The City Council will consider amending a tree preservation ordinance adopted last summer after real estate agents Tuesday complained that it could scuttle sales of commercial property.
“This tree ordinance is like biting the hand that feeds you,” agent Bruce S. Kaplan said. “[Council members] say they want commercial development instead of more houses, and they make it harder for commercial development here.”
Bob Visin, a commercial real estate agent, said a 4.6-acre commercial lot off Teckler Boulevard with an asking price of $600,000 would cost the developer of a strip mall another $145,000 to comply with the tree ordinance. That cost includes hiring a certified arborist and buying replacement trees.
Councilman Jeff Thorsen said he would propose next month that enforcement of the ordinance be suspended until it can be rewritten.
It is illegal to cut down trees without a permit and a $500 bond, and the city can impose fines of $200 to $1,000 for each tree removed without permission. The ordinance affects all commercial lots; residential lots smaller than an acre are exempt.
