News
Email
Print
Trees are essential for a healthy city
Ordinance would be good for aesthetics, economy, environment and our spirits
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: July 26, 2008
About 15 years ago, there was a well-intended discussion over a suggestion that the two large magnolia trees in front of Winston-Salem's City Hall should be removed to provide for better visibility of the building's ornate architecture and to eliminate the constant shedding of leaves and debris on the sidewalks. Moreover, the old Southern magnolias did not fit well within the emerging modernistic vision that the more recently constructed buildings and other man-made structures conveyed in the forging of a revitalized downtown. "People cannot find city hall," some said. The other contingent replied, "Just tell them to look for the big magnolia trees." The city wisely spared the trees, therefore providing and defining for its citizens a more distinguished and identifiable "sense of place" to the building and to downtown.
The gesture was more than symbolic. As Winston-Salem continues to grow outward, a landscape ordinance has been adopted, and a tree ordinance is being proposed to ensure that nature is not completely lost in the development of our community. There are justifications beyond mere aesthetics. Numerous research studies conclude that people prefer to shop in areas that have trees and other vegetation. Studies out of the University of Washington have shown that consumers infer higher quality and value from businesses in greener areas, prompting them to pay an average of 11 percent more for the same merchandise or services. People tend to linger and shop longer along tree-lined streets.
Clearly, the benefits of trees to commercial properties and housing developments are considerably more than the value they provide in simply making these properties more attractive. The benefits of trees to these properties are far reaching. Apartments and office buildings with surrounding trees rent more quickly and have higher occupancy rates. Office buildings in wooded developments tend to have happier and more productive employees. Hospital patients with views of trees tend to recover more quickly. Though not majestic, even parking-lot trees serve to collectively mitigate the "heat island" effect produced by the storage of thermal energy in concrete, steel and asphalt. This is provided that they are numerous and that their canopies are preferably large. Trees clearly provide for healthier cities and better business.
The newly proposed tree ordinance wisely calls for larger spaces for larger-growing tree species such as oaks, maples and lindens -- rather than fewer, smaller spaces with faulty Bradford pears, browning Leyland cypresses and wilting dogwoods. For example, compare Thruway Shopping Center's large, mature willow oaks to those trees found at most other shopping areas.
Without public support, tree-preservation policies are unlikely to be successful. A well-thought-out tree ordinance does not prohibit development but provides a measure of healthy compromise and co-operation between the desire for development and sufficient space for trees. In my experience of over 30 years working with homeowners in new developments, I have heard these words countless times: "I bought this lot because of the trees. How do we save them during construction?" Often where just one fabulous (or not so fabulous) tree exists on a lot, efforts are made to ensure that the tree remains a focal point for the new home -- even if it means re-evaluating the initially proposed location of the house on the lot. Trees are great sellers of real estate.
Just as important, the significance of trees to our personal lives cannot be underestimated. One of history's inspiring writers, Anne Frank, reveals this in her diary: "Nearly every morning I go to the attic to blow the stuffy air out of my lungs, from my favorite spot on the floor I look up at the blue sky and the bare chestnut tree,… As long as this exists, I thought, and I may live to see it, this sunshine, the cloudless skies, while this lasts I cannot be unhappy." Interestingly, a valiant effort is now being made in Amsterdam to save this historic, large chestnut tree from removal. (Learn more about the international effort to save this tree at www.annefranktree.com.)
Who knows what shared significance the window-framed view of some old tree may someday hold for you, your children or your children's children? The new tree ordinance will assist in providing for better guidelines and safeguards to both protect trees and responsibly provide for new trees during the development process. The desire for trees in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County is strong. The city hall magnolias tell the tale -- a community that provides for trees is a community that provides for a healthier, more economically viable community.
■ David Lusk is the owner of Lusk Tree Service.
■ Guest Columns: The Journal welcomes guest-column submissions. Length should be about 700 words. Guest columnists should have some special authority for writing about their subject. Exceptions will be made for telling or funny stories. Please provide a recent photograph. Our address is: Letters@wsjournal.com. Regular mail is also accepted. Our mail address is: Letters to the Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102.
Email
Print
