Six Edgartown shade trees will be cut down and replaced in three different locations after the town select board gave its approval Monday.
Six Edgartown shade trees will be cut down and replaced in three different locations after the town select board gave its approval Monday.
Four trees will be removed at 73 Davis Lane.
“Two of them are in really tough shape,” highway superintendent Allan DeBettencourt said. “I’m surprised they didn’t already come down.”
One tree will be cut down at 54 Morse street, with the logistics for planting a new tree at the site still needing to be ironed out, according to property manager Paul Pertile. The board allowed the tree to be cut down on the condition that Mr. Pertile work with Mr. DeBettencourt to find a suitable spot to plant a replacement.
“Where the wires are, maybe you do put an understory tree in that corner, something that doesn’t get big. And then in that other spot, if we could have a shade tree for the street, [that] would be a nice addition,” selectman Michael Donaroma said.
Another shade tree will be cut down at 63 School street. A new maple tree will be planted in its place.
In other business Monday, the select board granted a one-day permit to block a sidewalk for roof repairs at the Rockland Trust Bank on South Water street. The work was set to take place Tuesday.
The board also approved two entertainment license renewals for Edgartown Cinemas as well as a common victualer license renewal for the movie theatre, Great Harbor Market and Murdick’s Fudge.
An obscene Zoom bomber briefly disrupted the meeting before town administrator James Hagerty removed them. The meeting continued without delay.
“Good job James getting that,” Mr. Donaroma said.
— Zach Harris
Comments
Mr. Harris:
Johanna HynesMr. Harris:
Please provide your readers with news worthy details. Your headline makes it sound like the trees have already been chopped down. You say the board gave their approval Monday - which Monday are you referring to? You cite Mr. Bettencourt’s appraisal of two of the six trees being in ‘rough shape’ - what does that mean exactly? Are these trees suffering from something specific? How old are these Trees? Might you provide some specifics in terms of size (DBI) and species? And please tell us more about the 4 shade trees that are not in ‘rough shape.. are they healthy trees? What is the reason for their removal? Finally, how many people from the public participated in this zoom meeting on ‘Monday’ and on what date was the agenda published? Thank you.
The trees on Davis Lane have
KateThe trees on Davis Lane have been there over 60 years since I remember them from childhood when I climbed them. They don’t look to be in rough shape, but I am no arborist. My guess is the plan calls for replacing them with the pervasive and ugly arborvitae and hardscaping what is left of the lawn I played on. Sad to waste good trees like that.
Kate, I agree with you,
Lorraine EdgartownKate, I agree with you, arborvitae are ugliness personified and they are taking over Edgartown. My songbirds I listen to with great pleasure do not like arborvitaes and we are losing song birds due to their natural canopy of tall trees being removed to plant the arborvitae which is done to get around the six foot limit on fences. We are slowly losing the white picket fence charm of our village as fences are removed to plant hedges that can grow to much higher height. And with that comes the constant whine of hedge trimmers as more hedges are planted to replace white picket fences.
Thank you for asking these
BF EdgartownThank you for asking these questions.
Seems like an awful lot of important information was excluded from this report to the public.
Nope, "Shade Trees to Come
Vineyarder from Afar MassNope, "Shade Trees to Come Down in Edgartown" makes it pretty clear that the trees are still standing.
Well, how interesting. An
Lorraine EdgartownWell, how interesting. An obscene Zoom bomber? What is this, modern day flashing? Sophomoric humor will out, it appears, in the flesh or in the digital world.
Edgartown’s charm has as much
Johanna HynesEdgartown’s charm has as much to do with its diverse and mature tree canopy as it’s quaint architecture. New plantings are not an adequate replacement for existing mature trees and may take decades to provide the benefits and character of the trees standing tall today. Urban/town trees are key to keeping heat at bay and also serve the purpose of mitigating the negative effects of storm water. Would be good to have a historic village tree inventory completed by a ‘certified arborist’ to determine what percentage of shade trees reside on private land. Allowing the removal of historic trees to make room for curb cuts and pool houses is shortsighted and a disservice to the surrounding neighborhood.
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