Advocates and officials debate use of tree fund mitigation monies to fund UTC survey; Denton, TX

City may commission tree survey Denton Record Chronicle News for Denton County, Texas Local News:
Some advocates oppose cost of proposal, use of money from tree fund
12:09 AM CDT on Monday, September 14, 2009
By Lowell Brown / Staff Writer
A new phase of Denton’s ongoing tree code overhaul will start this week, as the City Council considers funding a citywide tree canopy survey.
The city would spend an estimated $30,000 to $40,000 on a joint project with the University of North Texas to measure the amount of tree coverage in and around Denton under a plan the council will discuss Tuesday. City planners say the project would help them set target percentages for tree preservation and find wooded land the city might want to buy and protect. No vote is scheduled.
Some tree advocates have criticized the plan, in part because it would use money from the city’s tree fund, which collects fines from developers who illegally clear-cut or fail to meet the city’s minimum standards for onsite tree preservation. They argue that the fund should be spent on protecting trees, not counting them.