Urban Forest News – West End Tulip, Shaughnessy Tree Loss

A couple of items from this Thursday’s Vancouver Courier that will be of interest.  The first is a piece by Naoibh O’Commor about the removal of trees at a Granville and 16th development site.  The second is a piece by Allan Garr on the West End tulip tree that was referenced on this blog last week.

Here’s a few excerpts to whet your appetite…

Axes fell trees at controversial development; Residents oppose loss of green area
Vancouver Courier; June 18, 2010; Naoibh O’Connor

A mound of earth and debris is all that remains on what was a heavily-treed property at 16th and Granville slated for a controversial townhouse development.

Work to remove dozens of trees started last week. On Wednesday crews chopped up tree stumps at the now barren site by Granville Street and McRae Avenue. The pre-construction clearcut exposes to passersby Nichol House–a 1913 heritage building whose exterior is being preserved–and a white-coloured mansion on Granville Street.

Residents fought the development project for years. The property was rezoned under former mayor Sam Sullivan’s council. An effort to reverse that decision under Mayor Gregor Robertson’s council failed last fall.

Ruth Hamilton, president of Shaughnessy Heights Property Owners’ Association, which opposes the project, learned the trees had been axed when an association member emailed her with photos. “The appearance of the site is worse than we thought it would be–worse than we imagined,” she said Wednesday. “We think it is a huge waste of trees and that green area. We certainly still regret the fact these trees were sacrificed for an unwelcome townhouse development that alters the whole character of the neighbourhood…”

:: Read the complete story here

Stop the presses–council errs on side of caution
Vancouver Courier; June 18, 2010; Allen Garr

Two decisions at city council’s last planning and environment committee meeting are worth noting. For a council that has been accused of shooting before it aims, both exhibit a surprising level of caution.

One had to do with the house and West Side property that are part of the late venerable architect Abe Rogatnick’s estate.

The other, which I will deal with first, concerns a 107-year-old tulip tree at 1245 Harwood St. in the West End. It’s a common enough species in Eastern deciduous forests of North America. In Vancouver, where you can find a tree hugger behind every bush, Liriodendron tulipifera is a rare and cherished species, or so we have been led to believe.

Council was asked to consider allowing a developer–represented by Bing Thom’s firm of architects–an additional six storeys on a 12-storey building in exchange for not axing the tree. The value of the bonus was estimated at about $4 million. According to city planner Brent Toderian, that would be roughly equivalent to the additional cost the developer would incur to develop underground parking without taking out the tree…

:: Read the complete story here.

Giant West End tulip tree threatened

We’re running an excerpt from the main VPSN blog that we know will be of interest to Great Tree enthusiasts. It concerns a spectacular specimen of tulip tree found in the West End – one which is currently threatened by development pressures.  You can find the main post here.

Over the years, density bonusing has acted as an important tool in Vancouver’s city-building methodology. It’s a tool with which planners, guided by Council, have used to support the development or enhancement of important public benefits – parks, community facilities, and public art to name a few. Under the process, extra allowable height (“density”) is permitted on a given project, and in exchange for this, developers provide a public good.

Heritage preservation, as a type of public good, has also been factored into this process — and through this scheme various aspects of Vancouver’s material culture have been supported. Important building fascades have been preserved, historic structured restored, and key architectural features have received protection.

But when it comes to our natural heritage — that great commonwealth of green and blue that one sees on all the postcards — the ability to use the density bonusing as a preservation tool begins to run into difficulty.

Earlier today City Council has voted against providing a heritage density bonus to a West End developer. The developer wanted to access the bonus in exchange for working around the largest known specimen of tulip tree in the city…. [more]