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Residents ask Stratford council to rethink town-hall ramp to spare mature trees
Summary
During the May 12 public forum, residents urged the Town of Stratford to change the design of a planned town-hall ramp to avoid removing a mature linden and to adopt broader protections for the town's mature tree canopy.
Several Stratford residents urged the Town of Stratford on May 12 to preserve mature trees threatened by a planned handicap ramp at town hall and to adopt proactive protections for the town's aging tree canopy. Public commenters asked the council to reconsider the ramp design and to approve measures such as pruning, leaving a natural leaf "duff" layer around tree drip lines, and other steps to improve tree health.
The comments came during the council's public forum. "I feel like we are failing in the protection of Stratford's mature tree canopy," resident Marca Lee said, arguing that new plantings do not replace long-standing trees and that small design changes could spare a linden near the ramp. Lee said pruning and design adjustments could have preserved a linden at Shakespeare Park that she said was removed after a single bad branch was found.
Another commenter, Paula Sweely, said she attended a site meeting called a hearing about the tree near the tax office and the proposed ramp and left believing the decision to build the ramp and its design had already been made. Sweely said she learned the tree has "ongoing problems" from tree warden Kelly Carrigan but asked the council to amend the ramp design if possible to preserve the tree because residents are attached to the familiar streetscape.
Lee recommended allowing a duff layer'a ring of leaves around a tree'which she said helps soil fertility, supports tree-dwelling pollinators and reduces storm damage. "I just ask this council to rethink the design of the ramp in order to spare the tree," Lee said.
Sweely also raised a notice concern, saying the site hearing did not appear on the town calendar and that roughly 20 people attended the on-site session. Both speakers urged the council to provide clearer public notice when town projects could affect trees.
The forum record contains no council motion, vote or formal direction about the ramp or tree protections. The public forum concluded shortly before a separate public hearing on the budget was scheduled to begin at 6:15 p.m.; no decision about the ramp was recorded in the public comments.
Residents asked for proactive measures to protect mature trees on future projects and for clearer public notification when tree removal is considered.
