WATSONVILLE – Residents may soon be blocked from chopping down trees.
An ordinance being considered by planners is designed to create an urban forest by making it more difficult for property owners to chop down or drastically prune trees and shrubs.
Councilwoman Judy Doering-Nielsen said trees reduce noise, provide oxygen and are visually attractive. The city already requires planting them in new subdivisions, and Doering-Nielsen said it's now time to protect and beautify older neighborhoods.
"It's so important to have an urban forest," Doering-Nielsen said. "I will be so happy to see this pass."
A draft ordinance was reviewed by the city Planning Commission in March and it has now been modified to reflect resident concerns. Instead of requiring a city permit to cut down a tree with a diameter of 10 inches or more, which some considered too small, the new proposal increases the minimum diameter for regulation to 24 inches.
Perennials with multiple stems measuring 120 inches or more in circumference, or with a single stem of at least 50 inches in circumference, also would be protected under the ordinance.
