Barnaby Woods / District of Columbia
..happenings in Chevy Chase DC
Posted Trees, Press coverage on Thursday, December 2nd, 2004.
Corespondent, Julie Carey, reported during WRC 4’s December 2nd 4pm news broadcast on the Barnaby Woods tree task force, use of the tree radar and changes in the city’s procedure for tree removal.
The operation of the tree radar was shown, and was described as a tool to be used when the conclusion, arising from the visual inspection was a “close call”.
The city is using the tree radar unit first on Barnaby Street, where outraged residents won a reprieve for most of the old oaks that define the neighborhood.
In September, Pepco received the go-ahead from the city to start chopping some 13 trees down as part of an ambitious tree-cutting plan aimed at improving power line reliability.
But the outcry from residents won a 90-day reprieve, and now District officials are working with a task force to reexamine the policy and approach toward mature trees.
In the past, only visual checks were used to decide which trees to cut down. Now, the tree radar unit can provide a better picture.
In the case of Barnaby Street, residents recently met with city and Pepco officials to compare results from the radar unit with surveys done by an independent arborist. There is still disagreement on several trees, but others will be spared for now and will be pruned instead of removed.
District Officials said that the Barnaby Woods situation also revealed a lack of communication. As a result, from now on, residents will be notified 72 hours in advance of a tree removal or extensive pruning.
Commissioner Deborah Redmond was interviewed, and said, “It’s not just been, that it’s our trees, in our neighborhood. This is about the entire city. This is about community values. We are the city of trees, and what we’re looking to do here is make sure that our policies, that govern these trees, reflect those values.”
The fate of the trees that are still the subject of disagreement will be decided at a follow up meeting, later this month.
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