Login / RegisterNorth Vancouver City Council OKs Waterfront Park tree chop
Kyoto targets are already tough enough to realize, according to recently-retired City of North Vancouver resident Gary Mosier.
But now the former park attendant at Waterfront Park, next to Lonsdale Quay, is furious that his city councillors and Mayor Darrell Mussatto have paved the way for five trees to be cut at his old workplace.
Council voted 4-1 earlier this week to have the five trees removed. Mussatto and councillors Bob Heywood, Barbara Perrault and Pam Bookham were in favour, with Sam Schechter opposed. Couns. Bob Fearnley and Craig Keating were absent from the vote.
“I fear this sets a dangerous precedent,” Mosier told the Straight. “They ran roughshod over existing tree policy—the City of North Vancouver tree policy is a pretty good document—and now people in future are going to expect it to be thrown aside.”
Mussatto told the Straight the loss of five trees is “a fair compromise”, especially as trees will be replanted in other areas of the park.
The latest decision replaces a November 6 vote—reported previously in the Straight—to oppose 12 trees coming down to accommodate concerns of condominium residents in the nearby 15 Chesterfield building (plus a nearby bistro merchant.)
“It’s give and take,” Mussatto said of the latest round.
Two of the trees to be cut are in the park, while the other three are “covenanted” trees on private land that the city takes care of.
“A true compromise would have meant only the three [covenanted] trees are cut,” Mosier said. “But councillors talk of how they can ”˜manage’ the trees. If we have little people in all the little communities saying that, we won’t achieve Kyoto targets. This is not a loss. To me it’s a betrayal.”
