After a flood of criticism for smacking an east Charlotte church with a $4,700 fine for the way it pruned eight crape myrtle trees on its property, the city is relenting.

City staff said Wednesday it will work with the congregation at Albemarle Road Presbyterian Church to find a solution to avoid the fine.

That could include having the church add trees instead of removing and replacing the topped ones, according to a staff memo on the incident prepared for City Council.

The fine isn't the largest issued during the past 12 months.

In the last year, the city has cited nine other businesses or organizations for violating the tree ordinance. In one case, a South Boulevard business was fined $9,850 for topping eight maples.

The tree ordinance was first adopted in 1978. It requires trees to be protected and, in some cases, added to commercial sites when land is developed. Churches are developed as commercial properties.

The city requires permits for pruning or removing trees on commercial and multifamily properties, but homeowners do not need a permit unless the property is in a historic district.

In most cases, the city staff is more concerned about replacing damaged trees than collecting the fines, said Tom Johnson, Charlotte's senior urban forester.

"We rarely collect a fine," he said.

The fine usually motivates property owners to replant. Usually the species in question is a crape myrtle, Johnson said.

The city no longer allows crape myrtles to be counted among required trees, mostly because of the popularity of topping them off, Johnson said.

If it decides to replant, Albemarle Road Presbyterian Church would have to plant a different species.

The church's pastor, Ron Tippens, said the city should focus on educating the public rather than resorting to hefty penalties.

Outrage over tree fines

Outrage over the church's fine has been growing since a May 28 story in the Observer.

Several complaints were posted through the city's customer response system.

Most of the attention, though, was online. The story drew more than 2,400 comments from across the country as well as letters to the editor. The story also appeared on the Drudge Report, one of the country's most visited blogs.

Some readers said it was government encroaching on the rights of the property owners. Some even doubted the city's knowledge of crape myrtles.

"These types of trees come back if you cut them at the root!!" wrote David Caskey. "You can't excessively prune a crape myrtle."

Certified arborist Ryan Chipman of Charlotte's Schneider Tree Care disagrees. He said aggressive pruning can weaken the trees and make them susceptible to pests and diseases.

Working to protect trees

Though many readers were critical of the fine, several environmentalists and arborists support the city's work to protect trees.

"Without trees, we're all dead," said Robert Lubbers, president of the Charlotte Arborists Association.

How much oxygen trees pump into the atmosphere is a matter of debate, but most agree humans rely on them. Trees also remove pollutants such as carbon dioxide.

The tree ordinance is intended to keep the region's green cover from disappearing as growth continues.

Mecklenburg County's tree cover has declined for the last 23 years, according to a 2010 Urban Ecosystem Analysis by nonprofit conservationist American Forests.

Between 1985 and 2008, Mecklenburg lost 33 percent of its tree canopy and 3 percent of its open space. Urban areas grew by 60 percent.

Lubbers and others support the city's notion that stiff fines are the best way to encourage developers, tree services and others to follow the rules for protecting trees.

"They've got to set the standards or you will have people running rampant with chainsaws," said Lubbers.