LA Considers Tree Replacement Fee To Save City's Tree Canopy

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday gave its initial approval to an ordinance which would require developers to pay a fee for every tree they remove in order to help maintain the city's tree canopy.

Under the in-lieu fee being considered, developers would be required to pay the city a fee which ranges from $267 to $2,612 per tree that they remove and do not replace on the same site.

The money would go towards helping the city pay to plant more trees elsewhere. The ordinance is designed to help save what environmental advocates call L.A.'s shrinking tree canopy.

"It's going to affect Boyle Heights, the northern Valley, poor areas, it's going to hurt working class neighborhoods, South L.A., all of the areas that haven't got attorneys, and the organization and the ability to fight city hall," said Jill Stewart Tuesday, director of the Coalition to Preserve L.A.

The Coalition to Preserve L.A., which held a rally outside City Hall Tuesday, is unhappy with the ordinance as it is currently written. It argues that the ordinance lacks a long term urban plan which emphasizes tree biodiversity. It also believes that the in-lieu fee is not a high enough.

Despite being approved, the ordinance must still clear some more hurdles before it can take effect, officials said.