Legislative Mandate and Stakeholder Process

Enacted by the 2026 Virginia General Assembly, House Bill 549 (HB 549) directed Old Dominion University’s Institute for Coastal Adaptation and Resilience (ICAR) to convene a Work Group to examine Virginia’s existing statutory and regulatory framework governing tree canopy conservation, preservation, and replacement. The legislation directed the Work Group to evaluate policies balancing canopy conservation with economic development, identify mature tree preservation incentives, improve locality parity and consistency, and provide regulatory certainty for developers and local governments.

To ensure the Work Group’s recommendations reflected perspectives from across the Commonwealth, ICAR initiated a stakeholder engagement process consisting of regional listening sessions, opportunities for  written public comment, and Work Group meetings. The Work Group, including representatives of local governments, planners, state agencies, environmental organizations, residential and commercial  developers, and citizen stakeholders, convened for a series of consensus-building meetings. This report includes findings from ICAR and to-date consensus recommendations from the Work Group. Additional  recommendations are expected in an Addendum due to the Virginia General Assembly by December 1, 2026.

Key Findings & Existing State Resources

ICAR identified 11 primary findings that should be used to guide policy on preserving and replacing tree canopy. The findings identify the benefits of trees and tree canopy, as well as existing resources that can be used in support of the goals. Additional state resources include the Virginia Tree Ordinance Database, Virginia Department of Forestry’s (VDOF) Urban Tree Canopy Mapper, Virginia Tech’s Virginia Urban Tree Canopy website, and the forthcoming VDOF Forestland and Urban Tree Canopy Conservation Plan.

• Environmental and Community Benefits of Tree Canopy
• Stormwater Management and Flood-Risk Reduction
• Urban Heat Mitigation and Climate Regulation
• Air Quality Improvement
• Noise Reduction and Acoustic Benefits
• Biodiversity and Ecological Connectivity
• Additional Climate, Health, and Community Benefits
• Implications for Urban and Suburban Planning
• Public Health Outcomes, Planning, and Policy
• Tree Preservation and Replacement
• The Value of Trees in Residential and Commercial Development

Recommendations

After evaluating the stakeholder feedback from listening sessions and public commentary and holding three virtual meetings, the Virginia Tree Canopy Work Group reached consensus on the following recommendations summarized below:

1. Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF)

Provide VDOF with additional funding to provide technical assistance to local governments and developers on tree canopy conservation and replacement.

2. Local Government Incentive Authority

Authorize all Virginia localities, and encourage environmental justice communities in particular, to utilize any incentives for conservation and replacement they wish to use in their local tree ordinances (after  conferring with their local developers and other stakeholders).

3. Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Stormwater

Work with DEQ to identify ways to provide additional stormwater credit for preserving mature trees. Support a public education initiative to raise awareness of the existing credits tree planting receives as a  stormwater Best Management Practice and the benefit of conserving trees to both reduce stormwater runoff and post-construction treatment needs.

4. Aligning Tree Canopy Goals & Requirements with Other State Requirements

Ensure alignment of new Tree Canopy goals and requirements with other related state requirements.

5. Virginia Tree Canopy Work Group Should Continue Meeting to Develop Specific Legislative Recommendations

The stakeholders participating in this Work Group should continue working together to take the consensus recommendations agreed upon in this report and develop proposed legislation that incorporates these recommendations.

6. Tree Planting in Under-resourced Communities

Any new consolidated tree replacement statute should contain provisions for encouraging tree planting in under-resourced communities impacted by extreme heat, flooding, public health challenges, particularly in  densely populated areas with low existing tree canopy.

7. Incorporate Tree Conservation into School Site Planning and Design

The Virginia Department of Education should revise current guidelines to more directly encourage conservation of mature trees and existing tree canopy during school site selection, master planning and facility design.

8. Virginia Trees for Clean Water Program

Fully fund the Virginia Trees for Clean Water program which provides grants to civic groups, communities, localities, NGOs, and other organizations to plant trees.

Addendum Pending

The Work Group continues to meet and will release an addendum to this report by December 1, 2026, containing further consensus recommendations reached after the report’s November 1, 2026 due date. The Work Group looks forward to providing the Committees with this addendum as soon as it is completed.