Council Introduces Bill to Save Tree-Lined Streets

Montgomery County Council on Tuesday introduced a bill looking to protect the county's tree-lined streets.

The roadside trees protection bill (No. 41-12) "would require certain applicants to obtain a permit for certain roadside tree activities" and "would authorize the Department of Transportation to create a tree replacement fund to pay for needed roadside trees," according to a memo—addressed to the council by legislative attorneys Michael Faden and Amanda Mihill—introducing the bill.

The bill would "implement a 2009 state law ... [giving] counties the authority to supplement state laws governing roadside trees," the memo continued. The bill concerns most roadside trees in county rights of way.

The bill would require one to obtain a county permit in order to do any work on a roadside tree or to "construct any road, sidewalk, shared use path, curb and gutter, driveway, or drainage structure," according to language drafted for the bill. 

Fees would be charged for every permit, the bill's draft continues.

The tree replacement fund would be maintained by the county's transportation department. Those who have removed or damaged a tree and who are requesting a permit would pay into the fund, the bill's draft added.

Read the bill's details in the Tuesday memo.

A separate utility vegetation management bill (No. 16-12) was put on hold in July, Patch reported.