Over the years, there’s been much discussion regarding the future of the Dawn Redwood trees on the 315 West Ponce property and whether they would be spared when the site was developed to include a mixed use building fronting West Ponce.  Ultimately the developer, property owner, neighbors, city and other interested parties came up with a plan to keep the trees on-site without disturbing the root system.

Too bad no one spoke with the Dawn Redwoods themselves, who reportedly have caused their own bit of trouble late last week.

According to an incident report from the property manager, which was sent to the Deputy City Manager Hugh Saxon, around lunchtime on Friday, December 15th water started bubbling up out of the ground near the water meters on West Ponce.  This ultimately resulted in the stream you see flowing down Ponce Place in the pic above.

A plumber was called out to the site and it was determined that there was a leak in the water line to the existing office building, which needed to be addressed immediately or the ground could potentially become saturated and make the trees unstable.

As reported by Mr. Saxon to DM…

While repairing the water line, the plumber excavated the area around one of the large dawn redwoods that are to be preserved at the property and damaged the tree’s root system.  The City’s forester and Arborguard Tree Specialists examined the damage and Arborguard has prepared a preservation plan to treat the damage and to provide support for the tree. It is unclear at this time whether treatment will affect the long-term viability of the tree.

 

However, the rub of all this is that the leak was reportedly caused by the Dawn Redwood tree roots and not the ongoing construction at the site, according to the incident report.  Mr Saxon reiterated this in a response to DM stating “This appears to be completely unrelated to the new development taking place on the property.”

Here’s to hoping that the remediation plan works!

Dawn Redwoods photo courtesy of Neil

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

Trees As Seen in Winter - From Google Street View

Cherie has forwarded along a note from a landscape architect in the neighborhood who has contacted three separate arborists in regards to the four unique (and massive) Dawn Redwoods on the 315 W. Ponce property. The verdict seems to be that the 12 1/2 foot distance between the Redwoods and Building “B”, which fronts Ponce, isn’t enough and would eventually kill the trees.

Here’s the resident’s note followed by an arborist’s letter in the continuation….

Dear Commissioners,

In reviewing the documents for the proposed project located at 315 West Ponce de Leon Avenue, it has come to my attention that the 5 Dawn Redwood trees, located along the front plain of the existing Wachovia building, are in jeopardy as a result of the proposed nearby construction. As a Landscape Architect, I am familiar with basic protection measures which are recommended to insure long term survivability of trees in construction zones.

It is my understanding that the City is of the strong opinion that these 5 specimen trees are not to be damaged or killed. As recently as the July DDA meeting, the developer stated that the trees were safe. This is in doubt.My first hope is that the trees will be saved. Short of that goal, I want for the fate of the trees to be known up front.The proposed front building, Building “B”, is designed to be sited 12 1/2′ from the centerline of the tree trunks. My concern about this placement led me to meet with three certified arborists, all independent from one another, to learn their opinions about the survivability of these trees. The following report expresses the professional opinion of one of the arborists, saying that the trees will be severely compromised by construction and will not survive. Please read the report and let me know if you have any questions.Not included at this time are the other arborists’ analyses; however, their conclusions coincide with those of Mr. Morris.

Sincerely, [ed: Name has been withheld]

You’ll find the arborist’s letter after the jump…

Hmm…this is troubling…and it seems that at least one member of the city commission agrees. Commissioner Baskett replied to the landscape architect’s original note expressing his concern.

Personally I’ve never quite bought on to the idea of Building “B” anyway. While the rear building only covers a parking lot, building “B” replaces probably the best example of the modernist landscape in the town…and that includes those Redwoods.

Also, I still can’t picture building “B” not looking sort of cramped in front of the massive office building.

Should be interesting to see how this new wrench works its way thru the gears of the political system.

Stay tuned!

Read the rest of this entry »