Calvert County Master Plan regulations require 60% tree cover in watersheds, 40% in towns; Calvert County, MD

Give trees a chance: "Give trees a chance
The right greenery can mean more greenbacks
Friday, May 15, 2009
By JAY FRIESS
Staff writer"
Rice said Charles County requires that 90 percent of the landscaping plants used by developers have to be native species. Calvert County has gone even further. "We adopted an ordinance last year that said ‘natives only,'" Bowen said. Citing their better record of longevity, Bowen said, "On the whole, natives are the better way to go."
Calvert County recently passed minimum tree canopy regulations as part of an update of the Solomons Town Center master plan. The regulations are designed to comply with the water resources element of the county's master plan, which calls for 60 percent tree cover in the county's watersheds and 40 percent cover in towns to achieve better water quality.
"If we work at the sub-watershed level … I think we can maintain or improve watershed quality," Bowen said. "If we all do our share, we can make it better."