315′s Dawn Redwoods Valued at $38,000
Decatur Metro | October 7, 2010
Neil Norton sends in a few pics and writes…
The five trees are dawn redwoods. FYI, during a recent tree survey the compensatory value for the five trees was $37,992. The structural or compensatory value of the trees was based on methods from the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers (1992). Compensatory value, which is based on the replacement cost of a similar tree, is used for monetary settlement for damage or death of plants through litigation, insurance claims of direct payment, and loss of property value for income tax deduction.
The five redwoods would be taken down if the developer of the 315 West Ponce “Decatur Court” property were to construct the proposed two-story retail building along West Ponce. The plan still hasn’t been before any of Decatur’s boards or commissions. Last we heard, the developer was “talking with the neighborhood” about the plan.
A couple other close-up shots of the trees after the jump.
My suggestion: Tear down the building and leave the trees.
TOM L – How awesome would that be!?
I am generable all for more retail development, mixed use and high density residential, etc. Nevertheless, I also love those trees that I have walked by and appreciated for years. The lose to me will not be measurable. Perhaps the city, as a condition of the rezoning, should require the developer to pay $38,000 to some group working to improve our landscape.
Why is it that a developer gets away with a lowball cost but, if I were to try to achieve this kind of landscaping at home, it would cost so much more?
If this is really a money issue, maybe you should have a post called “Two of 315′s parking spaces valued at $50,000.” Seriously, making a monetary argument about trees misses the point of their true worth. With apologies to Kilmer, “Trees” just wouldn’t read the same like this:
I THINK that I shall never see
Poems that pencil out like trees
Blessed with assets oh so sweet
To fatten up the balance sheet
Or ones whose virtue ever grows
Should litigation make it so
These poems, their value truly lacks
T’is God who grows all dem phat stacks.
Nicely done, Scott!
I’ve always thought those trees looked crappy. They look out of place, and are laid out funny. The building is ugly too, so the combo is dreadful. I think the owner should expand the tall building by covering the whole exterior- leaving the orginal building as the core, with a more classical facade with larger windows – and balconies, perhaps.
Oh, we like those trees maybe because the kids can recognize them after learning about the history of the Dawn Redwoods at the Botanical Gardens. We like the way they keep their conical shape and are never straggly.
But the building is definitely bad, real bad, 1960s IBM-eggish.
Dear No Surprise: We think you are ugly and your general layout is ugly, and your fashion choice is really questionable. In fact We’d prefer if you moved to Cobb County.
Sincerely,
the Redwoods on Ponce
Wow…trees are much more crass and sensitive than I realized!
Trees are nice to look at and all, but they don’t provide low cost goods to poor people. Take them down and put in a Dollar General.
Ahh – the old “move to Cobb county” retort. How lame. I was making a very Inside the Perimeter-esque critique of the placement and arrange ment of the trees. Individually it is a beautiful ornamental tree ( with a cool story behind it). But packed in a line sticking out to the side of a terribly designed building yeilds a trainwreck. Kinda like landscaping disasters you see in the suburbs.
I’d be interesting to see a pic of these trees right after they were planted. I wonder how big they were back in the day.
I will add that they should leave the outside one, and use that to anchor a well-designed landscaped area – but please cover up the fascade of that building.
So the building is the problem?
Leave the trees and get rid of the building. The monetary cost of the trees do not do justice to the value of the 5 trees. Wish the city or country would triple the fines for each tree so Developers would quit tearing down all of nature in the path of their development. Until the fines have a serious bite it is cheaper from the Developers to just pay the fines.
Please save the trees. I have always liked them. They are a nice addition to my neighborhood. And, I never fail to admire them. One of my favorite images is what I see my in rearview mirror when I am in line at the Wachovia drive thru: the trees, their massive trunks, the store fronts, pedestrians, bright sunlight, cool shade in an oblong frame.
Besides the big Magnolia(s) in front of the Rec Center, those are my favorite trees in the city. Every time I’m enjoying my snoball I think about how cruddy it is going to be to see them cut down. As for the building, it served as a lovely projection screen for Lima and I like it.
Neil: thank you for bring this to the attention of folks in Decatur. I like mixed-use development, but not at the expense of these trees.