COUNTY OFFICIALS DECREE TREE FOR EVERY NEW YARD.Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer ACTON - During the Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt promised a chicken in every pot. In these boom times, county Supervisor Michael Antonovich guarantees a tree in every new front yard. Under a new Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County ordinance A law, statute, or regulation enacted by a Municipal Corporation. An ordinance is a law passed by a municipal government. A municipality, such as a city, town, village, or borough, is a political subdivision of a state within which a municipal corporation has been , developers must give home buyers in new subdivisions in unincorporated areas In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality. To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, i.e., a city or town with its own government. , such as Acton and Littlerock, a tree to plant in their yards. ``When you buy your house, they put a tree in or give you credit,'' said Conal McNamara, an Antonovich aide. ``The mechanics will be worked out with the developer.'' What kind of tree comes free with a $300,000 house is up to the property owner and the developer. The government will just require a tree, McNamara said. ``We don't want to dictate that everyone has a pepper tree pepper tree: see sumac. ,'' he said. While builders have balked balk v. balked, balk·ing, balks v.intr. 1. To stop short and refuse to go on: The horse balked at the jump. 2. at high-priced fees to build roads, schools, libraries and other public facilities, they went out on a limb to support the new tree law. ``There was no opposition,'' McNamara said. ``In fact, it was supported by the BIA BIA abbr. Bureau of Indian Affairs (Building Industry Association.) The developers recognized the need for more landscaping in their subdivisions.'' Bill Ratazzi, a developer in the Tesoro Del Valle project in San Francisquito Canyon, said he is reluctant to add to the price of a home, but is generally pleased with the ordinance. ``I always get concerned because ultimately home buyers pay for it, but the concept is great,'' said Ratazzi, a partner in SunCal Development. ``I'm all for re-treeing the world.'' The rule is a new amendment to the county's tree protection ordinance, said Pamela Holt of the county Department of Regional Planning regional planning: see city planning. . The rule goes beyond previous policy for the county to plant and maintain trees on public rights of way in new subdivisions. ``The supervisor felt that wasn't enough,'' Holt said. ``We do require street (trees), too, but this is to be put in the yard of every home. Let the people put it anywhere in the front yard. Planning officials and the county forester might have some proposals on species of trees to be planted in various neighborhoods. Antonovich was inspired to legislate To enact laws or pass resolutions by the lawmaking process, in contrast to law that is derived from principles espoused by courts in decisions. landscaping in the front yard after seeing a need for green in large new tracts, Holt said. ``All those new tracts - they look so barren in the first year or two,'' she said. |
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