A wide variety of oak trees make up a significant amount of vegetation in the Cross Timbers Region and, by extension, in Fort Worth.
Now, city leaders are seeking to expand protections for those species — and levy higher fines against those who illegally remove them.
LaShondra Stringfellow, assistant director of the Development Services Department, announced proposed amendments to Fort Worth’s urban forest ordinance, which would include more preservation requirements.
The updated ordinance would add post oak and blackjack oak trees to the city’s protected tree species list. The plan would also include a total of 47 protected species, up from 26 tree species, according to Stringfellow’s presentation during an April 2 City Council work session.
If the ordinance changes are approved, developers will also see a spike in criminal fines and civil penalties for illegally removing trees. Currently, developers must preserve 25% of existing tree canopy when developing a property, or seek a waiver from those requirements through the City Plan Commission.
Developers could face a criminal fine of $2,000 — up from $500 — the state maximum for a zoning ordinance violation, for every tree removed illegally. The civil penalty for an authorized removal of a protected tree would result in a $600 fine per diameter inch or $15 per canopy square foot, up from the $300 fine per inch or $7.50 per square foot.
For unauthorized removals of post oak or blackjack oak trees, offenders will face a $720 fine per inch or $18 per square foot, replacing the original $600 fine per inch or $15 per square foot.
The ordinance amendments come in response to recommendations outlined by the city’s inaugural urban forest master plan, said Stringfellow. The city’s goal is to increase overall tree canopy to 30% of the city by 2050, up from its current 19% coverage.
The master plan was adopted in June 2024, months after council members initially held off on the decision, citing concerns that the plan’s penalties for developers who removed more than the allowed percentage of trees were not harsh enough.
Up from the current goal of preserving 25% of the city’s canopy for all species, the requirement would be amended to protect 50% of post oak and blackjack oak tree canopies and remain at the original percentage for all other protected species.
The post oak and blackjack oaks are “extremely hard” to breed, resulting in the increased preservation goal, said Jaclyn Ingram, an urban forestry officer for the city.
As for development, Stringfellow proposed allowing developers to increase building height by 14 feet above the current permitted maximum height to protect tree canopy while also preventing infrastructure from crossing zoning lines or property boundaries. The amendment would apply to the following zoning districts:
- CR – Low density multifamily
- C – Medium density multifamily
- CF– Community facilities
- ER – Restricted neighborhood commercial
- E – Neighborhood commercial
The amendment for development also instructs the Fort Worth Zoning Commission to decrease zoning setbacks — the required minimum distance a building must be from property lines — by 50% for any zoning district with the exception of residential areas.
Regardless of the change in building height, developers will still be held to tree preservation requirements and potential fines, according to Stringfellow.
City Council member Gyna Bivens, who co-chaired the committee that oversaw the urban forestry plan, displayed her support for the increased fines and asked council members to not “plead the case” for developers offending preservation ordinances.
“I know it’s significant, but again, it’s the guys who don’t follow the rules that we got to get their attention and this is the way,” said Bivens.
Council member Elizabeth Beck suggested further increasing the fines for illegal removal of post oaks and blackjack oaks.
“I’d like to deter as much as possible because … once it’s gone, it’s gone. We can’t get it back. I mean, we can plant new trees, but it’ll take a generation for some of those to grow back,” said Beck.
The updated ordinance will be presented in an April 9 zoning commission meeting and will head to council April 22 for final approval.
Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.
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