Fort Smith does not impose a citywide tree-replacement ratio on private residential tree removals. Replacement-planting obligations arise primarily through Unified Development Ordinance (Chapter 27) conditions on commercial, multifamily, and subdivision site plans approved by the Planning Commission. The Arkansas Department of Agriculture's Urban & Community Forestry program provides technical assistance for replanting, including recommended species lists adapted to the Arkansas River Valley climate zone.
Fort Smith's tree-replacement framework is project-specific rather than codified citywide. The Fort Smith Municipal Code, available at https://library.municode.com/ar/fort_smith, contains no general tree-replacement ratio applicable to private residential tree removal. Replacement-planting obligations arise primarily in two contexts. First, the Unified Development Ordinance (Chapter 27, https://library.municode.com/ar/fort_smith/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH27UNDEOR) and Fort Smith Planning Commission site-plan review may impose tree-inventory, tree-protection-fencing, and replacement-planting conditions on commercial, multifamily, and subdivision development projects — typical ratios in similarly sized Arkansas cities range from 1:1 for smaller-diameter losses to 2:1 or 3:1 for larger-diameter mature trees, with replacement caliper of 2 to 2.5 inches and a one- to two-year survivability requirement. Second, where the City Administrator orders removal of a dead or dying tree under Chapter 16 (Nuisances), no replacement is automatically required because the order is about hazard abatement rather than canopy preservation. Recommended replacement species for the Fort Smith / Arkansas River Valley climate (USDA hardiness zone 7b) include native oaks (white, post, willow), native maples (red, sugar), hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), southern magnolia, and bald cypress (Taxodium distichum). The Arkansas Department of Agriculture's Urban & Community Forestry program (https://agriculture.arkansas.gov/forests/urban-community-forestry/) and the U of A Cooperative Extension Service publish Arkansas-specific tree-selection guides.
Failure to install required replacement trees within the time specified by an approved Unified Development Ordinance site plan can trigger stop-work orders, withholding of Certificate of Occupancy, draw on any survivability bond posted at the time of approval, and Planning Commission referral for plan amendment or revocation. Persistent non-compliance can lead to municipal-court action under Chapter 27 enforcement provisions. There is no replacement-planting obligation tied to a Chapter 16 dead-or-dying-tree abatement order — only the removal itself is mandatory.
Fort Smith, AR
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