Funny, after all of the crying about ‘destroying a neighborhood’ by cutting down a couple of trees, it seems the neighborhood may have a change of heart;
When Touchmark removed dozens of mature trees, angered neighbors said they felt misled about the number of trees that would be spared.
Last week, Touchmark agreed to donate $3,750 to help the All Saints Neighborhood Association plant up to 100 trees in the neighborhood.
“Neighbors aren’t always going to agree on issues. What’s important is that something positive has come about because of the issue itself,†said Katrina Lehr-McKinney, the association’s president. “Touchmark, in our neighborhood, has found another way to work together to make something positive happen.â€
I have said from the beginning a couple of things,
- Touchmark owns the property, they should be able to build what they want to within limitations.
- The grove of trees next to the retirement center was actually pretty creepy (I nicknamed it Gorky Park), and anything there would be an improvement (in fact I have been enjoying the construction project because you can see the old building now that the trees are removed).
- I have felt this was never about the trees but the industrial hospital complexes fighting Touchmark providing therapy and care to their clients on campus, and some neighbors in the hood were manipulated to fight it under the guise of ‘trees’ and ‘historical preservation’.
- Now we find out, they will add even more trees to the hood (though I am opposed to planting in the boulevard.)
See, a happy ending after all. I wonder if the new therapy center will be providing Chinese massages? But don’t complain about that to the city council, or they will call you a racist.
I am in disagreement. Mature trees are invaluable and increase the monitory value of property. New trees will not reach maturity in the lifetimes of many of us so in my opinion, newly planted trees are an empty replacement.
A friend of mine just returned from visiting a well known city of equal size to Sioux Falls in either Wisconsin or Michigan. (I do not presently remember the city’s name.) She said they have a policy that is very admirable. Any time a wooded lot or area within the city’s jurisdiction goes up for sale, the city purchases it and leaves it untouched as the goal is the retain their reputation of being a beautiful wooded city to visit and live. What a commendable policy and citizen enriching policy!
I admire that especially remembering how John Muir and other national park conservationists had to fight the developers and political elite to save the various lands within our national parks. Mankind has been made with an emptiness or need within that is peacefully satisfied as he drinks in the beauty of nature and creation.
If you have watched this process play out, you will see that Touchmark not only is going to replace the current area with about 1000 different shrubs and trees, they are giving money to the neighborhood to plant more.