There are probably more direct routes to get to the Medical Center from the far west side of Houston, but I have always been able to justify a circuitous route that includes driving along Sunset Boulevard. Sunset’s incredible tree canopy envelops you as if it were a cocoon and seems to transport you to a more serene place where the usual noise, pollution, and visual blight of Houston’s other streets do not exist. During one of Houston’s scorching summers it always seems to be so much cooler on Sunset.

Bald Cypress

The trees on Sunset are not there by sheer happenstance. The neighbors in Southampton, ably assisted by their general managers, have had to deal with all types of threat to their trees, such as street repairs, street over lays, new sidewalks, new street lights, new construction, house movers, and City of Houston policies. Southampton residents have had to be ever vigilant and invest time and money to preserve their trees.

What I really want to talk about in this article is the City of Houston’s policies regarding tree preservation and planting. The two city ordinances mostly widely recognized for dealing with tree issues are Chapter 28, Street Tree Protection Ordinance, and Chapter 33, Tree and Shrub Ordinance. One very important, but often overlooked, ordinance is Chapter 42, Development Ordinance.

Cedar elm

Chapter 33 is unusual because it requires tree preservation and additional plantings for commercial and multi-family development projects, but does not impose requirements on single-family homebuilders. Chapter 33 also affords enhanced protection to City Council-approved designated trees and green corridors. Designated trees have historical or arboricultural significance. Green corridors consist of the right-of-way of a major thoroughfare and building setback areas of abutting and contiguous properties at least a mile long. Unfortunately, no green corridors and only one designated tree have been approved under this ordinance.

Based on efforts begun by the Houston Homeowners Association in November 2000 and supported by many other groups, Mayor Brown, as of February 2, has ordered that a “Green Ribbon” committee be established to review both Chapter 28 and Chapter 33 for the purpose of recommending changes.

The basic tenet going into this committee should be “Street Trees: No Net Loss.” There should be mitigation for any street tree taken down, no exceptions. This is why the Houston Homeowners Association is involved in this process. Originally, there was required mitigation in the proposed amendments to Chapter 28 for any tree that developers cut down with city permission. But the developers bolted from the table and refused to go along with the mitigation idea, and it was taken out of the proposed amendments.

In addition to mitigation, there are a number of other topics that are a “must” to be discussed.

Current planting requirements for developers are minimal and should be significantly increased, especially to break up the vast wastelands we call parking lots. Kevin Shanley, president of the Bayou Preservation Association, has introduced the idea of generational plantings, or regular replanting to stop us from losing whole swaths of aging urban canopy at once. Incentives and credits will no doubt be discussed. More exotic but just as valid are proposals for tree preservation and planting on private property, and the mandated maintenance of a minimum percentage of tree canopy coverage.

Even though Mayor Brown only appointed the committee to review Chapters 28 and 33, Chapter 42, Development Ordinance, probably has just as significant an impact on trees. The ordinance divides Houston into two parts, suburban and urban. In the City’s infinite wisdom, the performance standards for the newly created urban area, everything inside Loop 610, are miniature versions of the suburban standards - basically, just a “Mini Me” version of suburban standards with smaller setbacks and lot sizes.

In my opinion, one thing that does not translate well via mere shrinkage is “Compensating Open Space” or COS. If a developer subdivides the lots in a development into smaller than the minimum lot size, they must provide a certain amount of “private” open space in the development. I doubt if COS works in the suburban area, much less the more compact urban area. What is really needed in the urban area is “public” open space in the form of parks, where trees can be planted and preserved. One way to solve this problem is through a “parkland acquisition impact fee.” Most major cities in Texas and across our nation have such impact fees. Houston is considered park poor. Between 1978 and 1998, the City acquired less than 90 acres of parkland in the urban area.

Chapter 42 should also minimize curb cuts, or breaks in the curb, usually for driveways. Minimizing curb cuts provides more on-street parking and allows for more street tree plantings. Front-loaded townhouses should be strongly discouraged and alley access encouraged. These are things that really need to be considered if we want a more livable community with improved transportation choices. By the way, excessive curb cuts do not sit well with bicyclists either.

One last policy affecting street trees is the City of Houston’s sidewalk policy, which takes up all of a couple of paragraphs in the Public Works manual. The city needs to adopt a comprehensive sidewalk policy that fosters street tree plantings and preservation of trees once planted.

Traditionally, most groups, including residential neighborhoods, that got involved with trees and tree issues did so because trees were aesthetically pleasing. Houstonians have a great ability to plant and grow trees, and trees have been planted by the thousands.

With the EPA’s mandate of reaching ozone attainment by 2007 and the ever-increasing body of data supporting trees’ important contribution to cleaning our air, the traditional base of support for trees has greatly expanded. Today, not only do we have the support of “green groups” and the neighborhoods, but elements of the business and development communities as well as air and water environmental groups.

If you find yourself reading this article and you are just now realizing the importance of trees, please get involved. Get the groups you are a member of involved, too. An easy way to make a difference is to encourage the Mayor and City Council to support significant changes to Chapters 28 and 33 that mandate increased tree plantings and will add teeth to the tree preservation efforts.

The Houston Homeowners Association is a citywide umbrella group of civic clubs, property owners’ associations, and neighborhood coalitions representing approximately 150,000 Houston homes. Its mission is “to maintain and enhance the quality of life in Houstonís residential neighborhoods.”