Chapel Hill’s quest to be the perfectly planned and regulated liberal utopia is again pitting trees against property owners. The proposed expansion of the town’s tree protection ordinance is so draconian that even some liberals are balking. Here’s a sample of what town planners would like to do:
The current ordinance prohibits removing any tree with a trunk greater than three feet in diameter and certain trees as small as 12 inches without a permit, but these rules do not currently apply to single- and two-family lots.
Under the latest proposal, the town would require 40 percent canopy coverage for half- to full-acre lots, 50 percent coverage for one to two acres, and 60 percent coverage for lots greater than two acres in size.
At last night’s public hearing, there was enough opposition that the council instructed planning staffers to revise the proposal and come back with a new draft. I love trees just as much as anyone, but deciding which trees a private property owner can and can’t remove should be left to the property owner. Those who believe their property belongs to them should be very careful about where they buy in Orange County.
