Ideas for Improving the Montgomery County Forest Conservation Law

The connection for Friends of Sligo Creek and other environmental and civic advocacy groups is clear. Trees are necessary for effective stormwater management since they serve as natural absorption for polluted stormwater runoff. They buffer neighborhoods from encroaching commercial development. Trees filter the air, store carbon and help improve air quality. They keep communities cooler and conserve energy use.

Despite its position as one of the greener counties in the United States, the southern more urbanized section of Montgomery County is losing mature tree cover at an alarming rate due to rapid growth and new development. American Forests produced GIS data four years ago showing that Silver Spring alone has only a 14% tree canopy. A tree canopy of 40% is considered essential for a healthy and sustainable urban area.

Here is a list of potential ways to strengthen the FCL:

• Put the requirement back into the FCL that public hearings (not meetings but hearings) are to be held for every Forest Conservation Plan submitted to M-NCCPC. The first draft legislation for the FCL in the early 1990s included this provision. However, this requirement was taken out of the final version of the law by the Montgomery County Council.
• Eliminate the "in lieu" fee for developers. Developers should be required to replace trees demolished for new construction with trees of a the largest caliper available for planting.
• Eliminate exemptions from the FCL in cases where a plat was subdivided and recorded prior to the FCL and other environmental laws.
• Add specific provisions for protecting trees on public or private property adjacent to construction sites.
• Strengthen language related to submission of landscaping plans when trees are to be demolished for new construction. The current law contains vague language on when landscaping plans will be required and how they will be implemented.
• Limit the amount of tree cover that can be demolished per acre for construction.
• In cases where old zoning is being used that predates county, federal and state environmental laws, require that developers go back through the formal zoning and planning process required of all new projects. If a certain percentage of tree cover is at risk of loss based on old zoning, developers should be required to go back and re-zone to address saving more trees on lots slated for development.
• Lower the threshold for triggering the Forest Conservation Law (to address the FCL under a requirement for an engineered sediment control permit) from 40,000 square feet or more of land to 20,000.
• Strengthen standards related to linkage of land use, stormwater management and forest conservation. There are too many disconnects as the regulations are now set up.
• Require that the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services, the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, and the County Department of Public Works and Transportation work together from the outset of a project to address forest conservation and preservation of individual trees related to stormwater management.
• In addition, build an outreach function into every new planning and permitting process for new development in Montgomery County. Encourage developers to practice "smart growth" by requiring that they meet with adjacent homeowners prior to submitting plans or permit or zoning applications to the county agencies. Make sure that adjacent homeowners have an opportunity to address concerns BEFORE a plan is drafted for development projects.
• Add a provision regarding the use of GIS technology in county planning. Ask that Montgomery County use GIS technology that has been made available to them to forecast the amount of tree cover at risk in parts of the county and then use that information in long-term planning.
• Revise the county Forest Conservation Law to address infill development and loss of tree cover in urban parts of the county. The current version of the FCL was written to address protection of upland forest in more rural sections of the county - not infill development. Yet the southern sections of the county are under tremendous pressure for increased infill development.
• Establish an Infill Development Review Board that will bridge to both M-NCPPC and DPS. Include forest conservation and tree canopy in the review process.
• Establish minimum requirements for limits of disturbance (LODs) around the perimeters of construction sites in order to save more trees.