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Post by Brent George on Sept 15, 2022 20:14:42 GMT
Council wants to charge developers who fail to retain or plant enough treesStuff - The Press: 16-Sept-2022Christchurch developers could soon be charged tens of thousands of dollars if their new properties fail to reach a leafy threshold. In an effort to protect Christchurch’s trees from intensified housing, the city council on Thursday decided to start a process to introduce new tree protections into the district plan. It wants to bring in charges for companies behind new residential sites if their developments have less than 20% tree canopy cover. Developers could retain or plant trees to reach the 20%, but if the threshold is not met they will have to pay up – and in some cases this could be between $30,000 and $60,000, depending on the size of the property. All very well - but: - what criteria will there be for existing vegetation to qualify - or will any old, sick, dying, incompatible tree be OK? - will new trees be selected to suit local conditions? - will they be required to be expensive and slow growing natives or cheap and incongruous exotics? - will trees in the public spaces really be looked after by Council? (currently there is a poor track record of tree maintenance with the current stock) - will the developers just absorb the cost - or will they simply spread that charge across the cost of each property? - why worry about shade from a tree when you can get shade from the neighbors 3-storey townhouse?
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