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Tree advisory committee urges stronger downtown green infrastructure and readies ash-tree removals as EAB spreads
Summary
Essex Junction’s Tree Advisory Committee reported planting roughly 41 trees this year, described a nursery program that sharply reduces per-tree cost, and warned that emerald ash borer (EAB) infestations will require many ash removals while urging more durable downtown planting practices and follow-up maintenance.
Essex Junction’s Tree Advisory Committee told the City Council Wednesday that it planted about 41 trees this year — 18 of them funded through a grant — and urged the council to require more durable planting infrastructure in downtown redevelopment to avoid widespread early failures.
The committee said it had planted 18 trees under a grant that cost about $18,000 (about $1,000 per tree under the grant) and that trees raised in the city nursery can be established and placed in the right-of-way for roughly $150–$180 per tree after two years of care. “We are able to get a tree in the ground after we take care of it for two years for about $150, $180,” the committee reported, noting volunteer support and cooperation with Branch Out Burlington and city public-works staff.
Committee members stressed that recent downtown redevelopment often leaves small, constrained planting areas that lack the soil volume and underground infrastructure trees need. They recommended stronger requirements for developers to provide structural soil solutions or silva cells beneath sidewalks so street trees have the necessary root volume and water access. “Right now, they’re planted in what we call the little rectangular casket. They grow for a while and then they die. Trees need volume,” a committee member said.
Warren (Tree Advisory Committee) and colleague Nick reviewed outreach and education efforts: two Arbor Day events involving about 160 children, ongoing nursery work at the Bob Nursery, and collaboration with parks staff to plant at Maple Street and Callahan Parks. The committee cited planting totals over the past decade of roughly 325 trees citywide, including 32 along the Crescent Connector.
The committee and council discussed emerald ash borer (EAB). Members said ash trees planted along parts of West Street extension, toward Susie Wilson Road and the Pearl Street median, are infected or closely threatened and will need removal. “When you go out West Street extension ... the maples are all infected with EAB. When we get down towards Susie Wilson Road, I’m not seeing much of it there, but they’re so close they’re gonna get it. So all of those ash trees are gonna go,” a committee member said.
Committee members and several councilors also urged better follow-up and code enforcement for landscape plans that developers submit. Speakers said landscape plans are sometimes approved and installed but not maintained; city requirements and follow-up enforcement are needed to ensure that required plantings survive. Resident Steve Eustace praised the tree committee’s work and urged more consistent maintenance and accountability from developers.
Public comment included a schoolteacher who described student involvement in tree plantings and the value of hands-on education for future stewardship.
The committee requested continued coordination with public works and planning staff on planting choices, replacements and the city nursery program. The council did not take legislative action on the update; the report functioned as an advisory briefing to inform future budget and code-enforcement discussions.
