Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 35(3): May 2009 demographics shifted toward urban areas with more people living in cities than in rural areas for the first time in history. Along with this urbanization was an increase in the amount of developed acres, built space, and impervious surface. Urban sprawl is viewed as a national problem facing American people. A decreasing supply of environmental services is reflected in deteriorated water and air quality as more greenspace is replaced by impervious surface. As discussed earlier, tree ordinances are not just for protecting trees. More importantly, they are often used for regulating relationships among people. In many cases, legal issues and court decisions call for more specific laws regarding tree matters (Merullo and Valentine 1992). The current generation of regulations is increas- ingly strident and sophisticated (Duerksen and Richman 1993). Urban forestry and tree ordinances have also evolved with economic development. By the mid-1970s, as Americans were becoming wealthier, urban areas were becoming increasingly crowded. As urban citizens experienced more stress in their daily lives, they began seeking outlets. Dickerson et al. (2001) reported strong community characteristics in educational level, annual per-capita income, average price of home, total popula- tion, and poverty level to have a strong relationship with mu- nicipal tree ordinances. Education about the ecological, psy- chological, and economic value of trees and the environment has also promoted the demand for urban trees. The growing demand for urban trees from both public and private land, and a growing number of legal issues engage community motiva- tions and political will to have tree ordinances and to use such as public policy and planning tools for community development. CASE OF ALABAMA: THE DEVELOPMENT OF TREE ORDINANCES Alabama is comparatively a rural state with some repre- sentative characteristics for most of the southern United States. The development of tree ordinances in Alabama to some degree can reflect many other states in the south. Urban trees are an important part of Alabama’s history, with tree planting being the most common “community forestry” ac- tivity. Currently, Alabama has more than 200 million urban trees, covering 48% of the urban areas, and 6.3% of the state (Dwyer et al. 2000). Since Alabama has such a favorable climate for tree growth and abundant forest resources, the presence of trees is sometimes taken for granted. Many of the state’s urban trees were planted and have received some level of management. As early as 1763, the British planted live oaks along the streets of Mobile. In the early 1800s, mulberry trees were planted along the streets of Cahaba, the state’s first capital city, and evidence exists of ex- periments with other tree species as well (Letson 2002). Com- pared with other states, Alabama has maintained a relatively rural identity longer than most. Therefore, Alabama’s urban forest is relatively less-managed even though it has a much better climate for urban trees and does not suffer from the insect and disease pests that devastated large portions of northern and eastern ur- ban forests. Only since the 1960s, as Alabama has become more urban, have city trees become even more important to people. The Town of Silverhill in Baldwin County, passed the first recorded tree ordinance in 1935, which defined the pruning zone around its street trees. In Mobile County, adjacent to Baldwin County, the City of Mobile, the third largest city in Alabama, was the second city to have a tree ordinance. The original tree or- 167 dinance was passed and the state’s first Tree Commission was formed in 1961. The Mobile Tree Commission holds the distinc- tion of being the only one enacted by a state legislative act. Au- thority was given to the city to protect live oaks in specific areas. Subsequently, Mobile’s tree ordinance was included in the “Zon- ing Ordinance of the City of Mobile” that was first adopted in May 1967, and later amended in April 1992 and November 2005. Twenty-nine years after the formation of Mobile Tree Com- mission, Foley became the second Alabama city to create a tree commission, through a local municipal ordinance. Huntsville, the fourth largest city, is also one of the early Alabama cities to have a tree ordinance, adopting its tree management ordinance in Au- gust 1981. In the 1980s and 1990s a trend developed, spreading tree boards and ordinances across the state (ACES 2002). Tree ordinances and green laws became more and more important to local governments interested in managing Alabama urban forests. Since tree ordinances can be incorporated with other acts, regulations, and codes, it is often difficult to determine which cities have tree ordinances. The Tree City USA list from the National Arbor Day Foundation, which requires a city to have a tree ordinance for such recognition, has 81 Alabama cit- ies on the list. However, the reality is that some cities do have tree ordinances that are not on the Tree City USA list. A survey was conducted to collect and assemble comprehen- sive information regarding tree ordinances in Alabama in 1996, followed by a second survey in 2006 to gain more updated in- formation. Both surveys used similar methodology, which was to identify tree ordinances in all cities and towns in Alabama. Letters were sent to each municipal clerk or mayor request- ing information regarding landscape or tree ordinances, or city codes regulating trees if they did not have landscape or tree ordinances. Meanwhile, there was a search for tree ordinances on city websites. In cases when the survey did not receive a re- sponse, there was an e-mail follow-up with phone calls, and a second letter. A total of 300 surveys were sent to the most pop- ulated cities and towns. Since Alabama is comparatively a ru- ral state, all cities and towns with more than or close to 1000 people were contacted. The study received approximately 130 responses in each of the two surveys: some respondents sent their tree or landscape ordinances or website addresses while others simply replied that they did not have an ordinance. Since there were not many cities that had tree ordinances, the two surveys were combined with the information collected from other sources. It was determined that 83 municipalities have some type of tree or landscape ordinance addressing matters related to trees. In about 20 cities, the City Code contains at least some regulations specifically dealing with trees, landscape and zon- ing ordinances, city beautification, and other parameters. Only approximately 20 cities have self-contained and well-developed tree ordinances or landscape regulations (meaning the ordinance is independent rather than included in the city code). These cities include Abbeville, Ashville, Auburn, Decatur, Dothan, Eufaula, Fairhope, Florence, Gulf Shores, Helena, Hoover, Huntsville, Mobile, Moundville, Opelika, Red Bay, Tuscumbia, and others. After reviewing and examining the tree ordinances collected in Alabama, a summary of the major components was created (Table 1). From the compilation, the top six issues addressed were: 1) having a tree commission or board, 2) tree planting, re- moval and replacement on public land, 3) public trees protection and care; 4) tree species selection recommended to be planted, ©2009 International Society of Arboriculture
May 2009
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