The Westfield City Council approved the creation of a tree bank program Sept. 9, aiming to assist developers who may struggle to meet the city’s shade tree planting standards.

Under the city’s development code, tree requirements for single-family residential lots under 8,000 square feet are two trees per lot. For multifamily residential development, the standard is one tree per unit; institutional uses are two trees per acre; and business uses are 10 trees per acre.

The proposal was introduced by Parks and Recreation Director Christopher McConnell council earlier this month.

“We hold developers to these standards that they take a reasonable measure to design around significant trees and try to protect those trees; to inventory those trees that are going to be preserved; to submit plans to us (and) show us what they’re actually going to do to preserve those trees; (and) require them to replace any of those trees that die in the first five years,” he said.

Builders receive a credit when they can save trees. However, McConnell said developers rarely meet the planting standards, mostly because they are not always reasonable. In some cases, McConnell said, the requirements are simply too many to reasonably expect those trees to survive.

“We’re not giving developers a way to be sustainable and responsible in how they’re planning their trees,” he said.

The tree bank program will allow developers to pay a $300 fee per tree that cannot be planted to standards. Those funds will be used for other tree-planting projects throughout the city, and potentially to fund a grant program for local homeowners associations.

The council approved the measure unanimously.