16,000 Coquitlam trees getting the axe
More than 16,000 trees will be chopped down on Burke Mountain in the coming weeks to make way for some 24,000 new residents.
City council on Monday approved four separate tree cutting permits for by Wesbild Holdings Ltd., the first wave of applications required under a new tree management bylaw.
Under that bylaw, when more than 50% of tree cover is proposed for removal, a permit may only be issued by council.
The first permit granted is for 2,700 trees from 6.9 hectares of land at 1403 Coast Meridian Rd; the second is for 280 trees on a .9 hectare lot at 3431 Galloway Ave.; the third is for 7,000 trees on 9.1 hectares at 3390 Galloway Ave.; and the fourth is for 6,150 trees on 6.6 hectares of yet-to-be addressed parcels.
The trees must be felled before the spring bird nesting season or a generation of birds there will be lost.
Although the development plans for northeast Coquitlam have already been approved by council — and the removal of trees is part of that — there was considerable debate about the extent of clear-cutting.
Coun. Fin Donnelly said Burke Mountain was supposed to be focused on sustainability and selective logging practices.
“If we grant theses permits... the entire area will be denuded of trees,” he said, noting re-greening will take years.
But Coun. Richard Stewart said development and tree removal have to go hand in hand.
“If council voted to create an omelette, inherent in that would be the breaking of some eggs,” he said, after questioning whether some trees can’t be retained because of safety or practicality.
City planner Jim McIntyre admitted competing objectives with the mountainside development. The Northeast Coquitlam Area Plan calls for efficient land use but, on an individual lot basis, “it’s hard to retain individual trees that have grown up in forest conditions,” he said.
Burke Mountain would need a density similar to Belcarra or Anmore to retain trees, he said, and planting requirements such as tree-lined streets will help re-green neighbourhoods on Burke Mountain upon completion.
Mayor Maxine Wilson said the former council came up with a vision, including policy and regulations, to do the “best-possible” development on Burke Mountain, and she lambasted the current council for not following through.
“It’s been a disappointment to me that a lot of the policies and regulations were eroded in the last two years,” she said, noting the vision of an environmentally-friendly development has been diluted.
Council voted 6-2 to grant the permits, with councillors Donnelly and Neal Nicholson opposed (Coun. Doug Macdonell was absent).
During question period, resident Helen Brown said that at a new development near where she lives, trees are not being replanted following its completion about two years ago.
“I hope there are plans underfoot to increase the number of trees denuded,” she said.
Meanwhile, a controversial notice of motion by Coun. Mae Reid regarding the city’s tree bylaw has been deferred.
Reid wants the bylaw amended so that lots greater than .3 hectares and within an approved neighbourhood plan are exempt from its rules.
A staff report will come to council to deal with the proposed exemption in a more streamlined, clear way, Reid said.
Her motion has sparked some fury in the community, expressed in letters to city councillors as well as The Tri-City News.
It took the city 16 years to decide to update its “tree cutting” bylaw and months — too many, some say — to formulate new rules, which were ratified about two months ago.
“I put it forward for good reason and any councillor has the right to do that,” Reid said at the end of Monday’s council meeting, citing personal attacks and threats against her following the notice of motion.
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http://www.bclocalnews.com/tri_city_maple_ridge/tricitynews/news/16000_trees_getting_the_axe.html
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, thats the units over the entire site which includes townhouses.
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