Austin seeking to protect tree canopy following HOME initiative vote
AUSTIN, Texas - The City of Austin is seeking ideas on how to promote tree preservation and increase tree planting under its new HOME Phase 1 initiative zoning rules.
A special public input session is scheduled for later this month. Up to three residential units can now be built on a single-family lot under Phase 1 of Austin’s new "HOME" policy.
The city council approved that change in December following a contentious public hearing. After pushing through the plan 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. An online public input session will be held on July 16.
It’s being done to provide members of the city development services with ideas on how to promote tree preservation and tree planting.
"We want to make sure that, regardless of what future conditions are, 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 small trees, according to Priest, is one of the goals.
"There may be other things that come up as a result of this kind of input process," said Priest.
MORE: Protesters rally against phase two of HOME initiative
Out of the box thinking is what Priest wants.
"There are no bad ideas. That's the part of the process we're in," said Priest.
Priest did make it clear this online session is not about making it easier to remove a tree for an additional house on a single-family lot. Nothing in the Home initiative changed existing regulations regarding what are known as Heritage trees.
"This is really more about finding ways to plant more trees," said Priest.
Protesters speak out against HOME initiative
Debate intensifies over how to best tackle Austin's housing affordability crisis. City council is preparing to vote on phase two of a plan to build more homes on a single lot, but some are worried the changes could actually make living in Austin less affordable.
Planting more trees could work against the idea of building more residential density.
"We're looking for problem-solving there. There's always going to be some give and take. And we are looking for ways to kind of optimize our kind of urban forest going forward," said Priest.
This new effort to protect the tree canopy comes as Austin Energy continues to cut back. In March, the council provided $28 million for tree trimming and vegetation management. That's in response to the 2021 winter storm power outages.
"One of the things that we require is making sure that everything planted meets Austin Energy requirements for distance from infrastructure," said Priest.
The online session on July 16 is currently limited to a thousand people. That may be expanded depending on demand. For the session registration, click here.
If necessary, other input sessions could be scheduled later this summer. Formal recommendations, to the city council canopy protection request, are not expected until this fall.