Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Urban Trees topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Kingston Tree Commission OKs removal of Elmendorf Street tree at warming center, asks for replacement planting plan
Summary
The commission approved removal of a street tree at the Elmendorf Street warming center after sewer-line root damage, with conditions to cut the stump below grade, repair nearby bluestone sidewalk and create planting strips for replacement trees to be selected with the urban forester.
The City of Kingston Tree Commission voted to allow the removal of a street tree at 80 Elmendorf Street, a corner lot that houses a church which also functions as the city’s warming center, after city staff reported roots had intruded on sewer and water service lines.
Suzanne Haigh Hill, Kingston planning director, told the commission that a plumber, Carl Bell, had inspected the line and the sewer lateral had been lined “as far as they can go,” but that roots remained in the older cast-iron section in the street. Hill said the church owner had asked for permission to remove the tree so the damaged section could be repaired.
The panel approved the request with conditions. Commissioners required that the stump be cut below grade and covered, that the small bluestone sidewalk near the rear corner be reset to provide a smooth, passable surface, and that some of the existing blacktop be opened to create planting strips so replacement trees can be planted. The commission directed the church to work with Brent, the city’s urban forester, to select appropriate, native replacement tree species.
Commission members and the Reverend representing the church discussed that the tree appears relatively healthy but that cutting roots to repair the lateral would likely leave the tree structurally compromised. The Reverend noted the church was also replacing a water connection and referenced a sprinkler-system component “over $10,000” associated with that work.
The commission’s motion, offered during the Elmendorf agenda item, was seconded and carried by voice vote. Staff said they will coordinate the stump removal, sidewalk resetting, and the creation of planting strips with the church and the urban forester.
The approval includes the standard permit conditions for street-tree removals; commission members flagged a future capital project to remove blacktop around other existing street trees on the block to improve those trees’ long-term health.
