HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-08-04_Tree_MIN_ExhibitAugust 4, 2016
Dear Council Members,
On Thursday, August 4th, 2016 the City of Ashland Tree Commission met and discussed the
reiteration of the Pioneer and Lithia Way project which Laurie Thorton (Laurie Sager and
Associates Landscape Architects Inc.) has written a recommendation, drafted July 11th. We
would like to formally address the council with an updated recommendation. After hosting the
world’s foremost expert in urban trees Mr. James Urban, and participating in his workshop it
was clear to all us that alternatives to the design of this project exist and need to be further
explored.
The Tree Commission carefully considered public comment provided by Kathryn Thalden, a
retired landscape architect. Her recommendation is a tree-centric design with preservation of
trees as one of the main objectives of the project. Another aspect of her recommendation would
be to use this project as a showcase for alternatives such as rubber or pervious sidewalks as a
way to get more natural water to these existing trees in order to improve their environment.
The City of Ashland Street Tree Guide recommends these species of Maple trees as drought
resistant and good urban street trees. These existing trees are valuable for numerous reasons
including their current size, location, shading, air filtration, canopy coverage, and tolerance to
the urban environment. New trees in this location will struggle to establish due to the stressful
urban environment of this location. The existing trees have already survived the hardest part of
an urban trees life, the establishment period. The Zelkova trees on the north side of Lithia Way
near the intersection of 1st and Lithia are a great example of hardy, urban tolerant, fast growing
trees and their lack of ability to establish in this same microclimate environment (many of these
trees have either died or are currently unhealthy).
We are requesting that the City Council works to preserve these valuable trees. The Tree
Commission would appreciate your consideration of contracting a landscape designer to
redesign this landscape. We understand the desire to redesign the current landscape and
believe that the goals of the current project can still be met with the preservation of the trees.
Thank you for your consideration,
The City of Ashland Tree Commission