Tree Ordinances and Commissions

A Guide To Developing A Community Tree Preservation Ordinance

1995
An overview of how to develop a shade tree ordinance
Last Modified
Oct 14, 2015
Viewed
5588 times

Annual Budgets for Community Tree Programs

1995
Organizations/Sources: Penn State University
Information on how to budget for a community tree program, including a budget worksheet.
Last Modified
Oct 18, 2009
Viewed
5762 times

Bloomsburg Shade Tree Commission and Ordinance

Bloomsburg's Shade Tree Ordinance and information on its Shade Tree Commission.
Last Modified
Aug 18, 2017
Viewed
8414 times

Carlisle Shade Tree Commission and Ordinance

2005
Organizations/Sources: Carlisle, PA
Carlisle's shade tree ordinance and information on its shade tree commission.
Last Modified
Aug 18, 2017
Viewed
8223 times

Community Tree Ordinance

Simple fact sheet about developing tree ordinances with a link to a sample ordinance
Last Modified
Oct 14, 2015
Viewed
4732 times

Declining Urban and Community Tree Cover in the United States

2018
Organizations/Sources: United States Forest Service
Scientists with the USDA Forest Service estimate that between 2009 and 2014, tree cover in the Nation’s urban/community areas declined by 0.7 percent, which translates to losing an estimated 36 million trees or approximately 175,000 acres of tree cover annually.
Last Modified
Jul 03, 2019
Viewed
2425 times

Developing Successful Tree Ordinances

2006
Semi-brief overview of the process for developing tree ordinances, published by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
Last Modified
Aug 18, 2017
Viewed
5073 times

Greensburg Shade Tree Commission and Ordinance

Organizations/Sources: Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg's shade tree ordinance and information on its shade tree commission.
Last Modified
Aug 18, 2017
Viewed
8281 times

Guidelines for Developing and Evaluating Tree Ordinances

2001
This is a comprehensive guide to assessing the tree resource needs of your community and developing and implementing an effective tree ordinance. This 181 page detailed guide provides valuable tools and examples for writing a tree ordinance, from the planning stages, through drafting an ordinance to evaluating the ordinance performance..
Last Modified
Oct 27, 2015
Viewed
8606 times

Guide To Writing A City Tree Ordinance

1993
Authors: Buck Abbey, ASLA
Organizations/Sources: Louisiana State University
Two models of tree management ordinances are contained in this 21 page paper, a model for a small community and a model for a large community. The models can be used as a starting point to draft a local ordinance.
Last Modified
Oct 14, 2015
Viewed
6546 times

Homeowner's Tree Planting Guide

Short fact sheet published by the Morrisville EAC that explains the basics of tree planting. Designed for homeowners who may be considering planting trees on their property.
Last Modified
May 28, 2019
Viewed
1581 times

Lamar Advertising of Penn, LLC v ZHB of the Borough of Deer Lake, 915 A.2d 705 (Pa.Cmwlth.2007)

2006
Organizations/Sources: PA Commonwealth Court
Commonwealth Court case affirming a zoning hearing board’s decision to limit the size of off-site signs to the same size as on-site signs. The court stated the, “regulation…must not be arbitrary or discriminatory, and must bear a reasonable relationship to public health, safety, welfare and morals."
Last Modified
Oct 16, 2009
Viewed
4046 times

Lancaster Tree Ordinance

Tree ordinance adopted by the City of Lancaster in 2014.
Last Modified
Aug 18, 2017
Viewed
4069 times

Mechanicsburg Shade Tree Ordinance

Ordinance establishing a shade tree commission in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
Last Modified
Aug 18, 2017
Viewed
3667 times

Model Ordinances for Sustainable Development

These model ordinances provide examples for municipal governments to use as tools to incorporate sustainable land-use practices into their regulations.
Last Modified
Aug 20, 2018
Viewed
3895 times

Municipal Tree Commissions

1994
Fact sheet on how to form a tree commission as one tool a community can use to create and maintain an urban forestry program.
Last Modified
Oct 14, 2015
Viewed
4538 times

Municipal Tree Management

2008
Explains the benefits of urban trees and describes strategies to improve tree cover in communities.
Last Modified
Jul 03, 2019
Viewed
1898 times

Pennsylvania Tree Cities Fact Sheet (2016)

2016
As of 2016, there are 108 Tree City USA communities in Pennsylvania. Nearly a third of Pennsylvanians live in a certified Tree City.
Last Modified
Aug 18, 2017
Viewed
3625 times

Radnor Township Shade Tree Commission and Ordinance

Organizations/Sources: Radnor Township
Radnor Township's shade tree ordinance and information on its shade tree commission.
Last Modified
Aug 18, 2017
Viewed
9622 times

Reading Adopt-a-Tree Program Application Form

To join the Reading Shade Tree Commission's Adopt-a-Tree program, people must submit this form. It includes information about the property owner and how many trees they want to plant.
Last Modified
May 24, 2019
Viewed
1192 times

Shade Tree Commission Sample Ordinance

Sample ordinance from the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs for the creation of a shade tree commission and the adoption of rules and standards for the planting, maintenance and removal of shade trees within the public right-of-way.
Last Modified
Aug 17, 2017
Viewed
7407 times

Street and Park Tree Inventory Templates with Instructions

2004
This website contains easy to use spreadsheet templates for for completing a street or park tree inventory. The templates can be downloaded in Excel or Access. The templates are easily adaptable and can be modified for the specific variables that may be found in individual towns or cities.
Last Modified
Oct 22, 2015
Viewed
15592 times

Susquehanna Township Shade Tree Commission and Ordinance

2008
Organizations/Sources: Susquehanna Township, Pennsylvania
Susquehanna Township's shade tree ordinance.
Last Modified
Aug 18, 2017
Viewed
8239 times

Sustaining and Improving Pennsylvnia's Forest Land Through Comprehensive Plans

2018
Provides a detailed description of forests and their benefits; analysis of threats to forest land; and description of various tools municipalities can use to maintain, protect, and restore forests.
Last Modified
Jul 03, 2019
Viewed
2246 times

The Urban Tree Ordinance Development Workbook

2004
Organizations/Sources: Georgia Forestry Commission
A 23 page preliminary guidebook designed for communities developing new, or revising older, existing urban tree ordinances. It includes a tree ordinance questionnaire, which is designed to help individuals better understand the relevant issues and questions that need to be answered when undertaking the process of tree ordinance creation.
Last Modified
Oct 22, 2015
Viewed
6743 times

Tree Ordinance

2017
Authors: Nate Lotze
A tree ordinance regulates various aspects of tree maintenance, removal, and planting in a municipality, resulting in aesthetic and environmental benefits. (Print version of CT guide)
Last Modified
Nov 14, 2017
Viewed
2789 times

Tree Ordinances as Public Policy and Participation Tools: Development in Alabama

2009
Following a brief overview of the historical evolution of tree ordinances in the United States, this paper focuses on the development of tree ordinances in the state of Alabama to demonstrate how the tree ordinances evolve into law and the role such ordinances have on urban trees. Even though tree ordinances have a long history in the United States, they have been rapidly developing since the 1970s.
Last Modified
Oct 10, 2017
Viewed
3940 times

York County Sustainable Landscaping Model Ordinance

2014
Authors: Mary Kline
Organizations/Sources: York County Planning Commission
The model landscaping regulations provided by the model, if adopted by municipalities, can help conserve and restore healthy soils, reduce the use of irrigation for landscapes, improve the quality of surface waters, reduce energy consumption, provide wildlife habitat, and protect and restore native plant communities. They can also assist in cleaning up impaired waters in both MS4 and non-MS4 municipalities.
Last Modified
Oct 06, 2022
Viewed
5162 times