08/04/2015
On the chopping block
Greenfield trees up for Thurs. hearing
By ANITA FRITZ Recorder Staff
GREENFIELD — At least 29 more trees are about to be removed from Greenfield streets, because they are sick, old or have become hazards.
Members of the public will have another opportunity to tell government what they think about the removal of trees on Sanderson, Riddell, Federal, Davis, Silver, Shattuck, Allan, Bowles, Cypress, Cooke, East Cleveland and Haywood streets, as well as Harrison and Woodleigh avenues and Bernardston Road at a public hearing at 6 p.m. Thursday in Town Hall. The town’s tree warden Paul Raskevitz will be there to answer questions and take comments.
FivetreeswillberemovedfromWoodleigh Avenue and four from Cooke Street. The other streets will have one or two removed.
Over the past several months, residents have expressed concern about “an aggressive attempt” by the town’s Department of Public Works to remove trees in and around the downtown area.
Raskevitz said removal in those areas and on residential streets has been necessary for public safety.
“I’ve looked at this next group of trees and they are all in sad, sorry shape,” said DPW Director Donald Ouellette. “We are going to allow residents to voice their concerns, and if there are any strong objections about a particular tree, we’ll take another look.”
So far this year, the town has removed seven trees from Hastings Street, some from Washington and Deerfield streets and about a half-dozen on Pierce and Myrtle streets.
Raskevitz said public works quite often gets calls about falling branches and other hazards caused by trees. He said some branches have fallen on residents’ houses and cars.
“We’re removing trees that have ‘highrisk’ scores,” he said. “We’re also removing sick trees and trees that are at the end of their lives.”
Raskevitz said many are rotting, dying, infested with insects or diseased.
The town recently planted more than four dozen trees to at least begin to replace the ones that have been removed over the past year or two.
Ouellette said the DPW will replace as many as the budget will allow each year.
The town’s Tree Committee has written an ordinance that, if passed by Town Council, will do a little more to protect and preserve trees on public land throughout town.
According to one of its authors, Nancy Hazard of Greening Greenfield, the ordinance is simply meant to provide the standards for planting, maintenance, removal and protection of trees.
Mayor William Martin has said he thinks a tree ordinance is a good idea, but wants to make sure it doesn’t conflict with the town’s new solar array ordinance.
“We wouldn’t want residents planting trees and shading areas where another resident has installed a ground-mounted solar array,” said Martin.
Mary Praus, who also worked on the ordinance, said that would not happen, because the DPW and town’s tree warden would be the enforcers of the ordinance.
“If someone wanted to plant a tree in the tree belt in front of their home, they’d need a special permit,” said Praus. “If the tree warden thought it would interfere with another resident’s solar array, he could say ‘no.’” According to its authors, the ordinance would improve Greenfield’s urban forest, beautify its streets, maintain the town’s Tree City USA status, make Greenfield a more comfortable and cooler place to live and improve climate change resilience.
“It would also help provide summer shade, habitat for birds and other creatures, protect our waterways, clean our air and reduce noise, glare, flooding and soil erosion,” said Hazard.
Hazard said the tree warden would still make decisions about where town-planted trees would go.
Nothing in the ordinance would prevent the town from removing a tree on private or town property if it was an immediate threat to public safety. It would also allow unhealthy and dying trees to be removed.
Eric Twarog, the town’s director of planning and development, said an updated tree ordinance would be in accordance with Greenfield’s new Sustainable Master Plan.
Hazard said the town and the committee will continue to work together to replace sick and dying trees. She said funeral homes, businesses and residents have donated trees and money to be used for the purchase of trees.
To make a tax-deductible donation to buy trees that will be planted throughout Greenfield, send a check to the Connecticut River Watershed Council (Greenfield Tree Committee’s fiscal agent), 15 Bank Row, Greenfield, MA 01301, and write “Greenfield Tree Committee” on the check
