The removal of more than two dozen trees from city-owned land near 23 Avenue and 165 Street last Friday sparked some concern among area residents, but city officials say, for the most part, “it needed to happen.”
Peace Arch News was contacted Friday after chainsaws fired up at 2284 165 St., the former home of the Sunnyside Saddle Club.
The caller, a woman who described herself as a neighbour of the site, said the cutting “doesn’t make any sense,” and noted that trees determined hazardous had already been removed last September.
But Tim Neufeld, the city’s park development services manager, said an arborist’s report identified 26 more trees for removal, as part of preparation work for development of Sunnyside Saddle Club Park.
While six of those 26 were confirmed healthy, nine were deemed dead and needing immediate removal, and the remaining 11 were found to be “in poor health and form,” Neufeld said Friday.
And, changes to be made to the site grading would have “dramatically impacted” the roots of the six healthy trees, he added.
Neufeld confirmed the need to remove the 26 trees was not something the public was advised of during open house events regarding plans for the 3.8-hectare site. Those decisions, he said, can’t always be predicted.
“We always try to keep removals to a minimum,” he said, emphasizing a need to balance development of amenities the community is asking for, with ensuring those amenities are safe.
Neufeld said the park will be “a pretty intensive-use site,” with a sports field, washrooms, playground and more. The first phase of development will largely focus on the sports field, he said.
Trees, he added, will be replaced four-to-one.
The saddle club closed at the end of last year, after more than 40 years of operating on the land, which had been leased from the city. A longtime member told PAN last spring that a decline in membership in recent years was behind the club’s demise.
But there were no hard feelings over it, the senior stressed.
“It was a good run,” she said.
Neufeld said the city is “happy to explain” any changes to the site that the community may have questions about.
