Langford residents for and against the town’s bold new tree protection bylaw were both angered this week.
One group was upset after a beloved arbutus tree came down on Wednesday (Feb. 8), while others were frustrated they didn’t get a chance to speak during Monday’s (Feb. 6) council meeting where the tree protection bylaw was re-adopted.
Crews cut down the arbutus tree at the corner of Jacklin Road and Dunford Avenue at around noon on Wednesday. Couns. Mark Morley and Keith Yacucha both took to social media to express their frustration with the tree being cut, with Yacucha describing it as an “icon.”
Morley referenced a city briefing that said the tree’s roots would not have survived the development that’s going up on the lot because of the planned underground parking.
The tree is making way for a large residential development that will see 352 units split between two highrise towers constructed between 904 and 914 Dunford Ave. The plan also calls for 1,000 square metres of ground-floor commercial space that would either front onto Dunford Avenue or Jacklin Road. The two buildings would be part of Langford’s city centre zone and were given the green light by the previous council.
READ MORE: Residential development proposals would add over 400 units in Langford
READ MORE: Langford residents look to have arbutus spared from axe
Coun. Mary Wagner said she spoke against the development during public meetings when it was considered by last term’s council before she was a councillor, and was upset to see it coming down.
“It’s been there our whole lives for a lot of us,” Wagner told Black Press Media. “So that is very important to us, it’s a very healthy tree, a large tree. And this area isn’t that beautiful, right? So that’s the thing that draws your eye.”
Wagner also noted protecting trees like the arbutus was what initially brought together community members who would go on to form the Langford Now electoral organization and see all of its five slate members elected last October.
During Monday’s lengthy council meeting, council passed the re-adoption of its temporary tree protection bylaw despite a number of residents voicing concerns.
Langford council opted against extending public participation, with some residents upset they didn’t get their say. As the meeting passed the three-hour mark at around 10 p.m., Langford Couns. Colby Harder and Yacucha voted against extending public participation for 15 minutes.
The bylaw had initially been adopted during a Dec. 23 meeting after being added as a last-minute item to an agenda during a Dec. 21 meeting. That rapid turnaround led city staff to recommend that council re-approve the bylaw to avoid a legal challenge on procedural grounds.
“This was done out of an abundance of caution and more importantly in the spirit of full transparency,” Braden Hutchins, director of corporate services for the city, said during the Jan. 16 meeting.
During the Feb. 6 meeting, while a number of residents reiterated their support for the temporary bylaw – which has a six-month limit and is intended as a stop-gap measure to allow council time to develop its tree management plan – a number had concerns about how the bylaw was brought forward, as well as the costs for residents on getting arborist assessments for trees.
Local arborist Dave Saunders said he was against the bylaw during the meeting, and said he’d offer his tree company’s services for free to Langford residents set to be impacted.
READ MORE: Langford gets ball rolling on tree management plan
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