Some favored a proposal to strengthen the town's tree protection rules. Others questioned it. And still others offered alternative measures.

Tsultrim Datso, who lives along Booker Creek, didn't have any particular advice for the Town Council.

"I just thrilled that you are taking on this topic," she said. "The trees can't come in and say thank you, so I thought I would come in and do that."

Angela Powell-Craney, an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture, endorsed changes that would require more town review before a landowner disturbs a large area of land. She also suggested expanding the "critical root zone" -- the area around a tree that a developer must protect during excavation. She said that would help the town toward its goal of losing no overall tree cover even as vacant land develops.

"This is certainly an asset worth protecting for the community," Powell-Craney said. "It's a great example to set for generations to come."

The changes, proposed by the town's planning board, would require developers to identify existing trees as part of a permit application mandated for any ground disturbance greater than 5,000 square feet, about 1/8 of an acre.

"We have a wonderfully forested community now, and we want to keep it that way," said Town Council member Jim Ward, who works as a curator at the N.C. Botanical Garden.

Some local builders and landscapers cautioned against enacting a law the town couldn't enforce.

"My concern is that enforcement would just fall to the neighbors, and that never leads to a pretty situation," said Frank Thomas, director of government relations with the Home Builders Association of Durham, Orange and Chatham Counties.

Dogwood Acres resident Douglas Ludy, who runs his own tree care company, said the town ought to focus on nurturing the trees on its own property, rather than dictating new requirements for private property owners.

"Many of my clients don't want to live in the woods," he said. "They want light to brighten their moods."

Phil Ray, an arborist who advises tree protection boards in several North Carolina communities, said careful, site-appropriate planting is the most important way to preserve and foster tree growth.

"Trees are living, breathing organisms," he said. "They don't care about ordinances."