Newton has lost half its street trees since 1970 and an unknown percentage of its overall tree canopy. In 2017, only 48% of Newton's total land had tree canopy. Cutting healthy, mature trees negatively impacts all Newton residents, and fuels the global climate emergency. Removing even a few trees affects air pollution, storm water drainage, road quality, home and business energy efficiency, heat indices, and public health. These externalities cost the City of Newton and its taxpayers.
We, the undersigned, urge the Newton City Council to stand up for the community and enact the strongest protections for the most trees in Newton. Understanding that permitted tree removal will remain an option for property owners, we support the City Councilor-proposed ordinance (Docket #411-22) because we want to see the strongest protections in the final ordinance:
• Protections for all trees 6" DBH (inches in diameter at breast height) and larger
• Application of the same requirements across all properties in Newton - no blanket exemptions for 1-2 family residences (80% of Newton’s residential property; 53% of all City land!)
• Abutter notification of tree-removal applications and public posting of permits
• Abutter tree and root protections from adjacent construction activity
• An environmental mitigation payment to cut mature, healthy,
not-dangerous trees using a Certified Arborist to document tree health and danger conditions
• Strong consequences for violations, including stopping construction work
We urge the City of Newton to mitigate the impacts of climate change by protecting and preserving healthy trees—for Newton, for Massachusetts, and beyond.
