Melissa Clark Covington 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?

As a fan of cherry trees, thank you for allowing me to answer this question. Many residents spoke with me about the importance of the cherry trees and the history behind the 21 cherry trees located in downtown Nashville. They felt they were not notified of this incident and when they found out, nothing could be done to negotiate. Jim Gregory, a true conservationist in Nashville, posted a petition to stop the removal of the cherry trees on Saturday morning for everyone to sign. This caused uproar in the community as hundreds of people contacted metro government, council, and mayor, expressing discontent.

However, the internal operation was best handling an incident best according to the metropolitan charter in its current form. It is written in Chapter 17.24.100. H. of Title 17 of the Metropolitan Code, Zoning Regulations that “Any replacement tree planted for credit shall be replaced by a tree of equal or greater diameter than originally planned if the tree dies. Under no circumstances shall any replacement tree, planted for credit, be removed by the owner or developer without the prior permission of the urban forester. All trees and shrubs required by this code shall be inspected within three years of initial planting. Notwithstanding the foregoing provision of this subsection to the contrary, there is no requirement that a replacement tree planted for credit be replaced if the tree dies as a result of a natural disaster or other act of God. For purposes of this section, 'natural disaster' shall not include drought.”

Incidents such as the NFL cherry tree cutting should have been discussed with the proper chain of command, which is the internal operation, before removal. Although I understand the amount of time given to discuss removal of trees was limited, communication between the internal operations still needed to be completed and agreed upon. In particular, the codes, electrical and parks department should have been notified prior to removal to ensure tree removal does not interfere with electrical wires, street structure and debris hidden below the tree roots. Prior to removal, the first operational change would be to form a meeting to discuss the intentions of the developers (NFL) to replace the trees with newer ones as discussed in Chapter 17.24.100 section A, which outlines that “trees removed pursuant to Section 17.40.470, tree removal permit procedures, shall be replaced at the expense of the developer to meet the required tree density standard,” with the codes, storm water, electrical and parks department to ensure tree removal can happen. If it can be done, I would then notify Metro Council to present a tree proposal for the removal. If it cannot be done, I would negotiate with the NFL to create a smaller stage or move the stage somewhere else in proximity of the proposed location. If metro government and council do agree tree removal can take place, then the public would then be notified of the final decision-making processes. I would include public opinion before exercising any plans to remove and/or replace trees in Davidson County and review any concerns pertinent to codes, storm water, electrical wiring and parks.

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 would support the bill, but however I would amend the bill to update rules and regulations to go along with rules and regulation currently in the Metro codes.

If not, what changes do you want to see? Or should it be stronger and broader in scope?

The substituted tree bill outlines the current committees to supervise tree planting, types of trees allowed in commercial and multi-family land use, and the supervision of the beautification of trees on land. The substituted bill, in its current form, is straightforward. Moreover, to better serve the bill, proper decision-making and hiring of a committee team is needed to ensure this bill is supported.

BL1416 impacts only commercial and multi-family land use types. Do you support enacting tree laws for single-family residential?

As long as the bill is used to beautify single family residential properties, I would support the bill for single family residential use. The bill would be best served for commercial and multi-family land use for landscaping and beautification for Nashville communities and neighborhoods.

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, I would approve of the legislation only under certain ailments; if the property owner is requesting the removal of the heritage tree. Second ailment would be the review the age of the tree. Third ailment would be if another entity is requesting the removal of the heritage tree, this entity should then pay into a tree bank to offset the loss of a large tree in the urban community.

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?

In 1985, Trees Atlanta was founded to protect and improve to protect and improve Atlanta's urban forest by planting, conserving, and educating. They have a successful proven track record of getting volunteers, conservationists and corporations to participate in tree protection, planting and maintenance and informing the urban public of the importance of trees. Trees Atlanta is a wonderful model of strong support and communication between internal operations to support and protect the urban tree canopy. I would follow this strong model to strengthen the implementation and enforcement of Nashville’s tree code. I believe Metro currently has a similar program called Roots Nashville, which I was blessed to attend the first promotion of the launch this project on October 3, 2018. Nissan Corporation helped to donate the first tree planted in the North Nashville area and their initiative is to plant 500,000 trees in Nashville by 2050. With the assistance and participation of many volunteers and corporations in the Nashville area, this goal can be a success. Metro, like Trees Atlanta, would have to inform the private and public sectors of this new initiative and why it is important for everyone to get involved.

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?

- Davidson County can entice private property owners not to cut down mature trees. I would notify them of why it important and a benefit to keep them. Trees add value to life in many forms. They provide oxygen the community they provide a noise barrier, making communities a little bit quieter. Trees help prevent city flooding by catching raindrops and offsetting runoff caused by buildings and parking lots, divert 1000 gallons of water per year and prevent the interaction of harmful pollutants in the community.

- A creative way of enticing property owners to not cutting down mature trees is to change the buds of the tree and turn them into apple or peach trees.

How can we encourage developers/builders to keep mature trees in the designing of the home and lot?

Notify them of the benefit of planting trees. More than likely a developer is going to want to keep mature trees in their design for beautification. Another way of doing this is by encouraging them to design the home around the tree in place. If there is a problem with the design and engineering of the homes or properties built around the trees, metro will have to agree to either remove or replace tree on lot.

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, if the budget allowed, I will support Metro Nashville’s hiring of more employees to oversee all of Davidson county trees. A training of rules and regulations of codes under the charter will be included for all new employees and developers. A strict information session regarding codes will be conducted among developers who are seeking to build on land in Davidson County. Warnings will be given to the developers who are not complying with the codes. First warning will be notification. Second warning will be written notification and documentation in the codes with a meeting session to come to an agreement on properly abiding code regulations. Upon second warning, fines will be induced. The court will determine the cost of fines and fees for replacement according to the number of trees destroyed, the length of time necessary for replacement and the attitude of the developer toward his/her directive. If a third warning is placed for those developers who do not follow the codes or do not pay the fines for replacement, those developers will no longer be allowed to become develop partners in Davidson County.

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?  

In order to bridge the divisions between the community of conservationist and developers is by meeting with the groups and informing the community and developers of updates in the legislation that is of interest to developers and the community. Then council should get input from developers and the community and brainstorm ideas about laws to cover in the legislation. To avoid the risk of state pre-emption would be to improve the livability standards in line with the legislation of the state and working with the state representatives to ensure livability standards are approved with the state.