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CITY OF PLEASANTON URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN | 145 <br />ANALYSIS OF CURRENT PLANS POLICIES AND ORDINANCES <br />This section provides a review of the Pleasanton's current plans, design standards, and ordinances, as well as new state laws, <br />and how they relate to City's management of the urban forest. The recent update of the City's Tree Preservation Ordinance is <br />highlighted here and the full review of the City's other relevant planning documents, including the General Plan, Climate Action <br />Plan, and Trails Master Plan, can be found in Appendix M. <br />4.1 Tree Preservation Ordinance <br />Pleasanton’s Tree Preservation Ordinance is codified in the City’s Municipal Code Chapter 17.16 Tree Preservation. Table 4-1 <br />presents the analysis and revisions to the specific sections of the ordinance code. All other sections are considered to either <br />be in line with best management practices, or are procedural matters defined at the discretion of the City. <br />Table 4-1. Chapter 17.16 Tree Preservation Ordinance Updates <br />Chapter 17.16 Heritage Tree Preservation Ordinance <br />Section Comment <br />Section <br />17.16.006 <br />Definitions <br />The largest changes were new definitions for “Heritage Tree” and “Protected Trees.” A new special classification <br />for Protected Trees was created for trees that are native to Pleasanton which are protected at 37 inches in <br />circumference. All other (non-invasive) tree species are now protected at 55 inches in circumference and the <br />height criterion of 35 feet was removed from the definition of Heritage and Protected Trees. <br />Definitions were added for “Consulting Arborist”, “Director”, “Emergency”, and “Significant Impact.” <br />Section 17.16.010 <br />Permit - <br />Required <br />The text “effectively remove” was added to section A to clarify definition in place of “remove, destroy, or <br />disfigure.” <br />Section <br />17.16.020 Permit <br />- Procedure <br />Language modified in section A to replace “Engineering Department” with “Director.” <br />A number of changes were made to this section to make the ordinance easier to understand. New conditions <br />were added to provide more flexibility to accommodate resident’s needs including, permit categories for high <br />fire risk, ADU construction, and damage from trees to utilities or structures. <br />Tree replacement requirements were added at a minimum of a 1:1 ratio.