Council cuts red tape on tree management
Published on 26 June 2014
New guidelines for managing trees on private properties will cut red tape around the removal of trees and make it easier for families to maintain their own homes.
Since the current guidelines were adopted in 2009, a number of changes to local planning laws, as well as recent changes to laws impacting trees in bushfire zones, have prompted a review of the way trees can be managed in the Hills Shire.
Council has resolved to amend its Development Control Plan (DCP), which outlines which trees may be removed without development consent. The DCP will be exhibited and another report will be prepared.
The new guidelines will exempt trees less than 6m high and those within 3 metres of any approved dwelling or structure from requiring approval to be removed. An additional 15 species have been added to the exemption list, and a further nine where the tree is less than 10m.
“Just over 70 per cent of applications for trees removal are approved annually, so our new guidelines are a sensible way to allow residents to responsibly manage their own properties - cutting red tape,” Mayor Byrne said.
“The new guidelines are about creating a balance and being realistic about the impact of trees in the community,” she said.
“They also take into account extenuating circumstances that impact people trying to manage their homes, including for aged, frail and disabled residents who have trouble maintaining trees.”
“We are a community that is proud of our beautiful environment, and residents tell me how refreshing it is to live this way.”
“I am certain that our new tree guidelines will work positively to make it easier for residents to maintain their personal properties, while we continue to enjoy the overall leafy character of our Shire.”
Mayor Byrne said that the new guidelines would not result in trees cut down relentlessly throughout the Sydney Hills.
“This isn’t about reducing the numbers of trees throughout the Sydney Hills. We are the Garden Shire and that’s one of the reasons so many residents choose to live here.”
Mayor Byrne said residents had demonstrated that they are keen to collect the four free native trees they are entitled to from the Bidjiwong Community Nursery at Ted Horwood Reserve, Baulkham Hills every year.
“More than 50,900 native shrubs and trees have been given away from the nursery since July 2013 to residents, bushcare groups, schools, churches and planted in parks and reserves – showing our commitment to creating a leafy community,” Mayor Byrne said.
“Our volunteer Bushcare teams have a strong focus on the regeneration of native plants and trees throughout the Sydney Hills and that will continue.”