Submitted by Sandra Harris, Francia Alvarez & Joan Seguin
For over twenty years the idea of preventing clearcutting of trees on private property has been floating around town, championed by some of our town leaders, many of whom you know well.
Various stumbling blocks have occurred over the years causing the idea to stall out, even as the problem grows larger by the year.
Watching our neighborhoods lose so many of the valuable old growth trees to careless development, several of us joined together to ‘pick up the ball’ and create a proposal to try to limit the destruction.
We all know that trees, especially larger ones, provide numerous benefits to our shared environment. They filter our air of toxins while creating the very oxygen we breathe. According to the U.S. Global Change Research Program, a large oak tree can transpire up to 40,000 gallons of water per year, mitigating flooding and hydrating the air around us while their roots help to prevent the erosion of soil. They also provide pleasant shade and can lower the amount of energy we use to cool our homes, offices and government buildings.
Mature trees also add value to our properties and neighborhoods, bolstering our home values and the town grand list. They provide our diverse wildlife with habitat and reduce noise levels from our growing traffic problems. The charm and elegance they add to our daily lives cannot be overstated.
In fact, the Town of Greenwich POCD notes that one of our biggest challenges is the ‘loss of tree canopy and open space through development’ (p.12) and calls for making decisions that ‘protect, preserve, and enhance character elements and that add to our sense of place’ (p. 30).
While our Planning & Zoning Commission addresses tree cover once a site plan has been filed, and IWWA protects trees on designated wetlands, there exists a loophole where trees are unprotected and can be removed by developers and others at will. We can all see this as we drive around town and notice the barren, clearcut properties around us.
We have created a proposal with the following goals: 1) prevent developers from clearcutting prior to submitting a site plan to P&Z or the Building Department 2) allow homeowners to cut as many trees on their property as they wish but require them to replace healthy, mature trees (>13” DBH) if they cut more than 1 tree per acre per year, and 3) eliminate reckless and accidental destruction of trees during construction by requiring builders to adhere to standard tree protection procedures. Smaller properties and several conservation non-profits would be exempt.
Please help us determine community support for this initiative by taking the attached survey.
Greenwich Tree Preservation Survey
We strive to achieve our goals of setting out some common-sense protections for mature trees while also respecting the rights of property owners. We believe our proposal would be a step in the right direction for all of us and for the beautiful trees of Greenwich.
Sincerely,
Sandra Harris, Francia Alvarez & Joan Seguin