About 50 members of the Keep the Park Green group turned out to a Development Review Board hearing at Burlington City Hall to argue in favor of keeping trees slated for removal as part of renovation plans for the park.
“The trees are the vibrancy of the park as we, the people, are the vibrancy of the city,” said Charlie Messing, a member of the group.
The city is slated to install a new fountain and walkways as part of the redesign. Under the current plans, the city would remove 34 of the park’s 56 trees. Sixteen new trees would be planted for a net total of 38 trees.
Wednesday marked the second DRB public hearing on the issue. After dozens of project opponents testified against the project at a February 20 meeting, the board scheduled another hearing to give the applicants an opportunity to respond and to allow more time for public input.
In the days following the meeting, some members of Keep the Park Green tied colorful ribbons around the trees and erected signs that read: “Epic Fail” and “I needed care, but didn’t get any.”
City arborist V.J. Comai offered a public tour of the park last week and found two trees that could be saved, and space for two more to be planted. “We did listen to the community on that one,” noted Cindi Wight, director of Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront.
Approval from the DRB would be yet another step in a multiyear process to renovate the park. The board will likely give the final OK in the next week, said Scott Gustin, head of the city’s planning and zoning department. Construction is scheduled to start in 2019.
Opponents argued that taking down the trees exacerbates climate change.
“We’re in the midst of a global climate catastrophe, and if what’s being done will be making that more of a problem, that should be reconsidered,” said Jack Daggitt. He urged the city to create more park space using vacant lots.
Donna Walters, of Keep the Park Green, asked whether some of the trees could be relocated. “We don’t think healthy trees should be cut down,” she said.*
Gustin noted that the future of the trees doesn’t fall under the purview of the DRB, which decides whether the project meets the city’s zoning ordinance and whether the park provides a public benefit. So far, Gustin said, “it sure seems like it complies with the zoning code.”
Correction, March 8, 2018: A previous version of this story misquoted Donna Walters.
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If that picture is what the park is supposed to look like, then it is awful. You might as well clear cut it and pave the entire thing. which is where the city is headed anyways as the mayor behaves more and more like Captain Ahab.
Who is the designer? Lets hear their thought process on why they propose taking trees. Hopefully they have one. 🙂
Listen to the City Arborist. The new design looks good and is a place that people will actually enjoy visiting. Don’t let a small group of people who oppose everything determine the future of public spaces that should be welcoming to everyone.
Also this…
http://www.thewinooski.com/index.php/2018/…
It should be noted that they did not tie ribbon on the trees. That is tightly wrapped duct tape which is, of course, wonderful for the health of the trees they are so concerned about keeping.
Those jets of water are actually parking meters. Weinberger is going to be charging people to stand in those spots.
“The trees are the vibrancy of the park as we, the people, are the vibrancy of the city,” said Charlie Messing, a member of the group.
Please stop the insanity!
“Stop the insanity”? Why is saving trees insanity? As for the way the park looks Now – ask anyone who’s been here for a year – this is the worst-looking season to judge the trees and grass. The fact is that thousands of residents do not want the park to be laid bare and removed of all its history. If you do not like trees, please go stare at a building, down at the sidewalk, or up at the sky . Thank you.
The worst enemy of the trees and grass in that park is not climate change – it’s the lazy, homeless-by-choice thugs and addicts who spread their tarps and tents on the ground.
That kills the grass and erodes the soil around the trees, exposing the roots, killing everything around.
The tree huggers ought to switch their focus and go after the real problem: the bums in the park who come to Burlington, the socialist capital of the northeast – to collect welfare.
If the park activists, so-called, really are trying to protect the trees then they need to start removing the things killing them – the dregs.
Flashing red lights go up every time I hear about another development project under Miro. I wonder who’s getting big $$$ for all these projects? My suspicion is that their wallets are benefitting more than our citizens. I hope at least some of them are from VT…
@stickinthemud
The fact is that thousands of residents do not want the park to be laid bare and removed of all its history.
You do realize that the park right now looks nothing like the original City Hall Park. Maybe we should go back to the time when it was round.
As a matter of fact let’s go back to the time when the world was flat!
Brad D wishes to spar:
“You do realize that the park right now looks nothing like the original City Hall Park. Maybe we should go back to the time when it was round.
As a matter of fact let’s go back to the time when the world was flat!”
Well, Brad, I can see that you do not get my point. I hope you do not fall off the world.
@stickinthemud
I think you are barking up the wrong tree.
Sometimes less is more when it comes to trees.
Weed out the deadwood.
From the picture it looks like there are lots of people enjoying the new park
In response to BTVong above:
“The worst enemy of the trees and grass in that park is not climate change – it’s the lazy, homeless-by-choice thugs and addicts who spread their tarps and tents on the ground.
The tree huggers ought to switch their focus and go after the real problem: the bums in the park who come to Burlington, the socialist capital of the northeast – to collect welfare.”
The lions share of the damage is done by Farmer’s Market, which we would like to see taken entirely out of CHP, either to the surrounding streets, or more preferably, relocated to Battery Park. Additionally, Keep the Park Green is very aware there are behavioral problems in the park. To this end, we have suggested using some of the $3 million dollars the City wants to invest in the park “upgrade” (which will kill the historic park so many of us love), and pay for a full time ranger during the busy months (off-season availability would need to be considered as well).. This would be far superior to having eyes on the Park from those staffing the coffee cart, etc… Also, we would like the the City to provide more more appropriate housing for the homeless. Many have issues with mental illness, and we do a miserable job providing adequate services for them.
Was there any thought to making the park 14 stories high?
Jokes aside, the park does need some renovations. I just hope that lady in the lower left has her frisbee playing dog on a leash. Bad dog owners will kill a park just as fast as anything else.
Frankly, the climate change argument is weak because the loss can easily be mitigated and we’re talking about drops in the bucket. There is, however, no compelling reason not to work around the healthy trees. They are all that will remain of the park’s antiquity and are the most attractive aspect of the park. Little rain gardens and what looks like artificial deck just doesn’t have the same feel and gravity.
A coffee stand and splash pad are terrible ideas. The thought that there will be water shooting up from the ground not only sounds expensive to maintain and ugly but also a reason not to bring my toddler there. The notion that a coffee-slinging spy will be an effective safety mechanism just hard to believe. Come on.
To me a great park would be open space with sporadic tree placement. No need to over think it and overspend.
Excuse me Brad, but
“From the picture it looks like there are lots of people enjoying the new park”
is not a great punchline cause it’s an architect’s rendering, not a photo. Please stop. Get back to the subject.
City Hall Park is currently a nasty, unattractive place that is oftentimes little more than an outdoor homeless shelter, populated by people who won’t even make room for pedestrians to pass on the walkways. Fix the park. To the people who go apoplectic any time anyone wants to change anything, anywhere: get lost.
“City Hall Park is currently a nasty, unattractive place that is oftentimes little more than an outdoor homeless shelter, populated by people who won’t even make room for pedestrians to pass on the walkways. Fix the park.”
The writer of this comment is making the assumption that the new plan will fix the behaviors he deplores.. The city has, among other tweaks, taken out a goodly number of the benches, put metal dividers on the benches that remain, and taken out the chess tables to discourage drug abusers and the homeless. Now they want to put unprofessional commercial eyes in the Park to monitor behaviors, and keep Farmer’s Market in the Park with some modest adjustments. What could possibly go wrong? Keep the Park Green wants to upgrade the Park in keeping with the historic neighborhood in which it is located, AND put professionals in the Park to monitor those who would be disruptive.
After seeing how much of the lovely, live buffer areas next to the bike path out in the NNE have been clearcut–trees, shrubs, tall grasses for example–what’s a few more trees? It seems this administration is hell-bent on destroying Burlington. It would not suprise me at all to hear soon about the urgent necessity for another “investment” in Burlington to reduce the carbon footprint to stave off the dire consequences of climate change. The hypocrisy of this administration is mind-boggling.
Everyone who has commented should go walk in the park to really understand just how many trees are slated to be cut. The homeless are my friends. Ive been homeless. They need Love, food, shelter, job training. Ask them about whats going on in the park. Theyll tell you. They are our friends. They sit on two benches and will move out of the way if you ask. Theyve been collecting the trash people dump in the park every day. Why dont we find more places to open their doors to them and help them. Then they can sit Inside. Right now there is no place for them to go. May all of you experience homeless. Maybe you will be better citizens then.
Only one million has been donated for fixing up the park. Lets spend this wisely. Upgrade as needed. Use our aeration system and nutrition system to help the trees. Cutting them down is expensive. Keeping them is not. Our new arborist only said 7 trees need to be cut down and maybe 3 more. The designers are not listening to him. Or to the historical park design. Obviously there are trees that can be removed from this list they have made to cut down. 15 trees are merely IN The Way of the design. They are not sick. The designers have done several designs already. They are talented can can do another design that follows the arborist suggestion of what needs to be removed and leave the rest of the trees.
This new plan also covers ONE THIRD of the park with hard sharp surfaces. Simply reduce this to 25% or less and move it around and you can save all the trees on the arborist list to not cut down.
@stickinthemud
“Excuse me Brad”
Sometimes it’s just too easy.
If we want to be completely true to the history of the park, we could go back to a time when there were signs posted that said to keep off the grass, when benches were “For Ladies Only”. Or, further back, to when a nearby merchant was letting his sheep graze on it.
Or maybe even further, to when there was a hanging tree. (Kidding. Kidding.)
I love trees, and history, and while I understand the initial shock that comes with hearing there are a fairly decent number of City Hall Park trees that will be removed, I also understand we can no longer manage our downtown amenities with band-aids and half measures. There are trees that are unhealthy, density that worsens the problem and contributes to safety and security issues, and the fact that the park, as it stands, gets a poor rating from people who know about public engagement through amenities, because all you can do in our park is sit. Since an urban park is not exactly a break from the hustle and bustle of downtown life, we should do better than that.
I was once a proponent of keeping the park the same. Not anymore. Research, travel, and experience have changed my mind, and shown me the park could be so much more than it is.
Burlington deserves nothing less.
Keep The Park Green needs YOU to ensure that our beautiful City Hall Park isn’t turned into a large concrete pad with almost no trees, almost no shade, & less grass!
Our organization revealed that the City didn’t disclose how many trees would be cut under this plan until the 11th hour, right before it was to go for final approval by the City’s Development Review Board (DRB).
Withholding key elements of this plan was wrong & people have spoken out, sending almost 200 emails to the DRB, saying that they didn’t want a plan leaving our park almost completely devoid of mature trees.
On March 7, we showed that the City’s plans presented inaccurate information that misled the public about the true numbers of trees to be cut. Thus, other City documents were also incorrect, including the plan’s tree cover diagrams & shade studies requested by the DRB.
Of the park’s current 56 mature trees, only 17 (or less) would remain under this plan. Only 14 saplings that won’t produce shade for decades will be installed.
The DRB hasn’t made its decision yet, but will hold a final deliberation on Monday, March 12, at City Hall. The public can’t comment, so we must speak with our presence & show the City that we want a better plan.
Most people don’t want a hot, exposed plaza that’s 1/3 paved surface, with less grass, a fraction of the existing trees, & 14 saplings that won’t provide shade for decades.
Lack of transparency is a big problem, but this Administration must respond to public scrutiny. Stand with us: March 12, at City Hall, lower level at 5 pm. Together we can get a plan that provides needed shade, & incorporates & protects our trees!
Facebook: KEEP THE PARK GREEN
Looks like this design looks better for one of those corporate parks where employees can take lunch breaks and be monitored by their masters thanks to cameras and security everywhere.