Past Challenge to EBR Parish Tree Commission

From "Business Report", 9/16/2003:

Baton Rouge's new commercial landscape ordinance is causing a riff between the city-parish and a handful of builders and developers who say Baton Rouge can't afford to be so green.Though the ordinance, an update of the 1994 original, was three years and several public meetings in the making, critics argue the Metro Council's July approval was a rush to judgment because it didn't consider the views of those impacted by the changes.Part of the Unified Development Code, the revised landscape ordinance, after a 90-day delay, is scheduled to take effect Nov. 11.


Carolyn Torrance of Salco Construction says the city-parish Landscape and Tree Commission, the group that wrote the new rules, kept commercial builders out of the process to squelch dissenting viewpoints. The development community, she contends, didn't learn of the regulations until June, when the Planning Commission gave the ordinance its blessing. Moreover, Torrance and others worry the additional landscaping requirements will dramatically increase the cost of construction, impact the size of buildings and stifle industrial development in older sections of the parish.'When I read the ordinance I see cost, cost, cost,' said Torrance. 'The city is spending everyone else's money very easily.'


Commission members counter that the complaints are much ado about nothing. They say there's nothing onerous about the ordinance and that the public is demanding a greener Baton Rouge.'The changes we've made are baby steps,' said commission member Dennis 'Buck' Abbey, a landscape architect and associate professor at LSU. 'They've made it sound like the world is falling apart.'The new ordinance not only requires more landscaping on commercial and industrial projects but also calls for larger trees and additional green space buffer zones. Supporters of the ordinance contend better landscaped developments, both residential and commercial, aren't just important for environmental and aesthetic reasons but also aid the city's quest to attract companies with higher paying, white collar jobs.'The cities of the future aren't going to look like Airline Highway, they'll look like Highland Road,' said Abbey. 'Visit any thriving city and that's what you'll see.'While East Baton Rouge Parish is relatively green, with 45 percent of the parish covered by tree canopy, experts point out that the percentage has dropped 11 percent from a decade ago.  https://www.businessreport.com/news/2003/sep/16/the-cost-of-green/


Note: Subsequently, downtown Baton Rouge did put in place a "tree ordinance"....
Ordinance 14363 (Adopted by MetroCouncil on 3/19/2008), Section X, "Streetscape Planting":
http://www.downtownbatonrouge.org/downloads/pdf/AEordinance.pdf

Ordinance-Driven EBR Parish Tree Commission Has Been Inactive for Two Years

Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2011 11:31 PM
To: 'council-dist12@brgov.com'
Subject: EBR Parish Tree Commission is Inactive

Spoke by phone yesterday with S.Shurtz / DPW arborist.  The EBR Tree Commission, created by ordinance in 1991, has been “inactive for several years now”.  By design, it has basically no authority, serves only as an advocacy organization.  S.Shurtz mentioned the commission members largely all quit in protest a few years ago.  He indicated the commission may no longer be needed because we have an active independent advocacy group, Baton Rouge Green.  I disagree. We need an advocacy group not associated with special interests, with members serving for specified terms.

I spoke with two former commission members.  Both expressed frustrations with their former roles.  They mentioned a litany of problems: difficult to get all commission members to attend meetings, difficult to gain the ear of the Mayor, Mayor would not appoint commission member vacancies, MetroCouncilmen not receptive to commission recommendations, difficulty in putting proper city ordinances in place, no MetroCouncil support. 

Do you support the existence of an EBR Tree Commission?  If this group was put in place via city-parish ordinance, how can it remain in an inactive state for years…especially during implementation of the Mayor’s Green Light Projects?

Green Light Project Spokesman States Noise Study for Staring Lane Widening Not Warranted

From: John Snow [mailto:jsnow@consultssa.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2011 5:18 PM
Cc: Brad Ponder (Ponder@csrsonline.com)
Subject: RE: Green Light Project to Widen Staring Lane (Chandler to Highland Rd Stretch)

Please see below for responses to your questions/comments.

·    Is there room for discussion on the scope of this project?  

No, the current scope and design of the project will remain as-is throughout the construction period.  The design of this project was previously finalized after having been through several design iterations in response to public concerns while continuing to meet the specified design criteria.

·    Can the mile above Highland remain as-is?  It is design complete, but construction only 4% complete.

No – as determined through the design phase, improving only intersections and limited stretches of this corridor does meet the future traffic demands of the corridor.  The contractor is now under contract with the City-Parish for construction of all plan and specification requirements for the entire corridor, from Highland Road to Perkins Road.  The City-Parish intends to continue with construction of the project as stipulated in the contract.

·    Project Environmental Document only discusses area immediately around Bayou Duplantier, this is not the only area of impact.  Your estimates for environmental mitigation ($ 240,000) are too low.

The entire project limits, Highland Road to Perkins Road, were investigated for wetlands, UST’s, petroleum products and other hazardous chemicals, cultural resources, cemeteries and other requirements of Phase I Environmental Site Assessment standard practice.  All required wetland permits from the USACOE have been acquired and remain active for this project.  Issuance of said permits reflects the USACOE concurrence of the impacts by this project.  The environmental budget presented in the project’s Concept Report was an estimate of project costs associated with detailed wetland and Phase I ESA studies of the final project limits, permits applications, permit maintenance, and other associated costs.

·     Your project indicates "noise study may be needed".  It is needed as impact is already being felt by the neighborhoods.

The comment “noise study may be needed” was provided as part of the initial concept study.  These concept studies were meant to provide wide-angle views of all Green Light projects in order to more accurately define project scope and budgets.  After this step, the City-Parish hired design engineers for all of the Green Light projects through a professional engineer selection process.  It was during this phase of the design where additional studies were determined to be warranted or not warranted.  Based on the scope of the proposed Staring Lane project, a noise study was not warranted.

Thanks,

John

 

From: Ponder, Brad [mailto:Ponder@csrsonline.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 12:55 PM
Cc: Songy, Michael; John Snow
Subject: FW: URGENT GLP Website Inquiry

We have been instructed by the Mayor’s Office and DPW Director to have all public and news media comments and questions go to Mr. John Snow, spokesman for the Green Light Plan.  It is felt this will provide the public and news media with consistent and timely communication regarding all projects in the Green Light Plan.

John Snow can be contacted at jsnow@consultssa.com.

Thank you.

Brad Ponder, P.E.

GLP Program Manager

CSRS, Inc.

6767 Perkins Road, Suite 200

Baton Rouge, La 70808

(225) 769-0546 – Office

(225) 603-9647 – Mobile

Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 1:41 PM
To: John Snow
Cc: Ponder@csrsonline.com; jalvarez@brgov.com; wessman@csrsonline.com; rallen@theadvocate.com
Subject: Green Light Project to Widen Staring Lane (Chandler to Highland Rd Stretch)

Can you field these remaining unanswered questions/comments:

·      Is there room for discussion on the scope of this project?

·      Can the mile above Highland remain as-is?  It is design complete, but construction only 4% complete.

·      Project Environmental Document only discusses area immediately around Bayou Duplantier, this is not the only area of impact.  Your estimates for environmental mitigation ($ 240,000) are too low.

·      Your project indicates "noise study may be needed".  It is needed as impact is already being felt by the neighborhoods.

Complaint Submitted to Entergy Regarding Damage Caused by Tree Trimming Crews Along Staring Lane

Describe:		Tree Trimming Crews Responsible for Unnecessary Tree Damage Along Staring Lane Chris Holeman, CSRS Project Manager for the Green Light Staring Lane widening, mentioned the all tree cropping to date has being performed by Entergy tree trimming crews, with a view to location of the power lines. In short, several registered live oaks have been irreparably damaged by these tree trimming crews. For example, Registered Live Oak #5790 at 560 Staring Lane, which was cited on 3/24/11 by DPW as "pruned but may survive". As a former Entergy employee (for almost 10 years), this is truly disheartening to me.
If you have a complaint, do you have a proposed solution?:		Entergy should offer to replace the damaged trees (replant with ones of comparable size, after the widening effort) and offer to build protective fences, to prevent damage by upcoming construction crews, for those registered live oaks deemed saveable. Registered Live Oak #6169 at 467 Staring Lane Registered Live Oak #5790 at 560 Staring Lane Registered Live Oak #5249 at 364 Staring Lane

Entergy Tree Trimming Crews Responsible for Tree Damage Along Staring Lane

Chris Holeman is the Project Manager for the Staring Lane widening.  He is subcontracted to CSRS Program Management.  The current plans for the widening effort involve both a 30 ft raised median (grass) and curb & gutter, "like Bluebonnet Road".  The widening effort is split into two phases, North of Chandler (completing in August 2011) and South of Chandler (start overlapping completion of other phase).  He mentioned the tree cropping to date is being performed by Entergy tree trimming crews, with a view to location of the power lines;  at present, the construction group tree removals have not begun in the 'South of Chandler' phase.

In short, Registered Live Oak #5790 ("Phoenix") at 560 Staring Lane, which was labelled as "pruned but may survive" in DPW List of 3/24/11, was damaged by Entergy tree trimming crews!

Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 11:13 AM
To: 'holeman@csrsonline.com'
Cc: 'rallen@theadvocate.com'; 'CPL70600@aol.com'; 'Steve Shurtz'
Subject: Three Special Live Oaks Along Staring Lane in Path of Green Light Project

Thanks for speaking with me today and clarifying design details of the Staring Lane Project (widening from Perkins Rd to Highland Rd)!  Attached is the survey performed by the DPW arborist on 3/24/11, which indicates the status of each of the 11 registered live oaks along this stretch of roadway.  I am especially interested in protecting the following three live oaks (one was cited on the DPW List as ‘will not survive’, but has not as yet been touched).  Addresses and photos are included to help locate them.

Perhaps you can advise me as to plans to protect these three oaks?

Registered Live Oak #6169 "STARING HOPE" (Girth 12.2 ft) at 467 Staring Lane

Approx Project Station  123+00

“Will Not Survive” (but at present untouched)

Registered Live Oak #5790 "PHOENIX" (Girth 11.02 ft) at 560 Staring Lane

Approx Project Station  130+50

“Pruned but may survive” per DPW List of 3/24/11

 

Registered Live Oak #5249  "MARC OAK" (Girth 27.01 ft) at 364 Staring Lane

Approx Project Station 115+50

“Not Scheduled for Removal” per DPW List of 3/24/11

All Roads Lead Back to Green Light Project

From: Ellen Miller [mailto:EMILLER@brgov.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 9:11 AM
Cc: Troy Bunch; Ryan Holcomb; songy@csrs.com; bponder@csrs.com
Subject: RE: Request Response Regarding Green Light Project to Widen Staring Lane

Mr. Holcomb described the Planning Commission’s role in the Green Light Plan.  Further questions regarding the Green Light Plan should be referred to Mr. Michael Songy or Brad Ponder at CSRS.

From: Ryan Holcomb [mailto:RHOLCOMB@brgov.com]
Sent: Monday, March 28, 2011 4:15 PM
Cc: Troy Bunch; Ellen Miller; songy@csrs.com; bponder@csrs.com
Subject: RE: Request Response Regarding Green Light Project to Widen Staring Lane

The Planning Commission provides land use and transportation input related to the comprehensive plan to help guide future growth and development.  Our office has not been involved in any scoping or design of this specific project.  We refer any detailed questions regarding this Green Light Plan project  to Brad Ponder at bponder@csrsonline.com.

The Green Light Plan
6767 Perkins Road, Suite 200
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
USA
Tel:+ 225-761-3600

                Sincerely,

Ryan L. Holcomb

Planning Project Coordinator

City-Parish Planning Commission

Baton Rouge, LA

(225) 389-3144

Date: March 26, 2011 12:36:36 PM EDT
To: Troy Bunch <TBUNCH@brgov.com>
Subject: Request Response Regarding Green Light Project to Widen Staring Lane

How would you define the role the Planning Commission has had to date in the Green Light Project to widen Staring Lane?  Have they been involved in scoping this project…e.g., determining the 25 ft from road centerline boundaries?

Request for Special Meeting of EBR Parish Tree Commission

Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2011 11:09 AM
To: 'Athena_9@bellsouth.net'; 'aaincla@aol.com'
Cc: 'rallen@theadvocate.com'
Subject: Proposed Agenda Item for Upcoming EBR Parish Tree Commission Meeting (4/20/11)

Eleven live oaks registered by the Live Oak Society have either been “removed” or are being threatened by the Green Light Project phase to widen Staring Lane.  At the next meeting (4/20/11) of the EBR Parish Tree Commission, can the fate (including protection of those marked for saving) of these live oaks be discussed?  W.Daniel of DPW indicates only four of these (five possibly) will be saved.  I am concerned about protection from road construction activities for those marked to be saved.  I would also like to reconsider those not yet removed or significantly cropped as possible candidates for being saved.

I am also a bit concerned that your next scheduled meeting may be too far in the future to prevent day-to-day damage potential.  Can a special meeting be called in the next week?

           

Mayor Holden's Wife Involved in 2007 Live Oak Dedication

In February 2007, Mayor Holden's wife was involved in live oak dedication in the Garden District.  Also present were the current DPW arborist and two current Tree Commission members. 

Garden District Civic Association

Garden District Board Minutes – Feb. 21, 2007

Suzanne [Schexnayder] reported on the live oak dedication, which will be at 10 a.m., on Feb. 24, 2007. Forty-four households adopted 101 trees. Mrs. Holden, the mayor’s wife, will be present to name a new tree. Coleen Perrileaux Landry, the representative from the Louisiana Live Oak Society, Peggy Davis, from Baton Rouge Green, and Steve Shurtz and Jerry Juneau, both urban foresters with the city will be present.

Lafayette LA Making Enviable Strides in Live Oak Protection

TreesAcadiana to Canvas City Oaks with GPS

On Saturday, February 26 [2011], TreesAcadiana has scheduled a field operation to update the 75-year registry of the Live Oak Society with the added detail of global positioning system (GPS) coordinates and current measurements for those trees currently on the list.  Lafayette is credited with over 250 live oaks over 8 feet in circumference.  TreesAcadiana believes this represents a small percentage of the qualifying live oaks in Lafayette.

The Society’s registrar, Coleen Landry of New Orleans, affirms that having the GPS coordinates for the trees would be a very helpful addition of information to affirm and locate existing trees.  Participants are encouraged to bring tape measures, writing instruments, GPS devises, and clip boards if they have these readily available.  Other cities in Lafayette Parish are encouraged to do the same.  The Live Oak Society was initiated in Lafayette by the first president of UL-Lafayette in 1934.  According to TreesAcadiana Chairperson Sarah Schoefler, “Lafayette has many live oaks and it only stands to reason that the City should have one of the highest counts on the registry.”  She adds, “We hope to make that happen.”

The public is invited to join TreesAcadiana’s general meeting to take place at Pack & Paddle, 601 East Pinhook in Lafayette, on March 22 where Steve A. Shurtz, Urban Forestry and Landscape Manager for the East Baton Rouge City-Parish Department of Public Works, will address the group as keynote speaker with his focus on Louisiana’s heritage live oaks.  Steve has twice served as president of the Society of Municipal Arborists (SMA), is a past president of the Louisiana Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), was recently elected to the Board of Trustees of the ASLA, and is currently President of the Louisiana Urban Forestry Council. He recently completed his second term as a member of the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC), an advisory group to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

http://treesacadiana.org/articles/treesacadiana-to-canvas-city-oaks-with-gps/

Attend Next Meeting of EBR Parish Tree Commission on 4/20/11

Tree Commission

Authorized by: Mayor-President Function: Studies problems involving the City-Parish tree population, reviewing the City-Parish tree plan and developing standards of tree maintenance. The commission meets monthly - 3rd Wed. Term: 4 Years Reference: Metropolitan Ordinance 9360, Adopted December 11, 1991 Title 2, Chapter 1, Part V, Section 2L91 of the Code of Ordinances. Members: Dennis Abbey   aaincla@aol.com Miriam Davey   Athena_9@bellsouth.net Peggy Davis  pdavis@lsu.edu Hallie Dozier Evelyn Jackson Jerald Juneau  zerothecajun@aol.com Ron May Durinda Robinson Sandra Thompson

http://brgov.com/dept/council/boarddetail.asp?board=49


BACKGROUND OF COMMISSION MEMBERS:

Dennis Abbey  
Assoc Professor, LSU School of Landscape Architecture;  Studies possible designs for hurricane-resistant landscapes;  Authored paper "Planting & Erosion Control Techniques in a Scenic Landscape" (Feb 1988), a paper on the role of  landscape architect, retained as a consultant, to plan, design and restore the banks of a scenic river that were severely damaged during pipeline construction (site in Roseland LA, Tangipahoa Parish, at point of convergence between man made gas distribution system and nature's own drainage system. 

Miriam Davey
Louisiana Wildlife Federation; Executive Director, Friends of the Atchafalaya;  Dept of Natural Resources Atchafalaya Program Nongame Birds Committee; Heat Gardener & Gardening Consultant, Earth Works (1993-1997);  Interim Director, BREC Bluebonnet Swamp Center (until 2000); BREC Planning/Engineering Committee; Long time bird enthusiast: consulted on nationally distributed backyard bird & gardening book;  BA Education, Northeast Louisiana Univ Monroe.

Peggy Davis

Executive Director of Friends of LSU Hilltop Arboretum/Hilltop Arboretum;  Baton Rouge Green (before 11/09); cited in Press Release titled "Hilltop Fills Gap in Public Tree Care Education" http://hilltop.lsu.edu/hilltop/hilltop.nsf/$Content/Press/$file/09Nov_Press+Release.pdf :  Baton Rouge was one of the greenest cities in the country in the early 1990s with a tree canopy at 55%. A more recent study by the EPA (1998) put the urban forest canopy at 40% and declining. Hurricane Gustav is estimated to have taken an additional 5% which will come as no surprise to anyone who has noticed the additional sunlight in their yards. It is important for all Louisiana communities to maintain their tree cover. 

Hallie Dozier

LSU Department of Renewable Natural Resources; Manages the Louisiana Licensed Arborist Continuing Education Program;  Board, Friends of Hilltop.  Statement attributed to Dozier on the web:  "The fact that tree care workers employed by public entities do not have to have licenses means that many of our communities may not have workers with adequate training in caring for public trees. So many of Louisiana ’s most loved trees are publicly owned and there are hundreds of significant trees in small communities across the state – historic live oaks, for example.  Without professional training in proper pruning, root zone remediation, planting and other methods, their caretakers may not be managing the trees as well as they could. In the long run, that means that many of our most important trees may be at risk.  Hilltop’s efforts are addressing a real need in the arena of tree care in Louisiana .”

Evelyn Ware-Jackson

Associated with WareHouse Network, LLC as a "neighborhood improvement specialist" who invests in the rehabilitation and beautification of homes;  Board of Directors, Baton Rouge Green;  EBR Parish School Board Candidate, District 5.

Jerald Juneau Sr.
Vice President, Board of Commissioners, Port of Greater Baton Rouge (appointed by Gov Jindal, 9/29/08);  Former Deputy Secretary-Treasurer, Louisiana Teachers Retirement system;  Retired United States Army Colonel (28 years: 10 active duty, 18 reserves);  part of the 10-member class of the 2002 inductees into the Cadets of the Ole War Skule (LSU); Member,  LSU Alumni Federation; Elected Board Member, Gridiron Club (LSU) (2009); Program Specialist, Louisiana Department of Education;  Baton Rouge "Urban Foresters" (2/21/07);  Vice President, Inter-Civic Council of Baton Rouge [Purpose of the Council is to "act as a clearing house for the Associate Organizations and their members and to originate, sponsor or promote worthwhile civic undertakings" http://www.interciviccouncilbr.org/Membership.html]; Resident of the Year, Kenilworth City Association (1996).  No apparent relation to Gerald "Jerry" Leo Juneau Sr. of Bossier City:  Representative of 4th Congressional District to Louisiana Gaming Control Board (regulates public policy of state's gaming industry), appointed by Gov. Jindal, Dec 2008  [2/17/2011: abstained during voting on awarding state's last riverboat licence to Creative Casinos LLC, led by former Pinnacle Entertainment Executive Dan Lee; 3/9/2011: Resigned over involvement in fundraiser with Lynn Austin, candidate for Bossier City Marshal]; President & CEO, City Tele Coin Company.  .
Ron May
Vice President, Engineering & Operations, DEMCO

Durinda Robinson
Independent Law Practice Professional, Civil Practice, 28 years [Nine Month Suspension of License, Two Year Probation per Case No. 2001-B-2772, 5/14/2002: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/la-supreme-court/1269645.html ]; Chair, Board Development Committee, Girl Scout Council of Lousiana East; Facilitator, University of Phoenix; Unsuccessful candidate for City Court Judge (2009), qualified for deceased sister's position in race.

Sandra Thompson
Officer, Louisiana Sierra Club; Director, Atchafalaya Basin program (1998-2007);  Helped start Atchafalaya Project (until 1979): largest bottomland swamp in North America;  Veteran Louisiana politician and state administrator:  Gov. Jindal gubernatorial campaign, Gov. Foster administration (1996), unsuccessful run for Secretary of State (1979);  Owned & operated an oilfield trucking company in Baton Rouge;  Professional Conservationist of the Year, Wildlife & Fisheries Department (1999); Lyndon B. Johnson National Award for excellence in field of the environment.

Magnolia Woods Neighborhood Assoc & Staring Lane Assoc Should Jointly Try an Adopt-an-Oak Project for Saved Staring Lane Live Oaks

Broadmoor's Adopt-an-Oak Project

The Adopt-an-Oak Team participated in a tree inventory in February 2007. Part of this work was done as preparation for a grant application to Entergy of Louisiana for funds to assist with the replacement, maintenance and preservation of trees in Broadmoor. Residents are encouraged to adopt an oak on Goodwood Boulevard and be responsbile for monitoring the tree's condition. See the Adopt-an-Oak introduction and FAQ for details.  Here are some photos provided by Team Member Hallie Dozier, an Assistant Professor at LSU AgCenter's School of Renewable Natural Resources, and a member of the Broadmoor Residents Association.

http://broadmoor-br.org/photos/oaks.html

Protection Requested via "Service Request" for Saved Staring Lane Live Oaks

"Service Request Involving City-Parish Owned Trees" initiated to protect the saved Staring Lane live oaks:

Problem Description:
Properly protect from road construction damage the live oaks registerd by the Live Oak Society which are identified to be saved.  Proper protection consists of a substantial fence, frame, or box (called herein a "Construction Tree Guard") not less than four (4) feet high and eight (8) feet square installed at a distance in feet from the tree trunk equal to the diameter of the trunk at breast height in inches. All building material, dirt, or other debris must be kept outside the Construction Tree Guard.  In addition, construction crews should avoid changing natural drainange, excavating any ditches, tunnels, or trenches, or laying any pavement within a radius of ten (10) feet from any public tree without first obtaining a written permit from the City Arborist.  Please acknowledge receipt of this service request and provide follow up.

Service Request # 446054
364 STARING LANE
LIVE OAK SOCIETY REGISTRATION #5249 "MARC OAK"

http://hansendp.brgov.com/DP1/Metroplex/BatonRouge/customerservice/wiz_csr.asp

Does the Baton Rouge "Tree Registry of Ancient, Historic & Unique Trees" Still Exist?

A web article by S.Shurtz dated 7/15/76 was titled “An Ordinance Creating the Tree Registry of Ancient, Historic and Unique Trees” (excerpts below).  Thereafter, an ordinance was passed in EBR Parish in 1996 to create the “Tree Registry of Ancient, Historic and Unique Trees”.  During Mayor B.Simpson’s term, a 2003-2004  “Good Neighbors How-To Guide: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions on Public Services” http://brgov.com/dept/neighbors/OldCD/pdf/CanDoGuide03.pdf  provided details on how to submit applications to this registry…including the advice to pick up the application form at the local EBR public library.

Today, I tried to view the registry at the local library and tried to locate application forms.  Neither the Bluebonnet or Goodwood (Main) branches of the EBR Public Library could help me.  No one knew what this was.

Is this registry still active?

From “An Ordinance Creating the Tree Registry of Ancient, Historic and Unique Trees”:

Program Statement:
The City Master Plan, the "Horizon Plan" sets forth principles for planning for the wise use of land and natural resources in East Baton Rouge Parish Louisiana. Part of this planning activity involves educational programs that would promote the wise use of land.  In an effort to improve public awareness and attitudes regarding the importance of trees and their environment to this community, this program will enlist public participation in identifying those trees which, by virtue of their size, age, historic significance, or other uniqueness, can be recognized as being the most noteworthy representatives of their kind in East Baton Rouge Parish. It is further expected that the recognition and attendant notoriety will provide for the enhanced protection of these, and ultimately other, trees in our community.


Purpose:
By calling attention to "special" members of the EBR tree community, and by enlisting the public in the identification process, the program will create a direct link between the recognized trees and the human or cultural community. The ultimate purpose of the program is to use this linkage as a means of encouraging the protection of these important trees. Through the process of educating the tree owners and others, it will teach the methodologies of tree preservation in order to create and insure a future tree legacy for the parish and to build upon past efforts.  By using ancient, historic and unique trees as examples, we can stimulate a greater understanding of trees and their importance to the community and perhaps encourage an informed public to plant trees for future generations to enjoy.

• Standards for Acceptance into the Registry (for each category):

  A. Ancient:
  

  • Minimum size (circumference at Breast Height) for each Species. (Live Oak 17'-0" cbh) The Tree Commission will develop a Species list including minimum acceptable sizes for each species.
  • Species listing to include all major native trees and all exotic ornamentals which can be classified as a long-lived species with a minimum expected life span of 50 to 75 years.

• Tree nominations for inclusion on the East Baton Rouge Parish Tree Registry are encouraged from all citizens. Written nominations signed by the Owner of the tree should be made to the East Baton Rouge Parish Tree Commission through the Office of Landscape & Forestry according to the following procedure.
• A fill-in-the-blanks application form is available in all public libraries, public gardens, private retail garden centers and at City Hall. This application form will be made available to any group, family or individual interested in nominating a tree or trees to the Registry.
• Nominations will be accepted at any time during the year on or before October 1. After this date staff in the East Baton Rouge Parish Office of Landscape & Forestry will review, measure, assess, catalogue and photograph nominated trees and deliver findings and recommendations to the Tree Commission in November.
• The Tree Commission will review staff recommendations and decide on final eligibility. Final selections will be recorded in December in "Official" Registry of Ancient, Historic and Unique Trees.
• Entries selected for induction will be recorded in an official database to be maintained concurrently by the Office of Landscape and Forestry and the Planning Commission. Tree locations will also be mapped and plotted by both agencies
• All annual updates will be furnished to the East Baton Rouge Public Library for future reference and public access. Appropriate announcements will be made in print and through electronic media.

For additional information, please contact:
East Baton Rouge Parish Tree Commission c/o The Office of Landscape & Forestry,
Steve Shurtz, Landscape Architect-City Forester,
14350 Old Hammond Highway Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70816
225-275-7995
http://www.greenlaws.lsu.edu/ebrparish.htm

City Should Adopt LSU Model Tree Ordinance

Section 13. Protection of Municipal Trees.
All public trees shall be protected during construction.

1. All trees on any street or other publicly owned property near any excavation or construction of any building, structure, or street work, shall be guarded with a good substantial fence, frame, or box. The "Construction Tree Guard" shall be not less than four (4) feet high and eight (8) feet square, or at a distance in feet from the tree trunk equal to the diameter of the trunk at breast height (D.B. H.) in inches, which ever is greater. All building material, dirt, or other debris shall be kept outside the Construction Tree Guard.

2. No person shall change natural drainange, excavate any ditches, tunnels, trenches, or lay any drive within a radius of ten (10) feet from any public tree without first obtaining a written permit from the City Arborist.

http://www.greenlaws.lsu.edu/modeltree.htm#ordinanceoutline

History of Parish Landscape Regulations

From City-Parish Planning Commission "Information Bulletin" Number 7 (March 2010):

A Guide to Parish Landscape Regulations

Hundreds of communities across the country have adopted landscape ordinances, or “green laws,” which enhance the environment and improve the quality of life. East Baton Rouge Parish joined these progressive ranks in 1994 with adoption of landscape regulations and minimum landscape requirements.  The regulations, included in the Unified Development Code (UDC), are consistent with objectives stated in the Horizon Plan -- the comprehensive land use and development plan approved by the citizens of the Parish as the guide to the future. The Horizon Plan calls for the adoption of a green law “to preserve both natural and planted vegetation, to enhance the natural and man-made landscape character.” Besides the obvious aesthetic benefits, landscape regulations help maintain air and water quality, control erosion and drainage, and preserve sensitive environmental areas.  Ordinance 12692, known as the “Landscape Ordinance,” was adopted by the Metropolitan Council on July 16, 2003. The ordinance has been incorporated into the UDC as Chapter 18, "Landscape, Clearing and Trees."

City-Parish Planning Commission

1755 Florida Street, Third Floor

P.O. Box 1471

Baton Rouge, LA 70821

Telephone: (225) 389-3144 Fax: (225) 389-5342

email: planning@brgov.com

web page: http://www.brgov.com/dept/planning/

http://ci.baton-rouge.la.us/dept/planning/pdf/bulletins/bull07.pdf

Job Descriptions for DPW Landscape Architect and DPW Urban Forestry & Landscape Manager

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
LOCATION OF WORK
Department of Public Works
ESSENTIAL WORK TASKS
Designs and reviews proposed project plans; estimates implementation cost. Inspects construction work in progress to ensure compliance with landscape specifications, approves quality of materials and work, and advises construction personnel. Represents the Department of Public Works at interagency and public meetings on matters involving landscape design and environmental design. Assists in the review of landscape ordinance plans for Planning Commission and building permit purposes. Attends meetings of and performs support activities for the East Baton Rouge Tree and Landscape Commission. Reviews the work of lower level employees and/or consultants to ensure accuracy and compliance with proposal objectives.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
Bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture or educational equivalent, supplemented by one year experience in landscape architecture.
SUBSTITUTIONS
Any equivalent combination of education and experience.
http://ci.baton-rouge.la.us/dept/HR/jobdesc.asp?GetTitle=LANDSCAPE%20ARCHITECT


URBAN FORESTRY AND LANDSCAPE MANAGER
LOCATION OF WORK
Department of Public Works
ESSENTIAL WORK TASKS
Directs the Urban Forestry and Landscape operations. Develops an orderly process for identifying public tree and landscape needs, including maintenance, removal, planting, replacement, and inventorying existing tree resources. Identifies problems such as damaged, diseased, and stressed trees; formulates corrective measures to address such problems. Assists architects, landscape architects, developers, builders, contractors and the general public in preventing damage to trees and other natural resources during construction. Directs and manages the East Baton Rouge Adopt-A-Spot program and coordinates the permitting of planting projects on public property. Attends all meetings of the City-Parish Tree Commission as a nonvoting ex-officio member; attends all meetings of the City-Parish Beautification Commission as a nonvoting ex-officio member; attends meetings of the Metropolitan Council and Planning Commission, as necessary, to participate in issues involving arboriculture, beautification and natural resources management. Provides public education and coordinates special projects such as Arbor Day ceremonies, awards programs, cleanup events, festivals and other events as required. Works with local officials, beautification groups, other organizations or individuals interested in community pride and environmental responsibility. Develops and proposes policy and procedures for City-Parish tree workers.
CERTIFICATIONS/LICENSES
Attainment of a Louisiana State Landscape Architect's license and/or a Louisiana State Arborist's license, and attainment of a Louisiana Pesticide-Herbicide license at the time of appointment.
http://brgov.com/dept/HR/jobdesc.asp?GetTitle=URBAN%20FORESTRY%20AND%20LANDSCAPE%20MANAGER

Ask Baton Rouge Green to Protect Staring Lane Live Oaks under their Green Light Beautification Program

Baton Rouge Green is a non-profit organization dedicated to the enhancement of our urban forest by inspiring the residents of the greater Baton Rouge area to conserve, plant and sustain our community’s trees. 
Founded in 1987, Baton Rouge Green’s goals have been to help Baton Rouge area citizens better understand, preserve, plant & maintain trees & forests as an important community resource.  During its 22 years, BRG has accomplished the following with the vigilant support of over 300 members and scores of dedicated volunteers:

• Helped develop Baton Rouge’s first landscape & tree ordinance in 1991. Click here to view the current Landscape Ordinance
• Kept citizens informed about opportunities for continual improvement of the ordinance through representation on the EBR Tree & Landscape Commission.
• Partners with the Mayor's office and the Department of Public Works in the management of the Green Light Landscape Program

Facts About the Green Light Beautification Program

• East Baton Rouge Parish voters extended a half-cent sales tax through 2030 to fund The Green Light Plan
• Baton Rouge Green provides professional management services to assist the City-Parish in project management of The Green Light Beautification Program

:

Baton Rouge Green's "Living Roadway Program"  http://roadways.batonrougegreen.com/

Currently 61 signs at 23 locations. Map shows details of each site including sponsors, sponsorship availabilities, tree counts, traffic counts. If interested in becoming a site sponsor, call (225) 381-0037.   Current sponsors http://stage.redstick.com/content_brgreen/content.cfm?id=55

Interestingly, "Program Friends" include DOTD.

 

 

 

DPW States Protection of Registered Live Oaks is Responsibility of Property Owner

From: William Daniel [mailto:WDaniel@brgov.com]
Sent: Friday, March 25, 2011 8:29 AM
To: rallen@theadvocate.com
Cc: John Carpenter; John Snow (jsnow@consultssa.com); Songy, Michael; CPL70600@aol.com; Steve Shurtz
Subject: FW: Please call Friday

Rebekah,

I wanted to elaborate on few items.  As I said, we make every effort to spare valuable trees on every Green Light project. We completely moved the Lobdell  project alignment to spare 12-15 nice live oaks. However, Staring Lane was too tight to provide the programmed road improvements in the limited space available without affecting some trees.

There are no areas in EBR parish with any tree protection.  We have various means of identifying trees, and we do attempt to preserve as many as possible.  However, no property owner is ever required to protect any tree, with the exception of the almost nonexistent case of a tree on the National Register.  No ordinance has ever been passed by the council to protect a tree, and I'm fairly certain it would conflict with private property laws.  Not even historic trees recognized by the City-Parish are protected.  We do have a number of “special” planning overlay districts with some language that stresses the importance of existing trees. Many require developers to inventory or catalog the existing native trees on their sites, but none carry any mandatory tree preservation components.   Tree preservation is entirely voluntary. Even on DOTD projects, tree  protection is based upon inspection and cost/benefit analysis and is not mandatory.

In summary, there is no local ordinance or state law protecting any tree on private property anywhere in EBR Parish. There are policies which strive to protect them, but ultimately protection is up to the owner of the tree.

If you have any additional questions, please let me know.

William Daniel

From: Allen, Rebekah [mailto:rallen@theadvocate.com] 
Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2011 05:29 PM
To: William Daniel 
Subject: Please call Friday  

Hi William,

Sorry to keep bugging you on this, I know you referred me to Michael Songy and John Snow, but they have stopped responding to me. I want to know how common it is for oak trees to be removed in the Green Light Project. And I also want to know about how districts get protection. I understand that the Staring Lane area does not have any protections for the Oaks, but there are some districts that do. What are these districts and how did they get these protections? My deadline is  Friday, please respond at your earliest convenience. Thanks.

THE ADVOCATE
Rebekah Allen
Reporter
rallen@theadvocate.com	Tel: (225) 388-0099
http://www.2theadvocate.com/	Cell: (225) 229-8766
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Live Oaks Treasured in Garden District, Why Not on Staring Lane?

Excerpts from Advocate article dated January 17th, 2007: "Tree City Marks Arbor Day Events - People Learn How to Care for Live Oaks":

Steve Shurtz, city-parish landscape and forestry manager, gives a public seminar Saturday at BREC’s City Park Gallery on live oak care. 
Suzanne Schexnayder moved into Baton Rouge’s Garden District about 13 years ago. Now, she’s helping lead an effort to protect the live oak trees for which the 80-year-old neighborhood is known. “I tell people, ‘I want you to get emotionally involved with your trees,’” Schexnayder said to a group of about 10 gathered in The Gallery at City Park Saturday morning for a seminar on live oaks. The seminar was sponsored by the East Baton Rouge Tree and Landscape Commission as an Arbor Day event.

“Live oaks are a signature tree in Baton Rouge,” Davis [Peggy Davis, member of EBR Tree & Landscape Commission] said. “Live Oak TLC” was the topic of the talk by Steve Shurtz, city-parish manager of landscape and forestry.

Schexnayder talked about efforts underway in the Garden District neighborhood association to protect the district’s trees through a program that includes tree adoption. Eventually, she said, district members hope to establish a trust for care of the trees. “I have no background in anything green,” she said. A Vermilion Parish native, Schexnayder lived in Tallahassee, Fla., in the 1960s where already there were ordinances enacted to protect the city’s trees. “That impressed me,” she said. The other thing that impressed her was the attachment people had toward trees in the Garden District. The neighborhood was built in the 1920s and the live oaks that grace the area aren’t there by accident. “There was a foresighted contractor who planted them. Now, almost 100 years later, we have these huge, old trees,” she said. Since the association started its tree adoption program two months ago, already 61 have been adopted. “We haven’t had to twist anybody’s arm,” Schexnayder said.

DPW Survey of Registered Live Oaks on Staring Lane Performed 3/24/11

From: William Daniel [mailto:WDaniel@brgov.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2011 4:34 PM
Subject: RE: RSVP: Are any of the eleven registered live oaks to be spared?

I am attaching a survey of the 11 trees I had Mr. Shurtz do this morning.   I think his comments are self explanatory, but if you have any questions, please let me know.  I can also tell you that we worked to adjust the route to spare other trees and also raised the electric lines in the area 20 feet ( 30 feet to 50 feet) to help the trees.

I apologize for the delay in responding, but I wanted to have accurate information prior to contacting you.

William Daniel