Trees, Trees, Trees

Regular readers may recall the City committed to advertising this draft Tree policy last year at the 27 November 2024 Ordinary Council Meeting.

You might also recall the story of the infamous Fig Tree at 195 High Street, behind Coccolico, and the debate that ensued after the landowners sought to have it removed from the existing Significant Tree Register.

The draft Tree policy is now out for comment on the City’s MySay page, with the following disclaimer:

The draft Local Planning Policy 2.26: Tree Retention (Tree Retention Policy) aims to retain existing mature canopy trees on private property, by requiring development (planning) approval to remove trees above a specified size, on lots coded R30 and below and Development Areas.

The draft Tree policy is based on WALGA’s – the Western Australian Local Government Association’s – template and aims to complement the City’s existing Urban Forest Plan. It will not replace the existing Significant Tree Register or supersede trees recognised in the Heritage List.

The draft Tree policy aims to regulate ‘Tree-damaging activity’, which term technically constitutes “works” under the Planning and Development (Local Planning Scheme) Regulations 2015 and “development” under the Planning and Development Act 2005. The draft Tree policy seeks to make clear when a development application and approval are required for any tree-damaging activity and provides guidance for the application process.

The draft Tree policy focuses on private land, stating that it seeks to:
• Prioritise the retention, protection, and the provisions of trees on private land and adjacent reserves in the planning process.
• Promote and facilitate tree preservation at the earliest possible stage in the planning and development process, balancing with the desired built form and land use outcomes.
• Preserve and enhance neighbourhood amenity, character and sense of place.
• Mitigate the urban heat island effect, reduce air pollution, improve groundwater quality and contribute to biodiversity and other environmental benefits.

It covers land zoned Residential R30 or below, and the Development zone. But nothing zoned Commercial, Industry, or other.

The draft Tree policy strives to protect any ‘Regulated Tree’ (excluding palm trees) which means mean a living tree that:
a) is 8m or more in height; and/or
b) has an average canopy diameter of at least 6m; and/or
c) has a trunk circumference of at least 1.5m, measured 1.4m above the ground; and
d) is of a species that is not included on a State or local area weed register.

Again, this applies to relevant private land only (current and future).

Where the removal of a Regulated Tree is approved by the City, two replacement trees of “30 litre pot size and capable of achieving a height of 8m” will be required to be planted onsite as guided by the planting area requirements of clause 5.3.2 of the Residential Design Codes and the City’s Urban Forest Plan.

Other local governments, such as the City of Cockburn and City of Nedlands, have already started the process based upon the template with their own adjustments.

However, the City of Kalamunda and City of South Perth have recently decided against having a tree retention policy.

Meanwhile, we still await the outcomes of community engagement for the State Government Urban Greening Strategy for Perth and Peel from June last year.
Comments are invited on this policy until 12 February 2025 at 5pm.

In the meantime, annyone interested in the draft Tree policy is welcome to contact the City for further information, including requesting a 1:1 meeting with City officers.

The policy can also be viewed in hard copy format at the City’s Walyalup Civic Centre in Walyalup Koort at 151 High Street, Fremantle.

For more details on how to contact the City and view the policy online or in person look here.

* By Gayle O’Leary. If you’d like to catch up on more by Gayle here on Fremantle Shipping News, including her regular Rarely a Dull Moment reports and film and theatre reviews, look right here!

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