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Tree board plans resolution to INDOT over reduced mowing; flags county solar buffer exclusion
Summary
Board members said INDOT has reduced mowing frequency along the Lloyd Expressway, raising invasive-plant and tree-health concerns, and discussed a county zoning revision that excluded arborvitae from solar buffer plantings.
Evansville’s Tree Advisory Board on Aug. 7 signaled plans to ask the city and allied groups to press the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) to restore more extensive mowing along the Lloyd Expressway and other ramp and wall areas, saying reduced mowing has allowed invasive vegetation to proliferate and harms street trees.
Board members said INDOT shifted mowing frequency lower (members described prior full mowings nine times a year dropping to five or fewer) and scaled back fence-line-to-fence-line cuts; the board said that change increases invasive species growth and long-term maintenance costs and can damage masonry walls and drainage. Members said they will prepare a resolution for the board’s next meeting and coordinate with Keep Evansville Beautiful, code enforcement and city council to press for at least one annual fence-line-to-fence-line mowing on high-priority walls.
Separately, the board discussed a Vanderburgh County zoning change in a revised solar code that appears to exclude arborvitae (a commonly used screening species) from buffers required for special-use solar projects. Board members said the county’s Area Plan Commission relies on Purdue Extension for plant guidance outside city limits; the board agreed staff (Sean) will contact the Purdue Extension agent to request alignment between county and city plant standards and to ask why arborvitae was excluded from the county buffer list.
Board members noted the city has already incorporated a city/county planting manual into local practice and encouraged county staff to defer to local arboricultural recommendations. No formal vote was taken on either INDOT coordination or the Purdue Extension outreach; board members described those as staff directions and expected a formal resolution about INDOT to return at the next meeting.
Why it matters: Reduced state mowing and differing county buffer rules affect invasive-species control, long-term tree health along major corridors and the aesthetics and safety of city rights-of-way. Board members said coordination with INDOT and Purdue Extension could limit future hazards and reduce costs of larger, later interventions.
