Some residents in Greensboro are eagerly awaiting the details of a proposed tree ordinance. A city council subcommittee finished the draft for the ordinance this week, but it has not yet been made public.
The new measure comes in response to a dispute between property owners and Duke Energy over the company’s practice of cutting trees. Nancy Vaughan is an at-large City Council member who helped write the ordinance draft.
"We were able to protect private property as well as public right of way," says Vaughan.
"All of the ordinances in the state of North Carolina, none of them protect private property, so I think this is really a step forward."
She says the ordinance should save more trees and will follow what she calls an "urban standard." A public hearing on the draft is scheduled for later in May. A majority of council members would have to approve the ordinance before it could take effect.