Lakewood Existing Tree Preservation and Replacement Requirements

The City of Lakewood requires developers to preserve existing trees with trunks greater than eight inches to be preserved “to the extent reasonably feasible,” and considers those trees protected for purposes of the zoning code. Developers must establish fenced protection around sch trees during construction, and any utility or irrigation work that would require excavating more than six inches within the tree protection zone must be done by boring beneath the protected tree at a depth of at least 24 inches. Dead, dying, or invasive trees may be removed, but must be replaced at a rate of 100% of the total caliper of removed trees, though property owners also have the option of paying $1,200 per tree into a tree fund instead of actually replacing trees. The tree fund is used to replace trees on public property within the same ward as the property generating the in-lieu cash payment.