SILVER SPRING, MD – On Thursday, June 21 at approximately 7
p.m., the Montgomery County Planning Board will hold a public hearing to
consider changes to the county’s Forest Conservation Law. Proposed changes to
the 1992 ordinance will help clarify to whom it applies and, more, what’s
required for county property owners to follow the law.
The county’s Forest Conservation Law requires most property owners
submitting plans for development to craft tree and forest protection strategies
in concert with county planning staff. The law aims to save, maintain and plant
forested areas.
County environmental planning staff has drafted a new version of the law that
provides greater clarity on who needs to submit a plan. The proposed revisions
specify which property owners qualify for less-rigorous tree-saving plans and
other exemptions.
Like previously, property owners proposing to subdivide or build will conduct
an inventory or survey of natural resources, including trees and forests, of
their sites. Under staff’s latest recommendations, property owners would then
need to prepare a forest conservation plan, a tree protection plan or, if the
project poses minimal impact, a declaration of intent not to remove forest.
Also among the recommendations is an increase in the requirements of how much
forest a property owner must save or plant. Staff proposes a 5-percent increase for all areas except agriculture and
rural areas.
Trees and forests filter groundwater, slow stormwater runoff, help alleviate
flooding, cleanse the air and reduce energy needs. Trees also improve quality
of life in a community by providing recreation and visual appeal.
View a copy of the staff
recommendations for the revised Forest Conservation Law.
WHAT: Forest
Conservation Law revisions
WHEN: Thursday, June 21, 2007 – 7 p.m.
WHERE:
Park and Planning Headquarters
8787 Georgia Ave.
Silver Spring, MD 20910