District 22 Council Candidate - Gloria Hausser - Speaks for the Trees!
Gloria Hausser
District 22 Council Candidate
Nashville Tree Conservation Corps asked candidates running for Nashville’s 2019 election how they would solve some of our city’s most challenging tree canopy issues. See how they responded in the question and answer below!
Gloria Hausser 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?
There needs to be a communication system that, unless an emergency, requires all departments responsible for trees to be notified and request comment before any action is taken regarding the canopy. This would be managed by a “tree coordinator” type position. A part of this system would be a centralize data base showing the location of all canopy trees.
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 feel hopeful that we have an improved tree bill. One of the concerns I frequently hear in Bellevue is the fear we will lose our green space and old growth trees. This bill has raised the standards for protecting our old growth trees and requires a higher density of trees. It could be even stronger such as requiring the acceptable size of replacement trees in proportion to the tree removed. I would need to see the language of the proposal for single family residential property and exception provisions.
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,This sounds wonderful. It is painful to see these old growth trees removed. When the trees were removed at the entrance of One Bellevue Place and Publix the public out cry was huge. This totally changed the feel of the streetscape.
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?
Without enforcement the code is just a suggestion. We need oversight and observers to make sure that the owner compiles.
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?
Private property ownership is the harder issue as they are not asking the city for any variance. Community standards and a community will to save large trees is strong influencer but not enforcement. We could offer incentives to save mature trees, perhaps some type of recognition to the properties with the mature trees annually.
For developers this could be a requirement when seeking building permits. A survey of the property pre-development to identify trees we want saved. Tag those trees and require the building plans to incorporate the trees unless not possible. If the tree is to be removed it would take a variance issued by the planning department.
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?
If we do not have an funded inspection/enforcement mechanism, then the codes can’t be enforced. We feel protected but not in actuality. We need to properly fund the resources. Until the funding is in place we could create a neighborhood volunteer force that could be trained and authorized to take pictures and send information to the officials. These individuals information would be fast tracked to the correct person so that they can then act upon. This would relieve the department of the leg work and time.
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?
Building a coalition that includes builders and neighborhoods would bring all voices to the table. This would also be something that the state could not preempt because it is not a city law or ordinance, but a community and builder agreed action. We would need to find a way to incentivize builders to participate. If we could show the value of the property with mature trees is higher than property stripped that would be one incentive. We also could have awards to builders who are tree friendly. These builders would have a pass to the front of the line for approvals and have a working relationship with the metro departments, and community support. This could put more money in their pockets from the free advertising they would get from the award process and a symbol they could display on their marketing materials.