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Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Tree Ordinance Committee
BACKGROUND: As Forsyth County urbanizes, more and more natural systems and vegetative cover are lost to impervious surfaces such as rooftops, driveways, parking areas, and streets. Recognizing the tangible benefits that trees provide in the urban environment, citizens of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, North Carolina have expressed in interest in preserving trees in their communities. Furthermore, they realized that in order to protect and enhance their valuable tree resources, a tree ordinance was needed to provide the authorization and standards for managing and protecting the forest canopy.
An attempt was made in 2004-05 to amend the City-County Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) to include a tree ordinance. An initial proposal, developed with support from the Community Appearance Commission, the Winston-Salem Association of Homebuilders and Realtors, and others, was brought before the Winston-Salem City Council and Forsyth County Board of Commissioners in early 2005. Other interest groups in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, having limited opportunity to participate in and comment on the proposed tree ordinance, chose not to support it. In response to the lack of unified support by many important interest groups and unknown city-county staffing needs, the two governing bodies remanded the ordinance back to the City-County Planning Department. The Department was tasked to convene a group of stakeholders who will work collaboratively toward the development of tree ordinance that can be supported by all interest groups. With a grant from the Winston-Salem Foundation, the Winston-Salem Neighborhood Alliance serves as a co-convenor, funding the facilitation of this process.
The purpose of the stakeholder process is to enable the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Tree Ordinance Stakeholder committee to work in collaboration toward the development of tree conservation and maintenance standards within the City-County Unified Development Ordinances.There are two major goals of the stakeholder process: 1) to provide the committee with a process of discovery, information sharing and education; 2) to provide the committee with a direct role in negotiating agreements that resolve the issues and balance the interests relative to a tree ordinance in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County.
Related Links
City-County Planning Board Anniversary Event, Oct. 17
International Association of Arboriculture, Tree Ordinance Guidelines
City of Winston-Salem Unified Development Ordinances
City of CharlotteTree Ordinance
NC State University, Forestry Extension Ordinance Project
North Carolina Division of Forest Resources Urban Forestry Program
National Association of Homebuilders (search on keyword 'trees')
National Arbor Day Foundation, Building with Trees
Louisiana State University, Greenlaws Website, Landscape Ordinances Research
Site,
City of Palo Alto, CA, Urban Forestry Program