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Worries grow with lawmaker's plan to kill tree rules 11/14/17 8:38 AM protection efforts, Lachnicht said. The Alachua County Tree Ordinance, adopted by the County Commission in 1991) protects trees with diameters of 8 inches or more or 2 feet in circumference, whichever is less; trees identified by federal and state forestry agencies as the largest of their species and trees that have a diameter of at least 30 inches or 7 -feet, 10 - inches, whichever is less. In 2013, the city of Gainesville revised its tree protection ordinance to narrow the focus of the city's regulations to healthy heritage trees, a group. of some 25 protected species, and levies a fee when those trees are removed from land being developed. Officials in cities with tree ordinances, such as Jacksonville and Tallahassee, have already gone on record with their opposition to the proposed bill, and have been joined by 1,000 Friends of Florida, a statewide nonprofit that monitors land management and other issues, in opposing the bill. Tree canopies in Alachua County and Gainesville are considered some of the most impressive in the state and country, both Lachnicht and Niederhofer said. In recent years, the Legislature has thrown out local ordinances on drones, gas station signs, guns, marijuana dispensaries and ride -sharing. Steube makes a private pioperty-rights argument for his move to pre-empt local rules that require government approval before clearing trees from a lot. Steube told the Sarasota Herald -Tribune he was irked when he found out he had to pull a permit to clear a lot and then pay to have the debris removed when he built a three -car garage on in Sarasota County property. Municipal tree ordinances that have short-term and long-term negative impacts on affordable housing should be evaluated, Sen. Keith Perry, R -Gainesville, said as he was headed to Tallahassee Monday afternoon. "I haven't seen the proposed tree (law) in question, so I can't say if I support it or not," Perry said. "I've heard about it, and I will definitely be looking at it." Both Lachnicht and Niederhofer said Steube's proposed bill is sure to receive a lot of opposition, especially locally. "Our county is known for being a tree -loving county," Lachnicht said. Niederhofer said this area not only protects trees, but insists that more be planted. "Gainesville has led our state in developing regulations that require replanting when trees are removed," she said. htip://www.gainesville.com/news/20171113/worrfes-grow-witli-lawmakers-plan-io-kill-tree-rules Page 2 of 3 P147