Comments on: More about trees http://sustainablesavannah.com/conservation/more-about-trees/ Tracking sustainability news and events in Savannah, Georgia (and beyond) Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:43:27 +0000 hourly 1 By: dare http://sustainablesavannah.com/conservation/more-about-trees/comment-page-1/#comment-273 dare Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:15:15 +0000 http://sustainablesavannah.com/conservation/more-about-trees/#comment-273 Last month, the duplex across the street from ours (in the Starland district) was sold. A couple days ago, the nice couple who bought it cut down all four tall old trees on the lot. my wife and i are depressed and pissed. when my wife asked the landlord who owns the duplex next door and who shared the four trees why he collaborated on the slaughter (she put it more politely than that), the landlord said he was tired of raking up the leaves. when he could see that she was on the side on the trees, he added, "they were damaging the fence." the fence is one of those tangled waist-high cyclone jobs that you see in some of the downtown neighborhoods--hardly a prized asset to the lot. now, where there once was a canopy of trees, there is a clear and uncluttered view of a parking lot--great. one of the reasons we moved here from New York City was because Savannah is basically an urban forest. we were surprised to discover that Savannah has no ordinances about chopping down trees on one's own land. I'm not usually a fan of empowering the state to tell me what to do, and i've never been a fan of community groups forcing their aesthetic down any single resident's throats. but there's a big hole at the end of our street, now. and I can see how collective input from the community affected by the trees, loss might have made this decision a touch more rational. the whole block has been changed because the dude didn't want to have to rake. i don't get this at all. are there laws regulating tree cutting in the historic district? is there a history of people trying to enact such laws? my block would be a hot bland bummer if every anti-raking fanatic decided to chop down his trees. Last month, the duplex across the street from ours (in the Starland district) was sold. A couple days ago, the nice couple who bought it cut down all four tall old trees on the lot. my wife and i are depressed and pissed. when my wife asked the landlord who owns the duplex next door and who shared the four trees why he collaborated on the slaughter (she put it more politely than that), the landlord said he was tired of raking up the leaves. when he could see that she was on the side on the trees, he added, “they were damaging the fence.” the fence is one of those tangled waist-high cyclone jobs that you see in some of the downtown neighborhoods–hardly a prized asset to the lot. now, where there once was a canopy of trees, there is a clear and uncluttered view of a parking lot–great.

one of the reasons we moved here from New York City was because Savannah is basically an urban forest. we were surprised to discover that Savannah has no ordinances about chopping down trees on one’s own land. I’m not usually a fan of empowering the state to tell me what to do, and i’ve never been a fan of community groups forcing their aesthetic down any single resident’s throats. but there’s a big hole at the end of our street, now. and I can see how collective input from the community affected by the trees, loss might have made this decision a touch more rational. the whole block has been changed because the dude didn’t want to have to rake. i don’t get this at all.

are there laws regulating tree cutting in the historic district? is there a history of people trying to enact such laws? my block would be a hot bland bummer if every anti-raking fanatic decided to chop down his trees.

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