Builders can pay to avoid planting trees

Developers, businesses and homeowners in Los Angeles who are required by the city to replace or plant trees can instead apply to pay a fee to get out of the obligation under a new levy system approved Tuesday by the City Council.

The City Council voted 13 to 1 to create the fee, which officials say will raise money to fund tree planting in nearby areas. Backers say that several other cities, including San Francisco, have similar fees to pay for trees.

Several groups opposed the decision, urging the city to create a comprehensive urban forest plan before passing the fee, including a determination of which tree species is needed in each neighborhood.

“Without structure, the money collected by in-lieu fees is subject to mismanagement by city officials,” said Jacky Surber, a landscape designer who spoke at a news event organized by the Coalition to Preserve L.A. before Tuesday’s council hearing.

Paul Krekorian, the only council member to vote against the fee, also said the city needs a master plan to manage its trees. He questioned the disparity in the fee system, which will charge large developers $2,612 for a tree and smaller developers and homeowners $267.

City Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who chairs the Public Works and Gang Reduction Committee, said he would like to see a higher fee for homeowners but led his colleagues in voting for the plan. He said he supports the program because it addresses problems with the city’s tree replanting efforts.

Developers and homeowners typically are required to plant two trees for every tree removed in the public right of way, while developers are required to plant multiple trees at some multi-unit projects.

Under existing city regulations, developers and homeowners can buy a tree and send it to the city’s Bureau of Street Services to satisfy their replanting obligation. But in some cases, those trees have died before they could be replanted, Blumenfield said.

The city also receives species of trees that aren’t appropriate, officials said.

The fee is supported by business groups, including the Central City Assn. of Los Angeles. Shane Phillips, the group’s director of public policy, said at a hearing on the fee this year that it’s difficult to plant trees on small lots with large buildings.

“This actually will allow for a more rational approach to tree planting, where we can actually plan and plant entire corridors, rather than having trees planted just where development happens to take place and leaving everywhere else kind of blank,” Phillips said.

It’s unclear how much money the fee will bring in. A city report released this year estimated that about $618,060 could be raised over about eight or nine months.

Each applicant must get a determination from the city that it’s not feasible to plant trees on the site, Blumenfield’s office said. The councilman said the city’s priority is to replant on site rather than accept the fee.

The City Council must also approve the locations for those trees that are planted using the in-lieu fees under an amendment added to the ordinance. The ordinance also must return the the council for a second vote.