Title
Land Purchase for Tree Canopy Preservation Program
Action
Action:
A. Approve the purchase of approximately 24.59 acres located on Hart Road in Mecklenburg County (parcel identification number 031-216-02) for $270,100, from the Catawba Lands Conservancy, and
B. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and grant a Conservation Easement to the Catawba Lands Conservancy.
Body
Staff Resource(s):
Tim Porter, Engineering & Property Management
Amanda Byrum, Engineering & Property Management
Explanation
* Effective January 1, 2011, the City Council approved revisions to the City's Tree Ordinance. The revised Ordinance changed tree save and tree planting requirements for commercial development and offered mitigation options at certain development locations.
* One mitigation option allows developers to pay into the Tree Ordinance Mitigation Fund (Fund), administered by the City, in lieu of saving trees on site.
* The City uses the Fund for property acquisition and expenditures associated with ongoing tree preservation and maintenance.
* Since that acquisition, City staff has established a Tree Canopy Preservation Program to set criteria for future acquisitions, including location, acreage, tree quality, rate of development in the area, connectivity to other open space or greenways, and opportunities for stewardship partner involvement.
* Staff researched many properties located primarily within Charlotte's city limits or within the City's extraterritorial jurisdiction and identified this property as a partnership opportunity with the Catawba Lands Conservancy, meeting the program criteria.
* The property is adjacent to the Catawba Wildflower Glen and the Smawley Tract, owned by the Catawba Lands Conservancy, and will provide additional acreage to a contiguous protected area.
* The property contains approximately 20 acres of contiguous mature hardwood forest. The remaining acreage on the property is located within Duke Energy transm...
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