City tree fund grows stagnant
No plans yet for $6 million surplus

By David Bauerlein
Times-Union staff writer

Jacksonville's tree-protection law has generated a record-setting $6 million surplus for City Hall's tree-planting program, but officials lack a plan for spending the windfall.

Developers and government agencies pay into the fund when they cut down protected trees -- defined by their size and type, depending on the location -- and don't plant new trees to offset the loss. City Hall uses the fund to plant trees on roadsides, parks and school campuses.

The fund has piled up revenue over the past 2 1/2 years, but city officials have just begun to work on a tree-planting plan for spending the money. Mayor John Delaney will assemble a "comprehensive" package and hopes to present it to City Council by summer, spokeswoman Sharon Ashton said.

"There absolutely is a need to put the money back into the ground," she said.

Tree fund growth Government entities that cleared trees on public works projects paid most of the fees collected by City Hall's tree fund from 1999 to 2001. Private developers accounted for one-fifth of the fees. Private development --$1.59 million Jacksonville Port Authority -- $1.99 million Jacksonville Transportation Authority -- $1.94 million Jacksonville City Hall -- $1.67 million JEA -- $268,142 State of Florida -- $25,813

The tree protection law faces a legal challenge by the state Department of Transportation, which contends in a lawsuit filed last week that City Hall can't require the state to pay fees for trees cleared on state road projects. State officials say the money, which would amount to millions of dollars, is better spent on transportation needs.

City officials counter the tree law applies to all entities, including the state.

Ashton said Delaney's tree-planting proposal will spread projects throughout the city, including neighborhood-oriented sites.

Asked whether the plan will include funding for tree-planting at the sports complex, where the city is building a new arena and ballpark and will host the 2005 Super Bowl, Ashton said Delaney has made no decision on how to use the fund.

Prior to 1999, the fund generally collected a few hundred thousand dollars a year and paid out roughly the same amount for landscaping.

But from October 1999 to December 2001, payments shot up and the city collected a total of $7.4 million. In the same period, the city earmarked $1.6 million for landscaping projects, according to a report by the City Council Auditor's Office.

The lag in spending has caused the tree fund's surplus, which totaled $226,000 in September 1999, to grow. It currently has about $6 million in available cash.

"I think the fund is awfully large, particularly when you look at all the landscaping that developers and DOT and others are doing," said City Councilman Lad Daniels, who has criticized the tree protection law's regulations as excessive. "I think the magnitude would be a surprise to all of us."

But Councilman Jim Overton said the tree fund's increase gives City Hall an opportunity to craft a master plan, instead of just doing scattered projects.

"We're starting to develop the kind of fund that allows us to make large-scale changes in the way we look," Overton said.

In November 2000, voters approved a City Charter amendment that set minimum standards for tree protection across Duval County. Compared to the tree protection ordinance that was already on the books, the charter amendment's biggest impact was on homebuilders because it tightened the regulations for subdivision developments.

The Northeast Florida Builders Association filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the charter election. The suit is still pending, but so far homebuilders have not paid any money into the city's tree fund. Instead, they've complied by planting trees at their subdivisions, according to Division of Building Inspection reports.

The tree fund's big checks have come from other local governmental entities, which were already covered under the city's tree law prior to the charter amendment.

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority paid $1.9 million for trees cut down on the Wonderwood Connector, the road that will run from Mayport to Arlington. The Jacksonville Port Authority paid nearly $2 million for trees cleared during terminal expansion at Dames Point.

Sam Mousa, the city's chief administrative officer, said the tree program has "peaks and valley" in what it collects, and the past two years have been a high point.

John Crescimbeni, president of Citizens for Tree Preservation, said that instead of planting trees in downtown or along heavily traveled roads, the city should ask neighborhood groups where they want trees because those will be most noticeable to residents.

"That's where people live," he said. "That's where they go home to."

Staff writer David Bauerlein can be reached at (904) 359-4581 or via e-mail at dbauerlein.