Clearcutting in Apex has become standard practice as development has spread out to our western and southwestern edges.

The practice of clearcutting and mass grading needs to stop. The signers of this petition ask the Apex Town Council to adopt a Tree Protection Ordinance as a first class citizen in the UDO; requiring a permit for any clearcutting activity.

The bar for getting such a permit should be extremely high, and at a minimum requiring two native tree replacements for each tree being removed. The replacement trees should be placed on site when possible; around Apex if not. The Town of Apex would be responsible for facilitating developers planting trees around Apex, should they choose that option.

The signers of this petition believe clearcutting and mass grading should no longer be done. Instead care should be taken to incorporate existing trees into future subdivision plans, to line streets and sidewalks, as well as yards and RCA areas. Low density development should be preferred in all heavily wooded areas, in order to best allow for conservation of existing old growth trees.

We want the North Carolina Forest Service's municipal guidelines to serve as a model for this ordinance: https://ncforestservice.gov/Urban/pdf/treeProtection.pdf

Read more at the Citizens for the Responsible Growth of Apex's note on the subject: https://www.facebook.com/notes/citizens-for-the-responsible-growth-of-apex/stop-clearcutting-with-a-tree-protection-ordinance/987721424770294/