Over 100 trees were removed from Twelfth Street East as part of a major infrastructure project in August. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff0

By Alison Sandstrom

Clear cut concerns

Council wants residents to get more notice before future tree removals

Apr 26, 2021 | 3:28 PM

Prince Albert city council is considering new rules to ensure residents get advance notice if a significant number of trees are set to be removed from their street.

The move comes in response to outcry over an August incident where over 100 trees were clear cut from a Midtown street with only six days notice as part of a major infrastructure upgrade. The potential changes have been in the works since a group of upset residents complained to council following the deforestation.

“It sounds like we went in there with a SWAT team and hacked all the trees down and ‘too late to complain,’” Mayor Greg Dionne said at the time.

At the most recent city council executive committee meeting on April 19, councillors tentatively adopted a number of measures aimed at improving communication for similar future projects.

Pending final approval, residents will be notified by the first week of May if the removal of more than three trees per block is planned for their street during the construction season. A map of utility replacement projects will also be posted on the city’s website and reports on planned projects will be presented to council by April 15 each year. The public works department will also be required to consult with the city’s arborist before removing trees. Additionally, the city’s forestry management plan will be reviewed.

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But a pair of Midtown residents affected by the original deforestation say the changes don’t address “the real problem” with the city’s practices.

A picture of Twelfth Street East after the tree removal. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

Stronger protections rejected

Council rejected stronger measures to protect urban forests proposed by 12th Street residents, Guy Lavigne and Jean Maksymiuk. The pair asked that the city stop widening streets and eliminating boulevards when it results in significant mature tree removal and consider alternatives to open trenching.

“None of the… recommendations… require public works to change any of the practices that are causing the problems,” they said of the city’s proposed policy change.

“Someone tells you that in six days they are going to remove all the trees on your street because, they say, there is no alternative, you object to the plan because there are alternatives. They propose to resolve the issue by giving 3 months notice before removing all the trees. Is that resolution satisfactory,” Lavigne and Maksymiuk questioned.

Lavigne and Maksymiuk’s ward councillor, Tony Head advocated for some of the changes they called for.

“I’d like to see not only having the correspondence and dialogue with the residents in a timely fashion,” Head told the meeting. “But also to do our best to ensure that these trees stay with the roots in the ground.”

Meanwhile Coun. Dennis Ogrodnick said many residents of the street were happy with the upgrades which led to the tree removal, including new curbs and sidewalks, street widening, the installation of a new water main and the replacement of lead service connections. Committing to the changes the couple was asking for would prevent the city from making similar improvements in other neighbourhoods, Ogrodnick continued.

Mayor Greg Dionne echoed those comments, adding other Midtown residents were telling him they wanted their streets widened.

“These people on 10^th [Street] are asking me all the time, ‘can you widen 10^th?’ Well, I have to say no if this passes,” he said, referring to an amendment proposed by Head.

A final vote on the matter is expected at the next council meeting on May 3.

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alison.sandstrom@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @alisandstrom