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The Portland Planning Commission on Tuesday voted to recommend the Portland City Council extend the large tree amendment to Portland鈥檚 tree code (Title 11). The amendment, introduced in 2015 and modified in 2020, aims to preserve the city鈥檚 largest trees.

The amendment is set to expire at the end of this year. The current proposal calls for removing the current sunset clause from the code.

The large tree amendment requires developers to pay higher mitigation fees for removing trees 20 inches or larger in diameter. Only 13 percent of Portland鈥檚 trees grow to such a size, according to Brian Landoe, a staffer in Portland Parks & Recreation鈥檚 Urban Forestry Department.

The original Title 11 code stated that one-third of trees with a diameter of 12 inches or larger had to be preserved or a fee be paid of $1,800 per tree, Landoe said. With the amendment, the fee in lieu of preservation increased to $450 per inch for trees 20 inches in diameter or larger.

Exemptions from tree preservation include dying trees or those of dangerous species, affordable housing projects, lots smaller than 5,000 square feet, and projects with proposed or existing lot coverage of 85 percent or greater. These exemptions allow trees to be removed without any mitigation fee.

鈥淭he large tree amendment is really a targeted preservation and mitigation strategy for Portland鈥檚 largest and most valuable trees that are generally outside the areas where most of Portland鈥檚 housing is zoned to be built,鈥� Landoe said.

Mitigation payments are deposited into the Tree Planting & Preservation Fund. That money has been used to pay for plantings of trees along streets, in residential yards, at public schools and in natural areas, Landoe said. Approximately 42,000 trees have been planted since 2015.

The proposed amendment will go before the Urban Forestry Commission on Thursday for its recommendation. If approved, it would then advance to the Portland City Council.