Input from Acting Director of Public Works (3/18/11)

From: William Daniel [mailto:WDaniel@brgov.com]
Sent: Friday, March 18, 2011 5:44 PM
Subject: RE: Eleven Oaks Registered by Live Oak Society Are in Danger This Week From the Staring Lane Widening Project

The City-Parish surveyed the trees along the route during the design phase.  We determined, at that time, which trees had to be removed and which stood a reasonable chance of survival.  Any live oak with even a minimal chance of withstanding the work was designated to remain.

The EBR Unified Development Code contains numerous passages encouraging (but never requiring) the protection of existing trees. Most such text is contained in the documentation of the various Urban Design Districts and Urban Design Overlay Districts. Such districts require the developer(s) of private property to catalog the existing trees (of some species) on their sites in an effort to allow us to encourage their protection through site planning changes.  Staring Lane is not located within any such district to which any tree protection limitations apply.

The Louisiana DOTD’s “Roadside Vegetation Manual” contains language regarding “significant trees”.  The tree language was added at the insistence of Gov. Foster several years ago. It is policy, not state law.  Some of the more pertinent passages are:

6. REMOVAL : The decision to remove a significant tree should be reached only after all reasonable efforts to preserve it have been exhausted and will require the concurrence of the Chief Engineer that there are no acceptable design or operational alternatives. In most cases, it is expected that a decision to remove will have been made in a climate of public involvement and dialog with members of the affected community. In no case will a decision to remove a significant tree be implemented without notifying the affected community of the Department’s intentions and its reasons.

7. CONSTRUCTION CONSIDERATIONS: Trees determined by the design team to be significant and their appropriate disposition (preservation, specified limited impact, or any special treatment) will be identified in the plans. The Project Engineer will assure that the contractor's operations are sensitive to the treatment required by the plans. Construction considerations may include temporary fencing to protect from construction equipment, avoidance of root zones, care of overhanging branches, etc. (there may be need for additional language in Standard Specifications)

The DOTD language refers to state projects being done on state rights-of-way. Staring is a local project on a local (EBR) right-of-way.

While I cannot blame you for wanting to protect the trees, as City-Parish would like to see all live oaks preserved, it is simply impractical to preserve the trees in the actual road right of way.  We adjusted the right of way to preserve as many trees as possible.  I believe that everyone involved has done a good job of protecting as many trees as possible on the Staring Lane project and every other Green Light project we have undertaken.

William Daniel

Acting Director of Public Works