Commission continues ordinance to fold North Port 'tree fund' into Environmental Protection Fund after questions on canopy and spending

City staff asked the City Commission on May 5 to adopt Ordinance 2026‑11 to clarify that remaining balances carried in the city’s former "tree fund" should be consolidated into a renamed Environmental Protection Fund and used for the broader natural‑resource purposes set out in the updated Unified Land Development Code.

City manager staff said the change is largely technical: when the ULDC was recodified in 2024 it renamed the tree fund without expressly rolling existing balances into the new Environmental Protection Fund. Development staff and the director of development services, Elena Ray, told commissioners the environmental protection fund can be used for acquisition and maintenance of environmentally sensitive land, sustainability projects, tree planting and conservation programs and related administrative costs.

The discussion centered on how restrictive the prior tree fund had been and whether the consolidation would dilute a prior commitment to achieve a 35% citywide tree canopy. Commissioner (S16) said he could not support a measure that reduced the specific canopy target embedded in earlier code language and asked how the commission will know that planting and canopy targets are being met.

Deputy director Laurie Barnes (S15) and director Elena Ray (S18) replied that the 35% canopy goal remains a policy in the city’s comprehensive plan and that the natural resources division recently completed and will update a canopy assessment on a three‑year cycle. Finance director Sabrina Cogarenco (S17) said the city’s tree fund balance is approximately $5.6 million, of which about $3.0 million originated from revenue restricted to tree planting under the former code; staff said the city lacks enough public property to plant $3.0 million worth of trees and needs the flexibility to use funds for related environmental goals, including land acquisition.

Commissioners pressed staff to return with clearer accounting: which funds are restricted, which properties are identified as potential acquisitions, and how much of the current $2.5 million budget allocation for sensitive‑land purchases may be expended this fiscal year. After public comment and extended questioning, Vice Mayor Langdon (S8) moved to continue the ordinance to second reading on May 19 so staff could provide the requested clarifications. The motion carried 4–0–1, with Commissioner Duvall (S16) dissenting.

Next steps: staff will provide a follow‑up report on the specific funds to be rolled, a list (or status) of properties with willing sellers, and an explanation of how encumbrances and multi‑year funding will be handled before the second reading on May 19.