City outlines Wisteria–Clearbrook drainage project; about 50 significant trees will be removed and replaced

The Wilmington Tree Commission heard details of the Wisteria–Clearbrook drainage and stream-restoration project on a presentation by Robbie Baker, a project manager in the city’s Design and Construction department. Baker said the project is expected to start in summer 2026 and take about a year to complete, covering roughly 0.7 miles of corridor and focusing on bank stabilization, stream restoration, restoring maintenance access and replacing failing culverts and pipes to reduce localized flooding.

Baker told commissioners that staff identified “approximately 50 significant trees” within the project’s limits of disturbance that will need to come down, most of them magnolia species. He noted that magnolias are counted as "significant" at smaller diameters (an 8-inch diameter was cited in discussion), while an identified 35-inch loblolly pine is by far the largest tree in the corridor. “A lot of these are out behind people’s houses in the drainage area,” Baker said, adding that some larger trees will be clearly visible from the road.

The presentation described the planting plan that will follow construction. Baker said planting will occur in the latter stages of work after regrading and stream restoration. The city plans to install live stakes near the channel, hundreds of tubelings in intermediate zones and ball-and-burlap specimens in outer zones, with the intent to establish woody vegetation that stabilizes slopes and restores native plant communities. “We have thousands of live stakes going in, several thousand live stakes, several hundred tubelings and dozens of ball-and-burlap trees,” Baker said.

On construction and contracting, staff identified an apparent contractor for portions of the work; the project will be contracted out. Baker and other staff said there will be a contractor warranty on plantings, then the city will maintain planted areas within drainage easements.

Commissioners pressed staff about invasive-species return and replanting timing. Baker said the planting phase is intended to reduce re-invasion and give native plantings a chance to thrive, and staff plan to coordinate closely with the contractor to limit invasives. A commissioner raised concerns about an impaired receiving stream and asked whether the project would increase sediment in the short term; city staff said the project’s bank stabilization and re-established floodplain should reduce sediment loss over time, though construction will require erosion controls during work.

Staff said they will notify impacted property owners, hold an in-person meeting for residents next month, and share construction updates, photos and timing via the city’s communications team so neighbors are informed before tree removal begins. The commission was also told similar drainage improvement projects (Hooker Hinton, Pirates Cove, Brookshire Beasley) will be brought to future meetings.

The commission did not vote on any motion related to the project during this meeting. The next procedural steps are in-person outreach to property owners and procurement/contract finalization before field work begins.