WHAT IS HIGH VALUE? Eau Claire City Council, in partnership with City Planning, City Forestry Department, and the Zoning Policy Advisory Committee (ZPAC) approved a "high value tree list" to be utilized in the Century Code Update and community-coined "tree ordinance." The list includes 31 varying tree species, including sugar maples, hawthorn trees, and others.

During the latest Eau Claire City Council legislative meeting — held at 4pm on Tuesday, Sept. 23 — council unanimously approved amendments to the Century Code Update and Schedule of Fees and Licenses.

These amendments included a documented “high value tree list” and a proposed fee-in-lieu of $100 per inch of tree removed and replaced in accordance with the Land Development Ordinance (LDO).

At the Monday, Sept. 22 Public Hearing meeting, City Planning Manager Ned Noel reintroduced the Century Code amendments to council. Noel shared the completed list of high value trees — guided by Matt Staudenmaier, Eau Claire’s city forester.

“The high value tree species list was a point of debate, and we finalized that with our city forester,” Noel said. “Those (tree) species are all that we consider a ‘high value tree’ that would be subject to the tree preservation rules.”

The 31 tree species — available to view in the Monday City Council Packet on page 38 — include common oak trees, birch, American elm, Eastern hemlock, sugar maples, and hawthorn trees, among others.

Later in the Sept. 22 hearing, Noel introduced the Schedule of Fees and Licenses, which included a revised “fee-in-lieu of” for tree removal on residential and commercial lots not exempt from the tree ordinance. The fee was adjusted from the initial proposed $400 per inch to a recommended $100 per inch of tree removed, based on feedback from Eau Claire residents and city council.

“(City Planning) did talk with (council) and the Plan Commission under the Zoning Policy Advisory Committee about what (fee) you felt comfortable with,” Noel said. “In the end, it was this $100. So, a two-inch tree would just be $200 that the developer — or whoever that's subject to replacement — would pay the City that fee.”

On Sept. 23, Eau Claire City Council met once again for their legislative session to vote on the Century Code amendments and other agenda items. With seven council members in attendance, both the Century Code Update and Schedule of Fees and Licenses amendments were passed unanimously, 7-0.

The Century Code — including the high value tree list — will become effective on Oct. 1, Noel said.

Read the first, second and third parts of this developing story online at VolumeOne.org. For the complete City of Eau Claire Land Development Ordinance, visit the “documents” webpage of the Century Code Update project online.