Washington County, MD Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing law
- Forest Conservation Ordinance, Article 10.1.B(2)
- Applicable area
- Urban Growth Area / Town Growth Areas
- Species source
- Appendix P approved list
- Survival guarantee
- 5 years, with replacement
- Reviewing agency
- Dept. of Planning, forest conservation plan
Summary
Inside the Urban Growth Area or Town Growth Areas, developers meeting forest conservation obligations may plant street trees only from the county's approved Appendix P list, and those trees must be guaranteed to survive at least five years.
B. Within the Urban Growth Area or Town Growth Areas after all on site priority areas listed in Article 8.1 have been shown to be protected by forest conservation easements the following sequence for afforestation and reforestation may be used toward meeting forest conservation requirements as part of a final Forest Conservation Plan: (1) Forest creation using transplanted or nursery stock, (2) Planting of street trees from the list in Appendix P with full credit based on the area of mature canopy coverage. Street trees must be provided with long term protective measures that include replacement for trees that do not survive beyond 5 years after planting.
Full Breakdown
1 are already protected by forest conservation easements. B(2), is planting street trees drawn from the species list in Appendix P of the Ordinance, which earns the developer full mitigation credit calculated on the area of mature canopy coverage the trees will eventually provide rather than their planted size. The provision does not stop at planting: it requires 'long term protective measures' for the street trees, specifically obligating the developer to replace any tree that fails to survive within five years of planting. 1A(9), which credits landscaped forest areas at least 35 feet wide and 2,500 square feet or larger toward the same mitigation obligation.
Because this option is limited to the Urban Growth Area and Town Growth Areas, and only applies after on-site priority areas are already secured, it functions as a targeted street-tree credit rather than a blanket citywide planting mandate. The Department of Planning reviews and approves the Forest Conservation Plan showing which trees are proposed, and enforcement of any shortfall runs through the same Article 16 penalty structure that governs the rest of the Ordinance, including civil penalties and authority to compel replacement plantings.
Violations & Fines
A developer who plants street trees outside the Appendix P list, fails to provide the required five-year survival guarantee, or does not replace trees that die is out of compliance with the approved Forest Conservation Plan. That triggers Article 16 remedies: a civil penalty up to $1,000 per day of continued noncompliance, plan revocation, and County authority to compel replacement planting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a developer plant any tree species along a street to meet forest conservation credit?
What happens if a planted street tree dies?
Does this street tree option apply everywhere in the county?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Washington County
Compare Washington County to another location·View the Maryland tree protection overview
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