Bald cypress and Southern magnolias are being added to the trees that are to be protected in Mandeville under an ordinance designed to preserve the community’s leafy canopy.

The tree regulation ordinance, which has been in the works since this spring, was approved by the City Council on Oct. 23 after a tense, two-hour discussion among the council and audience members.

While the council ultimately voted unanimously in favor of the ordinance, two members expressed reservations and suggested that the matter should perhaps be postponed.

Proponents, led by council member Scott Discon, argued that Mandeville’s distinctive tree canopy should be protected by discouraging the clear-cutting of lots, adding that the existing regulations were put in place 40 years ago and are now outdated. Clear-cu

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