3-13 (C)(3)(d) Street trees for new Residential Subdivisions); and Salem Lake Watershed Protection (Chapter C III). Drafted a list of concerns and opportunities to address in the development of a tree conservation ordinance.
4. Developed joint criteria to evaluate existing ordinances.
October 2006
1. Made changes to the committee charter.
2. Identified and discussed the primary interests of the committee members and their constituents. The interest statements will be used for evaluating options or methods to achieve tree conservation objectives.
3. Made a recommendation to pursue the purchase of Citygreen software package and assessment. Charged the subcommittee to develop a proposal for presentation to the City Council and County Commission.
November 2006
1. The committee specified a framework for a tree conservation program.
2. Generated a list of options for the objective of maintaining trees in a healthy condition.
January 2007
1. Developed options for the objective of conserving trees to prevent (or reduce) loss or depletion of trees.
2. Developed options for the objective of establishing and maintaining age and species diversity.
3. Amended the committee charter to reflect the clarification of the committee’s charge by the Winston-Salem City Council.
February 2007
1. Developed recommendations for the objective, “Maintain Trees in a Healthy Condition.” Submitted recommendations to planning staff for first draft of ordinance language for this objective.
2. Reviewed options for the objective, “Conserve Trees to Prevent (or Reduce) Loss or Depletion.”
March 21, 2007
1. Generated options under Objective #2 – Conserve Trees to Prevent (Reduce)
Loss or Depletion
2. Appointed a subcommittee to arrange a field visit for the purpose of
evaluating specific alternatives for conserving trees, and evaluating how
existing landscape and buffer yard ordinances affect tree conservation at that site.
April 11, 2007
1. Reviewed two ongoing development sites to evaluate how proposed tree
conservation options and existing landscape and buffer yard ordinances affect
tree conservation at each site.
May 2, 2007
1. Settled on a Temporary Goal Statement: Protect the tree canopy in ways that
are compatible with continued growth.
2. Changed Option 2.2 to read: Target municipal and county properties for
woodland and forest conservation.
3. Dropped Option 2.4.4: Incorporate selective grading practices as opposed to
mass grading.
August 2007
1. Reviewed and discussed alternative proposals for ordinance content.
2. Agreed to common principles related to potential ordinance language.
3. Made a recommendation that data be gathered to identify baseline free
coverage for Forsyth County.
4. Decided to consider basic distinctions between the following types of land
developments: Single family residential; Multi-family residential; Planned
residential developments; Major subdivisions; Commercial; Industrial; Office Parks
5. Agreed that Tree Save Area doesn’t necessarily mean that everything in the
area be saved, but the incentive should be there preserve to get to the TSA goal.
6. Agreed that the provisional minimum TSA for planned residential
developments will be 12 percent.
7. Agreed that all the other land use classes should be considered separately
when recommending tree conservation requirements
September 2007
1. Made the following recommendation: /We recommend that the elected body
should allocate reasonable resources in order to gather accurate information
about the current tree cover in Forsyth County so that a tree cover base line
can be established.
2. Agreed to the following _tentative_ wording on tree save areas for
residential developments:
a. 12% minimum Tree Save Area applies across all residential single family
(RS) zoning districts.
b. The Tree Save Area shall be defined as any tree cover on the tract left
undisturbed or planted to meet the 12% minimum. The TSA is a weighted measure
(see item e, below) of the square footage encompassed by the exterior boundary
of the drip line plus five feet (see City of Charlotte) of any tree or tree
clusters left undisturbed or planted on the tract.
c. No restrictions on location or configuration of a TSA apply on the tract as
long as the weighted 12% minimum is reached.
d. Incentives to preserve high quality trees and tree stands will be built into
the weighted measure of percentage tree cover.
e. The weighted measure will be calculated using “quality coefficients”
applied to the measure of tree coverage that are based on such quality
determinants as whether the tree is existing or planted, tree size (dbh),
species, cluster characteristics, etc. A draft version of the quality
coefficients will be developed by City/County staff.
