When I receive messages from readers upset about trees, it usually involves trees being cut down by either Trans Mountain or the City of Burnaby.
But, recently, I came across a different kind of issue involving trees. This one was about a few Burnaby residents complaining that trees were going to be planted.
Wait, what?
This is crazy. Who could possibly be against trees being planted? Entitled single-detached homeowners, as it turns out.
Earlier this year, some Burnaby Heights residents were upset that some lovely old cherry trees – the ones that blossom in stunning fashion each year – were being cut down on Boundary Road as part of a water and sewer infrastructure project.
Well, the city promised at the time that new trees would be planted in their place, only it turns out some people aren’t happy about that.
According to a City of Burnaby spokesperson, the city is getting pushback from a few Boundary Road homeowners about the placement of the new trees because they don’t want the trees blocking their view.
Oh really.
I know some homeowners are selfish when it comes to trees. I remember a case years ago in Vancouver in which some rich snob poisoned a tree because it was interfering with the view.
But this isn’t their property. This is city property and the city should be allowed to plant trees wherever it likes on its property.
Homeowners shouldn’t be able to dictate policy because they feel they own the view. Good grief.
As for the replacement trees themselves, Heights resident Gordon Guenter – who protested the original trees being cut - is unhappy that the trees being planted won’t be as large as he was first told.
“Apparently nothing was learned from the neighbourhood concerns and protests,’ Guenter said. “The City of Burnaby is again forging ahead without any resident consultation.”
The city responded to my questions about the size of the trees with an explanation that it’s not always easy to find the right size of tree when you need them.
“Trees and green space are a huge part of what makes this city special, and we never make decisions like this lightly,” said a city statement. “As you likely recall, as part of the first phase of work on the Boundary Road Watermain and Combined Sewer Separation Project, six mature cherry trees had to be removed. This is a very narrow corridor with many existing utilities including two large Metro Vancouver water mains, and there were no alternatives to shift the alignment for those trees. Sourcing trees of all species from local suppliers is a significant challenge for cities across the region as municipalities ramp up their tree planting. In this species of cherry, 6 cm was the largest we could find.”
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
