Wichita City Council members are looking over a proposed new policy to promote tree planting and protect existing trees in the community. The proposal was presented during a workshop meeting Tuesday.
The city’s park and recreation director, Troy Houtman, said the city is in a situation where it is having a net loss of trees. He said a number of trees are dying because of disease or because they have reached the end of their life span. He said the proposed policy will protect trees that are in good health. It would set up a review process to avoid tree loss and it would have a plan for replacement of lost trees.
The policy will apply to city development projects on city property and on rights-of-way. There will be a minimum number of trees for each site, and a plan will be created for each development to maintain and protect the trees. There will also be a program where the city and the public can apply for a tree to be designated as a “Heritage Tree” as a protective status.
The tree policy will go to the neighborhood associations and District Advisory Boards for feedback, and a final policy will be developed and presented to the City Council at a later meeting.
