South Portland poised to approve rules to reduce the number of trees lost to development

FORECASTER • September 7, 2023

The South Portland City Council is poised to pass regulations aimed at reducing and offsetting the number of trees cut down for development in the city. The regulations would also apply to homeowners who want to take down large swaths of trees on their property, but exempt those who want to remove one or just a few for small improvement projects or because the trees are hazardous or unhealthy. Any project that calls for the removal of 10 or more “significant” trees, three or more “heritage” trees and any “historic” trees would require city approval under the new regulations.