(a) General.
(1) This Section applies to construction of a highway by the County or a municipality as part of an approved Capital Improvements Program project.
(2) The construction should minimize forest removal, land disturbance, and loss of significant, specimen, or champion trees to the extent possible while balancing other design, construction, and environmental standards. The constructing agency must make a reasonable effort to minimize land disturbance to avoid the cutting or clearing of trees and other woody plants.
(b) If the forest to be cut or cleared for a County highway project equals or exceeds 20,000 square feet, the constructing agency must reforest a suitable area at the rate of one acre of protected reforestation for each acre of forest cleared.
(c) Reforestation for County highway projects must meet the standards in subsections 22A-12(e), (g) and (h).
(d) Any mitigation requirement for loss of significant, specimen, or champion trees must be based on the size and character of the tree. (
2001 L.M.C., ch 19
, § 1; 2010 L.M.C., ch. 55, § 1; 2017 L.M.C., ch. 34, §1; 2021 L.M.C., ch. 1, § 1; 2023 L.M.C., ch. 6, §1.)
Editor’s note—2001 L.M.C., ch. 19, § 2, reads as follows:
Transition. Any amendment to Chapter 22A, inserted by Section 1 of this Act, does not apply to:
(a) a preliminary or final forest conservation plan approved before this Act took effect [November 5, 2001], or
(b) a county highway project individually listed in the County Capital Improvements Program and submitted to the Planning Board under mandatory referral review before this Act took effect [November 5, 2001].