How Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne proposes to fix tree canopy concerns
A Sydney Labor Mayor is proposing new measures to increase the tree cover in his local area as councillors struggle to agree to a green solution.
Inner West
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Plans have been unveiled for a “substantially increased” council budget to boost the Inner West’s poor tree cover.
On the heels of a controversial policy change last month, Mayor Darcy Byrne has flagged further amendments at next week’s council meeting in a bid to increase the Inner West’s 18 per cent tree canopy cover, which is less than half of the target set by the Greater Sydney Commission.
Councillors had given the nod to allowing residents to prune or remove trees within 3m of an existing home or structure without council approval.
But Cr Byrne and his Labor colleagues will be calling for this to be changed to 2m of the primary dwelling — not sheds or swimming pools — to qualify for automatic replacement.
“This reflects the Randwick Council policy which has been in place for an extended period without detrimental impact on canopy cover,” the Mayor said on his Facebook page.
“(The proposed change) will require a replacement tree to be planted (from an approved list) for any trees being removed. This will ensure that all dangerous or inappropriate trees are replaced, not just removed, and that council and the community have real time data about when this occurs.”
Cr Byrne has also proposed a “dial-a-tree program”, where residents can phone council to book a tree from free of charge, as well as increasing funds for the environmental overhaul.
“(We’ll) substantially increase funding for tree planting in the 2020/21 Budget and future budgets to allow for a massive increase in new plantings on public land,” he said. “This will be guided by an audit of all trees on public land which is currently underway.”
The Mayor is also calling for developers and utility companies to have cables bundled underground, allowing for more and larger street trees.
Greens councillor Colin Hesse said the proposed amendments “won’t return protection to our trees”.
“Nor do they give certainty to the community or planners about meeting the challenges of a heating environment,” Cr Hesse said.
“The Greens are being constructive and we are hoping to meet with Labor to see if we can bring some sanity back to our environment … and many more trees on public land.”
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