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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Session 1317, Minutes Page 5 <br /> October 25, 1982 <br /> <br /> <br /> the Council received from the administration, but she had some grave concerns about <br /> this item. Several of the locations with which she was familiar were scheduled to <br /> receive trees which did not seem suitable for those locations; for instance, pear <br /> trees, which are small and compact, were slated to be planted in areas which had <br /> large, wide-.o-pen spaces which should have trees which will become large with spread- <br /> ing branches. She thought perhaps the aesthetic goal of the Forestry Department <br /> must be quite different than her own and others. Mr. Ollendorff said he could not <br /> comment on the tree locations, since he had not examined them in any great detail, <br /> nor could he be sure how much urgency there was in approving this, since he knew <br /> some of the trees were to be planted this fall and some in the spring. <br /> Mayor Mooney suggested that the matter be postponed until the Forestry Department <br /> could respond to Mrs. Metcalfe's concerns. He thought perhaps it might be approved <br /> conditionally, subject to agreement between Mrs. Metcalfe and Forestry. Mrs. Met- <br /> calfe said she did not want a written justification of every tree--she merely was <br /> asking for general goals and the reasons for planting small trees where it seemed <br /> there should be large trees. <br /> Mr. Adams said perhaps the rationale behind the Forestry Department's choice of <br /> planting locations may have been the mixing of different types of trees, since that <br /> may make them less prone to disease. Also, the mixing of different types may cre- <br /> ate pleasant aesthetics in terms of color. <br /> Mr. Levy said he accepted Mrs. Metcalfe's concern but felt the Council did not have <br /> the expertise nor time to undertake an investigation into the comparative virtues <br /> of different types of trees or to evaluate the compatibility of different kinds of <br /> trees for all of the streets where the trees will be planted. He suggested that the <br /> trees designated for the locations of which Mrs. Metcalfe spoke be held in abeyance <br /> until the Forestry Department could meet with her, and that the rest of the trees <br /> be approved for planting. <br /> Mrs. Metcalfe said she understood Mr. Levy was trying to expedite this matter, but <br /> she strongly disagreed. She said she had done a number of spot checks and found <br /> the same problem. She concurred that the Council could not possibly evaluate every <br /> tree and location on the list, nor did she want the Forester to justify every place- <br /> ment; she wished to know if the general goals and planning of the Forester were com- <br /> patible with the philosophy of not putting small, compact trees in spots where <br /> there was a history of large, overhanging trees. She felt there was a broad prob- <br /> lem which needed to be addressed. <br /> Mr. Lieberman pointed out that on the list of trees and planting locations, about <br /> 90 were designated as simply "trees" with no mention of the species. He noted it <br /> would be difficult for the Council to evaluate this matter if the type of tree was <br /> not known. <br /> Mr. Ollendorff said the administration had, in response to Council's request last <br /> _ year, made a fairly detailed list of the number of trees to be purchased and their <br /> locations. For locations where the tree variety was not specified, he said he <br /> would get that information and circulate it to Council, and in addition, would find <br /> out the rationale behind the way the locations for specific types of trees were <br /> chosen. Responding to Mr. Schoomer, Mr. Ollendorff said adjacent property owners <br /> were not consulted when a decision was made to place a certain type of tree on the <br /> tree lawn. <br /> g , <br />