Two North Burnaby cherry trees with a bitter backstory have been pruned to “within an inch of their death” – and neighbours aren’t happy about it.
In March 2019, six mature cherry trees on Boundary Road north of Hastings Street were felled by the city just as they began blossoming for the last time.
The city said the trees had to go because of a water line replacement and sewer separation project.
Long-time area resident Gordon Guenter said he was horrified after he followed the sound of a wood chipper on March 25, 2019 and discovered crews in the process of cutting down the trees.
But that was just the beginning of Guenter’s frustrations.
Once the project was complete, the city planted new cherry trees where the old ones had once grown, but three of those trees were mysteriously cut down.
The city replanted them once more, but, last week, Guenter discovered two of those new trees had been pruned to “within an inch of their deaths.”
“This isn’t vandalism. This is intentional, aggressive pruning to skirt around bylaws,” Guenter said.
He laments the loss of a once-impressive avenue of trees along Boundary Road.
“There used to be a beautiful promenade,” he said. “Every spring when the blossoms came out, it was absolutely gorgeous, and it’s all been ruined.”
The City of Burnaby did not prune the trees, according to spokesperson Chris Bryan.
“The City planted new trees again and now someone has cut the tops off of the two trees, functionally destroying them,” Bryan said in an email. “We are considering our next steps.”
The two trees in question are located in front of 408 Boundary Road.
That property belongs to Bruno Benedet Jr., according to the land titles office.
Benedet is the president and CEO of Bosa Foods in Vancouver.
The NOW has reached out to Benedet for comment about the trees in front of his house but has not heard back.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
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