Let's clear something up.
The City is NOT subject to the "same tree replacement rules as everybody else." If trees are cut down on City property, the City of Atlanta has, by law, only to "try" to replace them in the same area, but they are not required to. All the City has to do is replace them within the same NPU. That could be miles away.
And they only have to follow up on the new tree for one season. If the replacement doesn't survive, that's it. Their job is done.
If they cut 100 trees in Memorial Park for a paving project, it's not assured at all that we'll get hundreds of new trees. It's possible that the replacement trees will go to some favored Beltline project that they're trying to pretty up and help out some big taypayers.
And if the trees aren't actually cut down, but are only damaged, and die a year-- or two -- or three later -- they don't come under the replacement ordinance at all. They just fall over like that one by the rubber path did a few weeks ago. It won't be replaced.
P.S. Sick, injured, dying or dead trees don't have to be replaced by the City at all. And since the Parks Department has no extra funds, I doubt if they are going to allocate money to upgrade parks when they are struggling to provide bare maintenance.
There are now about 25 such trees of various species marked for removal on the PATH trail at Sagamore-Peachtree-Battle, ranging from small magnolias to giant pines and oaks. You won't see PATH Foundation, after all this time, coming in with new trees.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
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2 comments:
The Memorial Park Civic Association was formed in 2001 by breaking away from Springlake. The reason for the separation was the determination by those who did not live in our neighborhood to develop the park and turn it into something for which it was never intended. That is why, after an extended and sometimes frustrating herculean effort at formation, the MPCA Bylaws contain language that embody this intent: "To preserve and protect the unique historical and aesthetic qualities of Atlanta Memorial Park..." A very major aspect of this neighborhood determination is preservation of the park's trees. Now, those who don't care about preservation or about maintaining a pastoral place for reflection and rejuvenation in the midst of a hectic, crowded and noisy urban environment, glibly say, "Oh well, we can replace trees caliper inch for caliper inch because that is what the tree ordinance calls for, therefore we are right and you preservationists are wrong," miss the point entirely. Just because something is legal doesn't mean it is right. There is no way to replace a mature 20-inch caliper tree with ten two-inchers and have the same benefits. Installing any kind of surfaced path through or around the park will kill mature trees and the park will never recover in our lifetime. Of course, adding a path will draw more people, which will increase wear and tear on the park and we will soon have a a situation from which we and the park will never recover. It's too bad that some people have little respect for the environment and think that destroying an irreplaceable neighborhood asset is perfectly acceptable. Maybe they just want to leave their mark (and then move on).
I did go to the Sagamore PATH. I saw all the trees with orange X's on them. From what I know about how that whole job was done, I can believe many of the old trees left were injured and the younger new ones weren't taken care of or just couldn't survive in the conditions. That trail is a great example of government bungling. It makes me sad for the wildlife that once lived there.
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