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The Portland Planning Commission on Tuesday voted for the recommendation of the Portland City Council Expanding Portland’s Tree Protection Amendment (Title 11). The amendment, introduced in 2015 and amended in 2020, aims to protect the city’s largest trees.

The amendment expires at the end of this year. The current proposal is to remove the current sunset clause from the Code.

The large tree amendment requires developers to pay higher compensation fees for cutting down trees 20 inches in diameter or larger. Only 13 percent of Portland’s trees reach that size, according to Brian Landoe, an employee of Portland Parks & Recreation‘s Department of Urban Forestry.

The original Title 11 code said one-third of trees 12 inches or larger in diameter must be protected or face a fee of $1,800 per tree, Landoe said. With the change, instead of a protection fee, the fee increases to $450 per inch for trees 20 inches or larger in diameter.

Exceptions to tree protection apply to dying trees or trees of dangerous species, affordable housing projects, lots smaller than 5,000 square feet, and projects with planned or existing lot coverage of 85 percent or more. These exceptions allow for the removal of trees without a compensation fee.

“The big tree protection change is really a targeted strategy to preserve and protect Portland’s largest and most valuable trees, which are generally located outside of the areas where most of Portland’s residential developments are planned to be built,” Landoe said.

The compensation payments are paid into the Tree Planting & Preservation Fund. This money has been used to finance tree planting along roads, in residential gardens, near public schools and in natural areas, Landoe said. About 42,000 trees have been planted since 2015.

The proposed amendment will be presented to the Urban Forestry Commission for recommendation on Thursday. If approved, it will then be presented to the Portland City Council.