Tree Canopy Target ‘Unrealistic’ Under New Fast-Track Housing Plans
The Age, National
An inner-eastern council has warned that a state government plan to fast-track housing will significantly reduce tree cover, making it futile to increase the canopy target. Boroondara Council officers will present a bleak report on Monday night, recommending against raising the council's canopy coverage target from 27% to 30% by 2040.
The new codes for townhouse, low-rise, and four-storey developments, announced in February as a way to fast-track housing, are blamed for making it harder to arrest canopy decline on private land. This is despite the state government's goal of 30% tree canopy coverage in urban areas, set in its Plan for Victoria strategy earlier this year.
Council officers concluded that the significant challenges in maintaining, let alone increasing, canopy cover make the 2040 target unrealistic. Boroondara's current canopy coverage is estimated at around 24%, down from 25.7% in 2022, with officers attributing this decline to works on the North-East Link and Union railway station level crossing removal, as well as tree loss on private residential land.
The council report predicts that these issues with canopy coverage on private land will persist under the new low-rise code. Changes to clause 55 of planning schemes mean councils must approve developments up to three-storeys if they meet prescribed standards, including a tree canopy requirement of at least 10% for sites smaller than 1000 square meters and 20% for larger sites.
Experts highlight that this falls short of Victoria's broader goal of 30% coverage across all neighborhoods, a target promoted as essential for the full cooling and health benefits of trees. Hawthorn resident Ray Peck, a member of the local environment group Lighter Footprints, expresses disappointment with the council's proposed 27% target, calling for more ambitious modeling.
Dr. Greg Moore, an arboriculture expert, shares concerns that state government reforms could decrease tree-canopy coverage and increase heat-related illness. However, he urges Boroondara to set a 30% target, emphasizing the importance of aspiration and accountability to the state government.
Boroondara Mayor Sophie Torney acknowledges the low-rise code's impact on private sites, rendering a 30% canopy target 'impossible'. While council-owned public land currently has 43% coverage, with an aim to increase this to 52.5%, Torney emphasizes the 'not feasible' nature of further increases to offset private tree loss.
Torney highlights a contradiction in the state's policy settings, where it asks councils to grow tree canopy while its planning rules limit tree cover on private land, and fines for illegal tree removal are insufficient.
A state government spokesperson counters by noting strengthened planning permit requirements to cut down trees taller than five meters and a new $9.5 million fund to provide grants for councils to plant half a million more trees in municipalities with below-average canopy cover.
Despite these measures, the council's concerns persist, underscoring the complex challenges in balancing housing development and tree preservation.
