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Tree Code Update Project: Policy Roots Survey

The City has been working with the community this past year to find out Gresham’s goals for trees in our city. Thank you everyone who has shared your thoughts with us so far! Your feedback is helping us make policies that support healthy tree coverage across the city and the benefits those trees provide for the community and environment.

The community’s goals for the updated tree policies include to:

  • Protect mature trees and groves of trees;
  • Support plentiful to dense tree coverage; 
  • Promote places with a variety of both building and tree sizes;
  • Reduce urban heat;
  • Provide wildlife habitat; 
  • Improve air quality; and 
  • Support healthy living.  


Your voice planted the seeds for tree policy growth. Now we want to hear from you to make sure our approach to writing the policy updates matches the community’s vision.  


Tree Canopy Coverage

A tree’s canopy is the area covered by its trunk, branches, and leaves when viewed from above. Canopy coverage policies set clear goals for how much tree coverage we want in the city, by both preserving existing growing trees and by planting new ones.

Policy approach: Set goals for meaningful increases in canopy coverage without being too high to achieve.

  • Set a citywide tree canopy coverage goal to give the city an overall long-term target to reach.
  • Also set individual canopy goals for specific contexts based on the tree needs of different areas. For instance, residential neighborhoods will have different tree needs than commercial or industrial areas.
  • Canopy coverage goals will be large enough to increase the health and climate benefits from trees and to support more even distribution of trees in the city.

Sidewalk lined by large trees showing canopy cover.

Does this tree canopy policy approach support the community’s vision for trees?

Tree Preservation

Tree preservation policies establish requirements for protecting existing trees when new development happens to make sure existing canopy levels are maintained while still allowing development to occur.

Policy approach: Strong tree preservation rules that are balanced with development.

  • Create rules to protect many existing trees (especially large, mature ones), while still allowing removal of others for growth and development in the city. 

Does this tree preservation policy approach support the community’s vision for trees?

Tree Replacement

When trees are allowed to be removed, tree replacement standards help determine what and how much needs to be replanted and what other options are available to decrease the impact of tree removal.

Policy approach: Require replacement for certain types of trees that have established benefits and functions and where tree canopy goals are not met.

  • Require replacement for priority tree types (like street trees and trees in natural resource areas).
  • Require replacement of trees that have specific beneficial functions.
  • Require replacement where existing trees don’t meet minimum canopy goals.


Tree planting

Does this tree replacement policy approach support the community’s vision for trees?

Enforcement of Tree Standards

Tree standards need to be enforced to make sure we meet our tree goals, including penalties for when rules are not followed (like removing required trees without permits).

Policy approach: Scale consequences to the impact of tree violations.

  • Smaller penalties for minor violations will limit impacts on smaller property owners and those not aware of the rules.
  • Larger consequences for more serious violations will be strong enough to discourage more serious violations and reflect the importance of trees to our community.

Does this approach to policy enforcement support the community’s vision for trees?
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Which of the below best describes your race/ethnicity? (Select all that apply)

Thank you!