Taunton Lane—

Conservationist Opposes Plans to Remove 91 Trees

By Andrew Gorosko

A local conservationist, who is upset that the town plans to remove 91 trees from alongside Taunton Lane, charges that the project is “extreme and unwarranted” and is urging that fewer trees be removed to limit visual damage to the area’s aesthetics.

The town maintains that the planned tree removal is a necessary public safety project.

Donald Collier of 93 Birch Hill Road said this week that the town does not need to cut down as many trees along Taunton Lane as have been tagged for removal. Mr Collier, who is a member of the town’s Conservation Commission, stressed that his opposition to the tree removal project is as an individual, not as a Conservation Commission member.

Mr Collier’s concerns about the project have resulted in Tree Warden Mike McCarthy scheduling a public hearing on the tree removal project.

In a contradiction, some of the bright red “notice of removal” tags, that have been posted on the trees state that the public hearing would be held on Thursday, May 27, and other tags state the hearing would be held on Friday, May 28. Mr McCarthy has reserved space in Town Hall South for that hearing at 7:30 pm on Friday, May 28.

Mr Collier said this week there is local concern about preserving the town’s “rural character.” Preserving the trees along Taunton Lane would help protect that rural character, he said.

Taunton Lane is a relatively narrow, two-lane residential road about 3,000 feet long, which links Mt Pleasant Road to Taunton Hill Road. The street has about 20 homes.

“Neighbors want to preserve the character of the street…There’s an enormous amount of cutting that’s proposed,” Mr Collier said. The tree cutting would adversely affect the visual character of the area, he said. “It strikes me as excessive,” he said.

Pointing to a red-tagged tree that has been marked for removal, Mr Collier said it is a “perfectly healthy” tree that does not need to be removed.

Mr Collier said he understands the need to remove some trees that are very close to the pavement, but questioned the scope of the project. Between 18 and 27 trees could be removed from Taunton Lane without visually damaging the neighborhood, he said.

Mr Collier said he drives on Taunton Lane regularly and considers the road to be sufficiently wide because it does not handle much traffic.

“We fervently hope that we can reach a compromise at the hearing,” Mr Collier said. Opponents of the project would pursue a court challenge only as a last resort, he said.

Charles Speidel of 7 Taunton Lane said he would prefer to see most of the trees that have been marked for removal instead remain in place, noting the area’s rural quality. Mr Speidel said he understands the need to remove trees that pose particular problems, but questioned the need to remove 91 trees.

Tree Warden Responds

Mr McCarthy said this week he marked the trees for removal for specific reasons, especially public safety concerns.

“It’s a safety issue identified by the town engineer,” Mr McCarthy said.

Some of the trees, which are close to the pavement, have been hit by passing vehicles, he said. Other trees are dying, he added. Yet other trees are dead, he said. Some of the trees marked for removal are leaning over the roadway, he said.

The need to remove the trees along Taunton Lane was identified by the town engineer two years ago, Mr McCarthy said.

After the trees are removed, the trees that are now standing behind them will have an opportunity to visually “fill in” the area, he said. Also, removing the trees will provide motorists with better views of stone walls that run along both sides of the street, he said.

All of the trees, which are located along both sides of the street, stand within the town’s right-of-way for Taunton Lane, so the town, in effect, owns the trees that have been marked to be removed, he said.

A majority of the trees marked for removal are on the east side of the street, he said. Trees to be removed range from two inches in diameter to 30 inches in diameter, he said. There is a full  mixture of deciduous species marked for cutting, including ash, maple, and birch, he said.

Mr McCarthy acknowledged that Taunton Lane would initially look different after 91 trees are removed, but added that in a few years, the area would appear as if there had been no tree removal project.

Mr McCarthy pointed to the section of Mile Hill Road South, lying between its intersections with Nunnawauk Road and Turkey Hill Road, as an example of tree regrowth after a tree removal project. The town removed about 160 trees from there several years ago and that area now appears as if there had been no tree removal project, he said.

Mr McCarthy suggested that the town plant some young trees in place of those that are removed in the Taunton Lane project.

Mr McCarthy said the town has put out to bid the project to remove 91 trees. He said it is unclear how much that work would cost. Bids are scheduled to be opened on June 7, he said.