A one-year moratorium on removing trees from private property will go into effect on March 11.

The City Council voted Monday night to pass an amendment to Cambridge�s tree protection ordinance requiring residents to obtain a permit in order to cut down a tree on their property. The amendment included a one-year moratorium on issuing permits to remove trees, as well as fines of up to $300 per violation and $300 for each day the violation exists. Violators would also be responsible for the cost of replacing the tree at approximately $800 to $900 dollars per DBH�[Diameter at Breast Height] inch. Homeowners with a residential exemption will pay only 10 percent or people on financial assistance will�pay nothing when it comes to violations, Councilor Quinton Zondervan said in a follow-up email.

Trees removed for city park projects, that provide significant negative impacts to existing adjacent structures, and dead or dangerous trees are exempt from the moratorium, as well as trees that could be removed for the benefit of the overall tree canopy on properties densely populated by existing trees.

Department of Public Works Commissioner Owen O�Riordan said the additional time would be sufficient to alert residents about the change.

�We had expected that two weeks would be needed, so this provides us with that time,� O�Riordan said.

Though he voted to approve the amendment, Mayor Marc McGovern noted that council moved �very quickly� on this issue.

�I just want to point out that there�s been one Ordinance Committee meeting about this, and then it�s here before us,� McGovern said. �This has been an incredible amount of work, and incredibly complicated for something that we are pushing through incredibly quickly.�

He added that while there may be a tree canopy emergency, there are also many other emergencies facing the city as well.

�[There are] many things that we could, and should, be acting much faster on than we are,� McGovern said. �And none of them get this much attention, and this much work as this ordinance has received.�

Vice Mayor Jan Devereux said that delaying the implementation of the moratorium would just provide time for more trees to be cut down.

�It�s horrifying,� Devereux said. �We�re losing trees right, left and center. It�s alarming."

�This set of amendments is not going to stop all tree loss,� she added. �But it sends a very strong signal.�

Zondervan said he is �extremely pleased� the amendments passed.

�Cambridge�s tree canopy has declined by nearly 20 percent over the last decade, and that is especially devastating as we anticipate extreme heat and flooding in the coming decades because of climate change and the urban heat island effect,� Zondervan said. �Mature trees are irreplaceable protectors against these coming dangers, and tonight the council took action.�

�