Larry Evans PRESERVATION IN NORTH PORT City needs tree ordinance Rue Berryman is in his eighth year on the North Port City Commission. He has heard thousands of complaints about potholes, taxes, barking dogs, clogged canals, traffic congestion, crowded playing fields and a vegetable soup of other issues. People also talk to him about trees. "All the time. They hate to see our greenery taken away," Berryman told me during an end-of-the-year telephone conversation. Berryman is chairman in 2006, so I wanted to know what he sees as the main issues the commission faces. He mentioned traffic, road repairs, the proposed megadevelopment Isles of Athena, demand for health-care facilities and the need for more parks. And he brought up trees. His constituents want him to stop the slaughter of pines, palms and other trees as North Port grows by 3,000 to 4,000 homes a year. Berryman said saving trees is difficult because many homes go on small lots and require individual wells and septic tanks. Consequently, developers cut down the trees. Nonetheless, "We've got to do something." That's encouraging to hear. A city without trees is ugly. North Port is a 105-square-mile city of about 50,000 people, so it can nip the problem in the bud. Anyone looking for ammunition to use in fighting the battle for trees can find it in an article in the November/December issue of Urban Land, the magazine of the Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit organization for developers on the cutting edge of planning. The article, "Reclaiming Trees," was written by John E. Cutler of the Houston office of the SWA Group, an international landscape architecture, planning and design company. "As real estate development continues across the country, and as many jurisdictions fail to adequately protect and care for public trees, the scale of loss of the nation's urban forests --and trees along streets, in parks, on business campuses, at civic buildings and schools, and in the yards of private residences --is staggering," Cutler writes. The number of urban trees decreased by 21 percent in the past 10 years, estimates American Forests, a nonprofit conservation organization that has data on 448 cities. North Port is not alone. So why --aside from the fact that trees are pretty --should Berryman or anyone else care about tree loss? Cutler explains why: Property values rise. A 2004 study by the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business Business found that large trees can increase residential and commercial property values by up to 10 percent. Trees increase profits. People shop longer and more often in tree-lined retail areas, and they spend about 12 percent more money, according to a University of Washington study. Trees can help the city of North Port and retailers profit now that commercial growth is under way. Trees help human health by reducing air pollution. Trees limit energy costs. Shade helps cool houses in sunny Florida and elsewhere, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The monthly cost of air-conditioning a home can be reduced by 25 percent if well-placed trees are next to the house. Trees retain storm water. North Port has a serious storm-water problem. Some lots frequently flood, and clearing more lots will worsen the problem in low-lying neighborhoods. Atlanta's storm-water runoff increased 33 percent between 1974 and 1996, as the tree canopy declined from 48 percent to 26 percent, according to American Forests. Studies, including one by the U.S. Forest Service, indicate 100 mature trees can capture approximately 250,000 gallons of rainwater a year and slowly release it into ground water. Tree preservation and planting must become part of North Port's water-supply planning. Trees keep land-based pollution from flowing into creeks and rivers, so buffers should be kept along the Myakka River and Myakkahatchee Creek. That won't happen, however, unless North Port adopts a strong tree ordinance. And without a good ordinance, builders will continue to transform wooded tracts into naked lots. Cutler believes "cities and counties need to significantly strengthen their existing tree ordinances and landscape codes, and close every loophole." Berryman is a lame duck because the City Charter prohibits commissioners from serving more than two successive terms. He would please many people if, in his final year, he stands tall for trees and makes sure the city adopts a strong ordinance. Larry Evans is a Herald-Tribune editorial writer and columnist. He can be reached at 486-3075 or at: larry.evans@heraldtribune.com