Saving the trees: Organization trying to update land development codes

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — One organization is trying to save the trees. The Alliance for Cape Fear Trees is trying to preserve the trees throughout the City of Wilmington.

Connie Parker is part of the alliance and says with the rise in construction and after Hurricane Florence, we’ve lost quite a few trees.

She says it’s more than just an aesthetic issue. Parker says it can even become a health and habitat issue.

“There needs to be a better balance between the growth and development, and the preservation of the environment,” Parker said.

She has dedicated the last several years to protecting the trees that decorate Wilmington.

She and the Alliance for Cape Fear Trees are now working with City Council to update the laws in place that preserve these trees.

“They have plans in place which have allowed them to get better at it than in the 1980s, but what we want to see is those new codes and ordinances come out,” Parker said.

She says the current policies are outdated. Parker says the Alliance has gotten 18 other city or county organizations on board to help make these updates.

“We’re working on the budget,” City Councilman Paul Lawler said. “So we’re looking at what money we have in the city budget to replace trees that have come down, so that’s one piece. Then we’re rewriting the land development code, what most people would call the zoning law.”

Lawler says the new code will have laws about how many trees must be replanted after construction.

All Parker wants is to freshen up these codes.

“We want this to move ahead and we want that to take care of the trees, as well as other parts of the environment that make this area so special,” she said.

An official from New Hanover County says they are also actively working with the Alliance to find ways to balance development with the environment.