In what has been described as a "watershed moment," two inner-suburban Perth councils have voted to protect trees on private properties and preserve the city's urban canopy.
Both the City of South Perth and the City of Nedlands want the WA Planning Commission to approve planning amendments that mean landowners would require a development application if they want to clear trees over 8 metres tall on private property.
Residents could also face on-the-spot infringements for removing a tree without a development application.
Data shows Perth's tree canopy is the lowest of all capital Australian cities, with less than 20 per cent of its area covered.
WA Tree Canopy Advocates (WATCA) secretary Kathy Lees said there was growing community support for action on tree protection.
"This is really a watershed moment, the community groundswell in support of tree protection is growing at a rapid rate and through WACTA — our local tree canopy groups — we've got around 11,000 members at the moment," she told Nadia Mitsopoulos on ABC Radio Perth.
"We need to catch up with what's happening in every other state and has happened for many years," she said.
"We need state-wide tree protections."
Earlier this month, the state government introduced new codes for medium-density housing developments, which include "minimum tree requirements" for each block that vary according to the number of houses on a block and the block size.
Broader approach needed
WA Local Government Association president Karen Chappel said while it was up to individual councils to decide on the best way to protect their tree canopies, the use of significant tree registers had been underwhelming.
"Evidence from several Perth councils suggests the public uptake of significant tree registers has been disappointing to date," Ms Chappel said.
"These registers require trees to be nominated by members of the public, whereas the approach proposed by the City of Nedlands and South Perth would automatically protect all trees of a certain stature."
She said the approach taken by the Nedlands and South Perth local government areas would bring them into line with all other Australian states.
Ms Chappel said WALGA was calling for a $20 million commitment from the state government in this year's budget to plant 60,000 trees.
Nedlands Mayor Fiona Argyle said the council had considered a tree register but realised protections on private property would be more effective.
"We realised the data and evidence didn't back that up, so we moved quickly to tree protections on private property," she said.
Ms Argyle also noted that community attitudes to tree preservation had changed in the past few years.
"Two years ago, I introduced a motion to protect trees on private property," she said.
"Back then, only 21 months ago, it was considered so taboo to do this; but the truth is we have facts and data on our side and we really need to be protecting our tree canopy."
Across Perth, fewer than 70 trees on private land are listed in local government tree registers.
More incentives for tree inventories needed
For 30 years, the 15-metre canopy of a beloved jacaranda tree has shaded Shelley Blechynden's inner-suburban Perth property.
Ms Blechynden suspected the tree was more than 90 years old, so the Mount Hawthorn resident nominated the tree to the City of Vincent's "Trees of Significance Inventory", which aims to protect trees on public and private property.
"I thought, 'What happens when I'm gone?' — someone could chop it down for a swimming pool," she said.
But she said it was a costly process.
"[As part of the application] I did have to pay for an arborist report myself which cost me about $2,000.
"I think that's a bit of a disincentive."
Vincent Mayor Emma Cole said the requirement for an arborist report would be reviewed mid-2023 to provide an incentive for people to nominate significant trees.
“As part of the review, we are looking at waiving the mandatory requirement for residents to provide an arborist report as part of their tree nomination," she said.
Ms Cole said property owners could access financial assistance for tree maintenance once it was placed in the inventory.
