Sussex County holds another discussion to refine its forest preservation ordinance.
The ordinance seeks to require developers in Sussex to preserve and protect existing forests in the areas they’re building. It was among 20 recommendations from Sussex’s Land Use Reform Working group.
One question up for debate was how the county will define “forest” legally. The original proposed definition was a 10,000 square foot land area with trees at least two inches thick
But Councilman Matt Lloyd isn’t sure two inch thick trees are what people think of when they picture a forest. He suggests using Forest Service standards instead.
“So that’s why I was in favor of going from two inches to four inches. Similarly, if [developers] were to replant a 10,000 square foot patch of trees on another portion of the parcel, and call that a forest- I’d just think that is disingenuous. I don’t think that constitutes a forest.” he said.
Councilwoman Jane Gruenebaum backs the stricter definitions.
"The mission of the program is to determine the extent, conditions, volume, growth, and depletions of timber on the nation's forested land. This context explains why the FIA definition looks the way it does. Those thresholds are not derived from wildlife habitat science or edge effect ecology. " she said.
Gruenebaum argues that basing County rules on forest census data would only take into account lumber industry standards, and not biodiversity.
Other changes, like prohibiting development on an area subject to a timber harvest within the last five years, were also proposed.
Sussex County Administrator Todd Lawson plans to have an ordinance prepared by Council’s next meeting, August 25th, for potential action.
