David McMurry Speaks for the Trees…

QUESTION #1

The Fort Negley clear-cutting and the NFL cherry-tree incidents illustrated something obvious: When it comes to the urban canopy, there is a breakdown of communication between the segments of Metro Government responsible for trees. The problem is that trees fall under the jurisdiction of many different departments (codes, stormwater, electrical, parks). What internal operational changes need to be made to better protect the existing canopy?

Our metro government is very young and therefore as we continue to grow and more issues come to light we need to make the best updates to impact our beloved city - staffing should be moved under one department (Parks), we should increase the staff to enforce the laws of the city and I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to learn more about the city’s tree canopy and how we can enhance the laws to ensure that we’re keeping our city evermore beautiful.

QUESTION #2

Do you support the city’s first tree bill in over a decade (BL2018-1416) in its current form? If not, what changes do you want to see? Or should it be stronger and broader in scope? BL1416 impacts only commercial and multi-family land use types. Do you support enacting tree laws for single-family residential?

I do support this legislation, however, I look forward to talking with organizations and other experts to learn more and to work to strengthen the laws and education of tree conservation in Nashville.

QUESTION #3

Atlanta, Charlotte and Austin all have laws protecting a class of trees they consider to be “heritage trees; property owners must get approval for cutting them down and pay into a tree bank to offset the loss of a large trees in their communities. We feel this sets a tone that makes people more aware and respectful of the urban tree canopy. Do you approve of such legislation?

Yes and I look forward to working to ensure that we do all that we can to people more aware and respectful of the Nashville urban tree canopy.

QUESTION #4

TREES ATLANTA is considered by many to be the model for a public/private cooperative that works to protect urban tree canopy. TREES ATLANTA employees even help the city as on-site inspectors who follow up to make sure developers have complied with tree ordinances. What do you think of this model, or what would you do to strengthen the implementation and enforcement of Nashville’s tree code?

Our beloved Nashville is growing daily and that means that we’re at times behind on a few ideas to make it even greater - I support Nashville creating its own organization such as Trees Atlanta. This will be a great addition to the city and to educate us as we work to create an urban forest, conserve and educate our community.

Currently, I am not well educated on the trees of Nashville and I welcome the time in the future to learn more for your organization and to listen to the people of District 9 so that we can make a great impact in Nashville and beyond.

QUESTION #5

How could we entice private property owners not to cut down mature trees? How can we encourage developers/builders to keep mature trees in the designing of the home and lot?

No tree wider than 19 inches in diameter can be removed on private property without the city’s approval, and homeowners or developers have to replace the tree with enough trees to produce similar shade. For instance, to remove a 20-inch tree, a developer would have to plant 10 trees with 2-inch diameters. It also doesn’t allow “heritage trees,” which it defines as 24 inches in diameter or wider, to be removed on private property unless dead or diseased, without city approval.

QUESTION #6

Metro Nashville has just 3 employees to oversee all of Davidson County trees, while other peer cities with less tree canopy coverage have 15 to 20 employees on staff for trees. As a result, the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps has cataloged countless incidents where developers eluded complying with tree codes, the city has hundreds of hazardous trees that need to be replaced, and staff have trouble keeping up with just their everyday responsibilities. Do you support spending the money to bring us up to a par with our peer cities? If not, how will you fix this issue?

YES

BONUS QUESTION FOR COUNCIL CANDIDATES

QUESTION #7

How will you work to bridge the divisions we often experience when talking about advancing tree legislation in Nashville between the community-builder dynamic? How can we advance Nashville’s livability standards while avoiding the risk of State preemption?  

We need to educate the community - share the vision to ensure that the plan for our urban canopy is understood, obtain ideas from the community and work to ensure that are developing an urban forest that is supported by the community and understood by the developer.

As for the state, we must work to understand why they would ever over reach into what the city law has done and work to ensure that our laws are not taken down by the state