By DAVE HAMRICK
dhamrick@thecitizennews.com

Developers can be jailed for wanton tree destruction under Fayetteville's new, toughened tree protection ordinance approved by City Council Monday.

The new law carries penalties of up to a $1,000 fine or 12 months in prison for each offense.

Additional administrative penalties also are available to the city, including temporary stop work orders, or if the matter is more severe, moratoriums of up to six months.

Under the new law, developers are required to submit tree protection plans along with their site plans, and are not allowed to remove any trees over eight inches in diameter, or four inchers for ornamental trees, until the removal is approved as part of the overall plan.

Developers also must preserve at least 100 tree density units, defined as inches of diameter at breast height, for each acre of developed property, not counting buffers. If the demands of the construction project force them to remove too many trees, then they have to replace them as part of the landscaping process, and the replacement trees must be approved by the city using a set of 12 requirements. There is also a list of accepted species for replacement.

Council's vote Monday brings to a close a three-month discussion aimed at preserving more of the city's tree canopy of older, more mature native trees and preventing developers from stripping construction sites of native trees to replace them with small ornamentals that will take years to grow.

After developers in October complained that the law may be too harsh, City Council delayed action on the ordinance and formed a committee of developers and citizens to work with the city in refining the new law.

At the same time, council imposed a moratorium on development to prevent loss of trees during the discussion period.

After unanimously approving the new law, Council Monday lifted the moratorium 4-1. Councilman Bill Talley voted against resuming development, saying he wanted to know more about how many new developments are waiting in the wings before taking that step.

While Fayetteville has been examining its tree protection rules, Fayette County officials have been doing the same.

The county's new tree protection law is on the County Commission agenda for Jan. 27.