To carry out the provisions of the Lakeport general plan with respect to protecting the natural environment and conserving and enhancing Lakeport's unique natural beauty and irreplaceable natural resources specifically applicable to the preservation of native trees, including oak, redwood, willow, and cottonwood.

The regulations for tree preservation standards shall apply only to proposals to develop land and shall not apply to existing developed sites.

Existing native trees on proposed development sites with a diameter of six inches or more including, but not limited to, oak, willow, cottonwood, and redwood shall not be cut down, removed, or otherwise destroyed except as provided herein.

Development projects involving applications for building permits and land use projects within the city shall include a tree report where there are existing native trees located on the site. The tree report shall include the following information:

Upon submittal of the tree report, the director shall review the information and make a recommendation as to the necessity to revise the proposed development project in order to retain the trees or mitigate the impact to the trees. The director or the planning commission may require that the project be revised and that proposed improvements be relocated or otherwise modified in order to retain the native trees or mitigate the impact on the trees.

The director or the planning commission may require that trees that are proposed to be removed as a result of development instead be retained through the implementation of specific mitigation measures. Mitigation measures may include limitations on: root cutting, limb cutting, placement of improvements within the canopy drip line, construction of irrigation facilities within the canopy drip line, introduction of non-native plant materials within the canopy drip line, or other techniques as necessary to preserve the trees.

The city recognizes that some trees will have to be removed to facilitate development in accordance with the general plan. For those trees that are to be removed, the director or the commission shall require a 1:1 replacement with a minimum fifteen-gallon tree in the same or similar species as the tree to be removed. If the trees that are removed are mature and healthy, there shall be a 1:1 replacement with a minimum twenty-four-inch root ball specimen in the species that is the same or similar to the tree removed. Trees planted as replacements shall be continually maintained or replaced if they fail to survive. Replacement trees shall be planted on the site where the preexisting tree was removed, or may be planted on a separate site at the discretion of the city.

The director or the commission shall determine the degree of tree impact resulting from the proposed development of the land and shall stipulate those conditions of approval necessary to satisfy the purpose of this chapter and the Lakeport general plan.

The city shall provide an up-to-date inventory of significant stands or individual native trees. Said inventory shall be consulted in the review of potential tree impact caused by development proposals.