City Postpones Execution of Charlotte Street Willow Oaks

Neighbors and Supporters Successfully Sway Council in Last-Minute Lobbying Effort

By Steve Watkins

ADVANCE EDITOR

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Photo by Teri McNally

Fredericksburg Mayor Kerry Devine announced Tuesday afternoon that the city would “pause” removal of two large Willow Oaks that city staff had scheduled for destruction today, June 10, for road and sidewalk repairs.

Charlotte Street neighbors and friends on early Tuesday had mounted a last-minute campaign to save the trees. Many said they hadn’t known about the city’s plan until Fredericksburg residents Teri McNally and Piper Brock got the word out through group emails and a widely-shared post in The FXBG Advance about their efforts.

Council members and staff were contacted by a number of residents questioning the impending removal of the trees, both of which, according to the city’s own Tree Viewer website, were in “good” condition. One resident was reportedly planning to chain herself to one of the trees if city workers showed up with their chainsaws.

“At this time, City Council is going to pause the roadwork that was scheduled on Charlotte St.,” Devine wrote in a mass email to residents. “This work was planned to address the serious concerns about the condition of the road and the sidewalk, as well as meeting ADA compliance. That roadwork will, as of now, be removed from the schedule of road repairs. We appreciate the interest from city residents and fully support staff in this process. These road issues won’t get better with time, so continued dialogue is anticipated.”

Devine’s message also contained a quote by the psychologist William James: “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”

Council member Will McIntosh told one resident that Dominion Power had concerns about the trees interfering with an overhead power line, and that would likely be a factor going forward in determining the fate of the trees.

Below are copies of the group emails the two residents sent out to try to stop the tree removal. They were published in The Advance yesterday morning under the headline “Charlotte Street Willow Oaks Scheduled for Execution Tomorrow: Neighbors in Last-Ditch Effort to Save Them.”

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From Charlotte Street Resident Teri McNally:

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