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Hi Ian and Linda<br>
<br>
I wish the City of Calgary had the same viewpoint. <br>
<br>
Here's quick synopsis of the first hand experience I had about 1 1/2
years ago which is perhaps similar to the frustration that Linda
experienced. <br>
<br>
Even though the City of Calgary has a tree bylaw which theoretically
protects trees on city property, I fought tooth and nail with the city
of Calgary to try to save a 40 year old maple tree on city property
that bordered our backyard (the city wanted to "upgrade" ~ 40 ft of
sewer line). I even researched and provided the water and sewer
division of the city with alternative commercial solutions for
trenchless sewer repair (of which they said they were aware of, but
that they'd be putting their city crews out of work if they used it).
Though I didn't actually chain my self to the tree, it ultimately
resulted in the bylaw officer coming out (with an army of city sewer
workes and the contractor ready with the chainsaws). I argued that the
city was actually violating its own tree protection bylaw. In the end,
the bylaw officer said bylaws are written for the citizens to follow
and not the city to follow, and gave the go ahead to take the tree
down. Obviously, not a happy ending to the story, but underscores the
huge gap that exists between the intention of valuing city trees and
the reality of changing the mindset of the "old guard" in the city
bureaucracy (where currently sewer and water depts appear to rule above
all else). In my opinion (and given my unfortunate experience in
dealing with the City of Calgary), I think the tree appraisal is a good
start to a solution that could help change things. The people in the
city I was dealing with kept referring to budgets and costs (none of
which included any reference to the cost of the tree itself). If city
depts actually had to factor in true appraised value of the trees when
deciding what methods to use to deal with their issues of upgrading and
repair of infrastructure, I am certain we'd see a lot more creative
solutions (since their costs would go through the roof ). <br>
<br>
Best regards, <br>
<br>
Kevin<br>
--<br>
<div class="moz-signature">
<p><font color="#006099">Kevin Pettersen, M.Sc., MFC<br>
Vice President, Finance and Planning <br>
</font> <strong><font color="#006099">Tesera Systems Inc.</font></strong><br>
<font color="#666666" size="-1">250.564.0392 tel (direct)</font><br>
<font color="#666666" size="-1">250.564.0393 fax (direct)</font><br>
<font color="#666666" size="-1">866.698.8789 toll free</font><br>
<a href="http://www.tesera.com"><font size="-1">www.tesera.com</font></a></p>
<table border="0" width="700">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><font color="#666666" size="-1">Cochrane </font></td>
<td><font color="#666666" size="-1">Prince George </font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font color="#999999" size="-1">1.866.698.8789 tel (toll free)</font></td>
<td><font color="#999999" size="-1">1.866.698.8789 tel (toll free)</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font color="#999999" size="-1">403.932.9395 fax</font></td>
<td><font color="#999999" size="-1">250.564.0393 fax</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><font color="#999999" size="-1">Box 1078, Cochrane, AB, T4C
1B1</font></td>
<td><font color="#999999" size="-1">Box 2130, Prince George, BC,
V2N 2J6</font></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
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<br>
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<br>
<br>
Ian Wilson wrote:
<blockquote
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<div><span class="234352416-28112008"><font color="#0000ff"
face="Arial" size="2">Linda,</font></span></div>
<div><span class="234352416-28112008"></span> </div>
<div><span class="234352416-28112008"><font color="#0000ff"
face="Arial" size="2">I've had some similar experiences with
engineering staff, utilities, etc. Among some of these professionals
there seems to be a belief that the tree is expendable and that it's a
lot easier and cheaper to remove the tree than to try to accomodate the
tree. I try to work with these folks and educate them about the value
of the tree(s) (monetary and social) and the fact that they (and us)
could get heavily criticised by the public and by the politicians. If
that doesn't work we also have a tree bylaw that says if you damage or
remove a publilc tree you have to pay "equitable compensation" based
upon the ISA tree appraisal formulae which can be significant. I also
like to explain that the tree is another piece of public infrastructure
and they wouldn't do something to damage or undermine a street light,
so why do this to a tree?</font></span></div>
<div><span class="234352416-28112008"></span> </div>
<div><span class="234352416-28112008"><font color="#0000ff"
face="Arial" size="2">Using this approach we've been able to get
utility lines re-routed, utilities tunneled under trees rather than
trenched, sidewalks moved, and even entire road profiles and curbs
moved over. Road engineers in particular tend to really like straight
linear designs but you can get them to start thinking outside the box.</font></span></div>
<div><span class="234352416-28112008"></span> </div>
<div><span class="234352416-28112008"><font color="#0000ff"
face="Arial" size="2">Ian Wilson</font></span></div>
<div><span class="234352416-28112008"><font color="#0000ff"
face="Arial" size="2">City of Kelowna</font></span></div>
<blockquote dir="ltr" style="margin-right: 0px;">
<div class="OutlookMessageHeader" dir="ltr" align="left"
lang="en-us"><font face="Tahoma" size="2">-----Original Message-----<br>
<b>From:</b> <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:canufnet-bounces@list.web.net">canufnet-bounces@list.web.net</a>
[<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:canufnet-bounces@list.web.net">mailto:canufnet-bounces@list.web.net</a>] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Moskalyk,
Linda (IS - Parks)<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, November 27, 2008 9:07 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> '<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:canufnet@list.web.net">canufnet@list.web.net</a>'<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [CANUFNET] Removal of trees for replacement of
water lines<br>
<br>
</font></div>
<font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="2"> </font>
<div><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="2">We recently had a
valuable American elm removed from our boulevard because the engineers
(management) made a decision to replace a hydrant and insisted the tree
beside it would have to come down. Our urban forestry people were told
that they needed to excavate 4 feet on each side of the hydrant to
replace it. The tree was only 2 feet away. We reluctantly removed the
tree, and now there is an uproar from the community. As the tree was
coming down some of the enginneers (field workers this time) came along
and said they probably could have worked within that 2 foot area. Its
hard to know who to believe. Alternately, could the hydrant have been
capped off and the line rerouted to a new location? We are arbortists
and don't know the options when it comes to sewer and water. We want
to have the knowledge and ability to argue for alternative methods that
could potentially save the trees. Is there any good information or
advice on the subject?</font></div>
<font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="2"> </font>
<div><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="2"> </font></div>
<font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="2"> </font>
<div><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="2">Linda Moskalyk</font></div>
<font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="2"> </font>
<div><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="2">Certified Arborist</font></div>
<font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="2"> </font>
<div><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="2">Urban Forestry Section</font></div>
<font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="2"> </font>
<div><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="2">Parks Dept.</font></div>
<font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="2"> </font>
<div><font face="Arial, sans-serif" size="2">City of Saskatoon</font></div>
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