Tree trust funds established by city planning district

(a)

Description and general boundaries. There are hereby established, by city planning district, as set forth and described in section 27-20 of the City Code, five (5) distinct, interest-bearing tree trust funds:

(1)

Central Tampa;

(2)

Westshore;

(3)

University;

(4)

New Tampa; and

(5)

South Tampa.

(b)

Purpose. These trust funds are established for the deposit, maintenance, and distribution of all required payments, approximating the cost of required mitigation trees, pursuant to Chapter 27, Article VI, Division 4, of the City Code.

(c)

Payments to funds. All payments shall be made into the specific tree trust fund, established for the planning district from which the tree(s) have been removed and require mitigation. All monies collected shall be properly identified by planning district and tree type (1, 2, 3, or Palm), transferred for deposit into the appropriate tree trust fund to be held in separate accounts, and used solely for the purposes specified in this section.

(d)

Expenditures from funds. The tree trust funds shall be used solely for the selection, acquisition, installation, and maintenance of mitigation trees, as defined in section 27-43 of the City Code, planted to be placed in department managed lands, rights-of-way, properties in which the city has a legal interest, in any other lands described in section 27-284.4.2 of the City Code, and to fund the urban canopy analysis, as provided for in section 27-284 of the City Code.

(e)

Transfer of monies between funds. City council may approve the transfer of funds between planning district tree trust funds, if available, in order to address loss of canopy in one planning district as follows:

(1)

Subsequent to each Urban Canopy Analysis, as set forth in section 27-284, if loss of canopy (i.e. leaf area) is demonstrated in the study; or

(2)

At any time to address loss of canopy caused by natural disasters; or

(3)

At any time to address loss of canopy caused by, or immediately anticipated to occur due to, natural occurrences that threaten the health of the canopy (i.e., disease or fungus).

(f)

Reporting. A tracking and reporting system for each of the five (5) trust funds shall be established to track each payment made into the fund and each mitigation tree planted. Annually a report shall be prepared, for each fund, and forwarded to city council with the following information:

(1)

Each payment made into the fund along with identifying information of the source of such funds, such as a corresponding building permit number;

(2)

Each expenditure from the fund, including the types and numbers of trees;

(3)

The coordinates or other physical location information of mitigation trees planted by the city with funds expended from the trust fund; and

(4)

The status of the health of each mitigation tree planted at the six-month and one-year mark after planting.

(g)

Former city-wide tree trust fund. Funds collected pursuant to Tampa Ordinance No. 2009-125 shall be spent in a manner consistent with that ordinance.

(Ord. No. 2009-125, § 119, 8-20-09; Ord. No. 2019-54, § 2, 4-18-2019)