On October 22, the City Council received a report on the impact of the new Tree Code in its first year of implementation. The top findings of the report were:

• A good start to collecting data has been made, but more time is needed before making significant changes to the code requirements.
• Many projects are just starting grading or construction.
• It’s too early to tell if root protection zone provisions are effective.

However, City Council is considering several changes to the Tree Code that are narrow in scope. A summary of the proposed amendments:

• Identify additional applications that would be exempt from complying with tree preservation requirements.
• Allow Climate Friendly and Equitable Communities (CFEC) parking lot trees required by the Code to count towards on-site tree replacement mitigation.
• Allow a deferral of installation of replacement trees under certain conditions.
• Create a discretionary track option for determining on-site root protection zones.

Note that the discretionary track option was recommended by Urban Forester Ian Gray because in certain cases trees can be saved with smaller root protections zones than outlined in the Code.

The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Monday January 26 at 5:30 pm on the proposed changes before the amendments go to City Council for approval. You may attend the hearing virtually or in person in the City of Bend Council Chambers at 710 NW Wall Street. Virtual attendance instructions will be on the Planning Commission agenda which can be found on the Planning Commission page prior to the hearing. Comments may be submitted prior to the meeting to Pauline Hardie at phardie@bendoregon.gov and must include the project number PLTEXT20250658. You can read the complete amendments to the Code on the status page.

We don’t know yet when City Council will hold its hearing on the amendments, but we will let you when it is scheduled.