Austin, Texas – The City of Austin is seeking ideas on how to encourage tree preservation and increase tree plantings under its New Home Phase 1 Initiative zoning regulations.
A special public input session is planned for later this month. Under Phase 1 of Austin’s new “home” policy, up to three residential units can now be built on a single-family lot.
The City Council approved that change in December after a contentious public hearing. Having pushed through plans to increase urban housing density, the council apparently now wants to make sure the idea doesn’t come at the expense of the urban tree canopy. N Online public input session will be held on 16 July.
It is being done to provide ideas to the members of the city development services on how to promote tree conservation and tree plantation.
HOME Initiative: Austin Passes Phase 2
After nearly a full day of public comment, the Austin City Council met again Friday morning and approved the second phase of the HOME initiative.
“We want to make sure that, regardless of future conditions, Austin has a healthy urban forest canopy going forward and indefinitely,” said Daniel Priest with the City Development Services Department’s Arborist Program.
Mitigation through the preservation of young trees is one of the goals, according to Priest.
“This kind of input process can result in other things,” Priest said.
More: Protesters rally against second phase of HOME initiative
Out of the box thinking is what Priest wants.
“There are no bad ideas. It’s part of the process we’re in,” Priest said.
Priest clarified that this online session is not about making it easier to remove a tree for an additional house on a single-family lot. Nothing has changed in the Home Initiative in the existing rules known as the Heritage Tree.
“This is really more about finding ways to plant more trees,” Priest said.
Protesters speak out against the HOME initiative
The debate over how best to deal with Austin’s housing affordability crisis intensifies. The City Council is preparing to vote on the second phase of a plan to build more homes on single lots, but some worry the changes could actually make living in Austin less affordable.
Planting more trees can work against the idea of ​​creating more residential density.
“We’re looking for solutions there. There’s always going to be some give and take. And we’re looking for ways to optimize our kind of urban forest going forward,” Priest said.
This new effort to protect the tree canopy comes as Austin Energy continues to cut down. In March, the council provided $28 million for tree trimming and vegetation management. It is in response to a 2021 winter storm power outage.
“One of the things we need to do is make sure everything that’s planted meets Austin Energy’s requirements for distance from infrastructure,” Priest said.
The online session on July 16 is currently limited to one thousand people. It can be expanded based on demand. For session registration, Click here.
If needed, other input sessions can be scheduled later this summer. Formal recommendations, to the City Council Canopy Protection Request, are not expected until this fall.
