Developers could be made to pay for the 'amenity value' of each tree they remove under a proposed plan by Dubbo Regional Council.
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An idea will go before the council committee meetings on Monday night for an amenity value to be placed on public trees. Council has proposed the idea as another revenue stream that would go into looking after the city's trees.
In the report on the proposed idea, council's manager recreation and open space Ian McAlister said council was not financially positioned to ensure the viability of the public urban forest across the next 15 years without another revenue stream.
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The new income stream would add an amenity value to each publicly owned tree - such as the park and street trees - based on factors like its aesthetics, species and condition.
If trees were then removed as part of a development, the developer would pay the cost of removing the tree, the cost of replacing it and the amenity value. The money would go into council's tree replacement program.
"Through the application of the amenity valuation process developers and the public are still able to request the removal of public trees," Mr McAlister said in the report.
"This is important not to prevent or discourage developers from undertaking development projects within the city or members.
"It also enables the general public the opportunity to request the removal of a particular tree that may be impacting on their property or quality of life but calculates the loss of amenity, in dollar terms, to the landscape, as well as the cost of removal and the replacement of the tree back on them."
Council projects would be exempt from the costs.
Mr McAlister said decisions made today on the removal or retention of trees would have positive or negative impacts for future generations of Dubbo citizens.
The plan to put an amenity value on public trees will be one of the agenda items at Monday night's committee meetings.
The meeting will be held in the Dubbo council chambers from 5.30pm. It will also be live-streamed on the Dubbo Regional Council Facebook page and website.