Brunswick council to consider tree ordinance, renewal fund May 18

Brunswick officials will weigh a tree ordinance and a renewal fund at the May 18 council meeting, a move that could change how the town handles clearcutting, mature shade trees, and replacement plantings on development sites.

The proposal has been years in the making. Brunswick’s Tree Committee, the advisory body charged with protecting and preserving public trees, coordinating Arbor Day, and advising the town arborist and council, discussed a tree protection ordinance, a tree protection and mitigation fund, a tree zoning map, and private-property guidelines on Jan. 28, 2025. The committee’s web page now says it was inactive as of late 2025, a sign that the issue has moved from committee work toward a council decision.

At the center of the plan is a Tree Fund ordinance proposed by the Planning Department in October 2025 to create Chapter 14, Article XI of the municipal code. The fund would collect in-lieu payments used when landscape-preservation requirements cannot be met on site, and those dollars would be reserved for tree protection, maintenance, replacement, and other green-space improvements in public spaces. The town arborist would administer the fund with the Tree Committee, and the balance would carry forward from year to year as a special revenue fund.

For homeowners, the practical effect would be clearer rules around tree protection, private-property standards, and possible exemptions that were raised as the ordinance moved through the Planning Board. For developers, the change could mean a direct financial obligation when trees are removed during site work or when a project cannot preserve enough wooded area. Planning staff linked the package to repeated community complaints about clearcutting and the loss of large mature trees, along with concerns about wildlife habitat, neighborhood privacy, and the long-term look of Brunswick neighborhoods.

The town’s own records suggest the policy discussion has been unfolding on a longer track than a single vote. Council agenda materials set public hearings on the Tree Fund ordinance in October 2025 and again in April 2026, while the online code and ordinance pages were current only through June 1, 2025 and updated quarterly. If the council approves the package on May 18, the result could be visible on streets from Union Street to newer subdivisions: more tree review before clearing, more replacement planting when trees come down, and a dedicated fund for keeping Brunswick’s canopy from thinning as the town grows.