Urban Tree Canopy Off-set Scheme
Published Thursday, 25 March 2021
The Minister for Planning and Local Government has announced the introduction of the Urban Tree Canopy Off-set Scheme to ensure that new development preserves and enhances the urban tree canopy across metropolitan Adelaide.
This Scheme forms part of a nation-leading set of residential infill policies in the new planning system that includes the requirement to plant trees when new dwellings are built in urban residential areas.
The Scheme applies where a proposed dwelling is located in the following specific Zones of the Planning and Design Code:
- Housing Diversity Neighbourhood Zone
- Urban Renewal Neighbourhood Zone
- City Living Zone
- or an area with a ‘Designated Soil Type’.
In those limited cases where planting a tree is not feasible (e.g. when soil types are prohibitive), the Urban Tree Canopy Off-Set Scheme enables contribution into a Fund which can be used by councils to plant trees in parks, reserves and nature strips, or to create new parks.
