Town officials seek

public input on forest plan
By Scott Nicholson

The town of Boone has a plan designed to sprout new ideas, leave more trees and grow better design principles for its “urban forest.”

Town officials were scheduled to present an Urban Forest Master Management Plan on Wednesday, Dec. 3 for public input and to explain long-term tree-protection goals.

Brian Johnson, urban design specialist for the town, said the plan has been in development for more than a year.

“This will assess our town as an urban forest,” Johnson said. “We’re really going to focus on canopy coverage, particularly in replacing the trees we have lost.”

The town wants input from the community, particularly developers, in creating a plan that has flexibility yet preserves one of the town’s best environmental assets.

“We want to look at tree preservation and find a good solution there, and ask ‘What is the responsibility of the developer, as far as tree preservation?’” Johnson said.

The town is also not imposing a unilateral mandate, either, officials say; but is looking at its own tree management and developing a plan to replace its Bradford pear trees downtown and reviewing other town-owned properties for forest and canopy enhancement.

The plan will be presented to stake holders, tree-care companies, landscapers and members of town boards as well as developers and landowners. “We want lots of public input,” Johnson said.

“We’re being reactive and proactive,” Johnson said. “We’ve had a master tree plan in the past but that was basically for street trees.”

The plan will also review the standards for “historic trees” that have merited protection and look at ways to broaden the definition or allow developers more options to offset the loss of large or older trees.

“It’s managing what we have and also assessing the kind of canopy we’ve lost in the past and how aggressive we are on what we need to replant and where we need to replant to get that canopy back,” Johnson said.

“Most of these are residential areas and we’ll look at protection measures in residential areas instead of property under development.”

Johnson said more flexibility would help not only appearance, but environmental health as well, since trees enhance air quality and sediment control in addition to providing shade.

The plan may orient toward native species and a listing of the more desirable tree types instead of relying on an ordinance that requires one-for-one replacement of trees.

“We’ve always had tree preservation,” Johnson said.

“We really want to take a look at the strongest preservation we can have and still be fair to developers.”

Tree preservation has mostly targeted trees 25 inches or greater in diameter, but those might not be the most significant trees on a property or the ones that best serve the town’s urban forest.

“We’ve never looked at the possibility of saving maybe more smaller trees but larger areas, which may have more value than one larger tree and give the developer more flexibility in designing the project,” Johnson said.

Johnson said studies show that partially wooded properties bring up to 20 percent more land value, as well as numerous benefits in air quality, stormwater runoff, and other key protections. “The stronger tree canopy you have, the more benefits you get,” Johnson said.

The Urban Forest Master Management Plan will be established using a similar process to the one updating the Land Use Master Plan.

The stated goals are to “provide strategies, goals, policies, standards and actions to protect, enhance, expand, and preserve the tree canopy for the benefit of the community”; “coordinate and improve town tree management in an equitable, economic and sustainable manner”; and “provide a valuable strategic planning tool, serve as a roadmap in recovering the loss of tree canopy, and become part of the town’s Comprehensive Plan.”

There are two input sessions scheduled for Dec. 3.

The first will be from 1 to 4 p.m., an “open door,” informal session, while the second is from 7 to 9 p.m. as a group session for questions, answers and input. Both will be held at the Boone Town Council Chambers at 1500 Blowing Rock Road.