Charlotte Street Willow Oaks Scheduled for Execution Tomorrow

Neighbors in Last-Ditch Effort to Save Them

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED

By Steve Watkins, Advance Editor

One of the targeted Willow Oaks on Charlotte Street

Teri McNally, who lives on Charlotte Street, sent this email out to other nearby residents yesterday:

I just had a visit from one of our neighbors that gave me the real story on our beautiful trees.

It seems that they want to cut the trees down because it’s easier to mill the street for new paving, NOT because they are diseased or decaying.

I’d love to see the cover of these trees until we have to cut them down! In my opinion, they are doing this fast so nobody has time to react.

These are both Willow Oaks and are in “good” condition, according to the city website.

Please consider contacting our city reps.

City arborist Bicknell Robbins: phone him at 540-372-1023, or email him at bprobbins@fredericksburgva.gov.

City manager Tim Baroody: phone him at 540-372-1010.

I’ve already emailed Mayor Kerry Devine, our City Council member Charlie Frye, and for good measure the two at large members, Will Macintosh and Jannan Holmes.

I will be calling the city arborist tomorrow.

Please take a moment to contact someone to voice your opinion. Our street will never be the same.

And from McNally’s neighbor, Piper Brock:

Hello All,

As you can see, the issue of saving these trees on Charlotte Street has been on my mind much of the night. As such, I have some questions that I would like answered prior to the work that is scheduled to be done on Wednesday, June 10.

I request the documentation supporting the claim that the trees will likely die after road work.

I ask whether the assessment was performed by a certified arborist and whether alternatives were evaluated.

I request to get an independent arborist opinion.

The neighborhood would like to hire a consulting arborist (preferably one with credentials from the International Society of Arboriculture).

Specific questions we want answers:

How much root damage the milling/resurfacing would actually cause?

Are there protective measures that could preserve the trees?

Is removal truly necessary?

I also request information on exactly what work is planned, as “milling and resurfacing” often affects only the pavement surface and may not require major root disturbance.

And I ask for consideration of alternatives:

Root-zone protection fencing.

Modified construction methods.

Phased monitoring rather than immediate removal.

Retention of healthy trees unless they become hazardous.

Finally, I respectfully request a temporary postponement of the scheduled removal until an independent arboricultural review can be obtained. These mature oaks provide significant canopy, environmental, and property value benefits, and I am concerned removal is being justified based on predicted future decline rather than current condition.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Piper Brock

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