Planning Commission to Review Tree Preservation Ordinance

In its first meeting in nearly a month, the Fountain Valley Planning Commission will discuss an ordinance Wednesday night to protect the city's trees.

Research for the potential ordinance was requested of the Planning Department by the planning commission. The city's municpal code already lays out landscaping requirements for both residential and commercial properties. Costa Mesa has an ordinance that prohibits removal of trees without prior permission from the city, and Pleasanton has an ordinance in place to protect what the city calls Heritage trees—trees with trunks at least 50 inches in diameter.

Because Fountain Valley was essentially swampland until drainage canals were built in the early 1900s, the city has virtually no native trees that would require protection, planner Steven Ayers said in his report. Ayers also estimated that replacing trees could cost developers hundreds of thousands of dollars in larger developments, and that the ordinance would create an unnecessary level of bureaucracy.

In other business, the commission will review its activities of the 2010-11 fiscal year, and consider an amendment to the city's sign code.