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Dan Collins <br />Martinsville City Manager <br />PO Box 1112 <br />Martinsville, VA 24114 <br /> <br />Dear Mr. Collins, <br /> <br />The purpose of this letter is to strongly urge the City of Martinsville, Virginia to develop <br />and implement a Tree Ordinance to assist in building a healthy and sustainable <br />community forest. <br /> <br />By themselves Tree Ordinances cannot assure that the trees in and around our <br />communities will be improved or even maintained. However, Tree Ordinances do <br />provide the authorization and standards for management activities, and are a way to <br />legitimize a well planned and executed tree management program. <br /> <br />The City of Manassas has had a Tree Ordinance since 1990, and it has proven invaluable <br />for insuring all development within the City provides tree cover on the site depending on <br />the zoning district. In 2001 the tree Ordinance was modified to include a preservation <br />section. The Ordinance follows the State code which allows municipalities the authority <br />to regulate the preservation and removal of heritage, specimen, memorial, and street <br />trees. In the past the City has enjoyed some success working with individuals and <br />developers to save specific prominent trees on development sites, but now we have <br />formalized this process and hope to have even more success in the future. <br /> <br />The purposes of the new Chapter to the Ordinance are: <br /> A. To establish and maintain the maximum sustainable amount of tree cover <br />on public and private lands in the City; <br /> B. To maintain trees within the City in a healthy and non-hazardous <br />condition through good arboricultural practices; <br /> C. To establish and maintain an optimal level of age and species diversity <br />among trees within the City; <br /> D. To promote conservation of tree resources; <br /> E. To provide advice and information concerning the establishment and <br />maintenance of trees and tree cover on public and private lands. <br />F. To select, situate, and maintain public trees to maximize benefits, <br />minimize hazard, nuisance, and erosion, and manage costs at an appropriate level; <br /> H. To foster community awareness and support for a local urban forestry <br />program, and to foster good tree management on privately owned properties. <br /> <br />A Tree Ordinance is not a panacea for poor or inadequate municipal tree management. <br />Nor is it a replacement for a comprehensive community forestry program that is fully <br />supported by the local government and community residents. Properiy applied however, <br />Tree Ordinances can facilitate good management of community tree resources. <br /> <br /> signed <br />Myron R. Carlson <br />City of Manassas Arborist <br /> <br /> <br />