AGENDA #5b
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TO: |
Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager |
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FROM: |
J.B. Culpepper, Planning Director Catherine Lazorko, Town Information Officer Curtis Brooks, Urban Forester |
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SUBJECT: |
Public Awareness Strategy Regarding Proposed Changes to the Tree Protection Ordinance |
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DATE: |
March 26, 2007 |
This memorandum provides a description of the staff’s public awareness strategy regarding the proposed changes to the Tree Protection Ordinance.
On February 12, 2007, the Council endorsed a Planning Board recommendation to consider changes to the current Tree Protection Ordinance. The two-phased approach involves a first step intended to provide some immediate expansion of today’s tree protection regulations while more substantive changes are being developed.
The two-phased approach for changes to the tree protection regulations includes:
The Council requested that a public awareness campaign be implemented to help ensure that citizens are made aware of proposed changes and have an opportunity to provide feedback and input. The Council recognizes that to be successful, the proposed changes to the tree ordinance need to be well understood. If changes are implemented, a follow-up information campaign could be launched to help citizens understand and follow the new regulations.
The Town Information Officer has developed a set of integrated strategies to communicate to citizens, including advertising, public relations, publications, the website and Chapel Hill TV18. In addition, the urban forester, with assistance from the Planning Department, will assist with identifying audiences for special mailings to inform target audiences, including garden clubs, tree trimmers, home builders, landscapers and others.
PUBLIC INFORMATION PLANfor Input on Proposed Tree Ordinance Revisions |
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Communication Strategies |
Target Audience |
Timeline |
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Advertising |
The Chapel Hill News community readers: TOWNweek |
Sundays |
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News Releases |
Media Outlets |
Late April and Early May |
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Interviews: Broadcast Media |
Media Outlets |
Early May |
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Fliers/Posters |
Town Facilities, Nurseries, Gardens |
April and Early May |
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Direct Mail (Letters) |
Citizens who have expressed an interest in this issue, Garden Clubs, Solar Groups, Homebuilders, Tree Trimmers, Landscapers |
Late April and Early May |
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Chapel Hill TV18 |
Time Warner Cable Subscribers in Chapel Hill |
April and Early May |
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Web Site |
Web users and visitors to www.townofchapelhill.org |
By Mid-April |
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E-mails |
Subscribers to Chapel Hill NEWS listserv |
Late April and Early May |
Proposed changes to the Tree Protection Ordinance, recommended by the Planning Board and endorsed by the Council on February 12, 2007, would establish a new vision statement that calls for no net loss of trees/canopy cover and an increase in trees proportional to population growth.
To develop new tree regulations that are discussed and supported by the community, the Council has endorsed a two-phased approach – moderate restrictions in the short term followed by more substantive changes in the future. There is a sense that additional restrictions are needed immediately as a protective measure for the community. The justification for the proposed ordinance revision is linked to a Town wide commitment to sustainability, with potential to reduce carbon emissions and decrease the urban “heat-island” effect.
As a long-term objective, the Council desires a more comprehensive review of the Tree Protection Ordinance. It plans to hire a consultant with expertise in specialized tree ordinances to develop the more substantive changes to the Tree Protection Ordinance.
Chapel Hill’s existing Tree Protection Ordinance requires residents to submit tree protection plans and tree surveys if they intend to remove trees as part of a building project (such as a house addition) that will affect 5,000 square feet or more of land. This requirement applies to existing single-family/two-family homes. The proposed interim changes to the ordinance would require permits to remove trees in a cumulative area more than 5,000 square feet even if a building permit is not involved. The interim change will also lower the threshold of trees that must be surveyed. Attachment 1 provides a draft of the interim language proposed for the May 14 Public Hearing.
More comprehensive revisions for the future could include regulations that apply to all regulated land uses, including existing single-family and two-family residential; regulations that account for variation among species, particular to our region, climate, and eco-systems; and regulations that include a permitting process for tree removal with financial disincentives for unauthorized tree removal.
The public information campaign will be an important part of the process of seeking community input to revising the Tree Protection Ordinance.
In advance of the May 14, 2007 Public Hearing to consider an interim expansion of current tree protection regulations, the Town Information Officer will work together with the Planning Department and urban forester to implement the communication strategies outlined in the Public Information Plan noted above according to the established timeline.