Surrey resident fights to save trees more than 300 years old
A Surrey resident who says the city may have already lost up to 10,000 trees to redevelopment this year wants to save a stand of cedars that includes one tree that is nearly 400 years old.
Richard Landale said that if the stand of 10 old-growth trees on the site of King George Mobile and Trailer Park are saved, they would provide a “valuable shade and habitat” connection to Bear Creek Park.
“In Surrey, we do not have many old-growth trees,” said Landale, a resident of Fleetwood. “When I see a tree that’s 400 years old, that’s something to be valued.”
Landale said he determined the age of the Western red cedars in the stand at 8190 King George Boulevard himself. He did that by measuring each tree’s diameter, estimating the bark’s thickness and using an algorithm that determines the age of trees. The oldest, he said, has been growing for 395 years.
The others are 300 years and older.
Landale said he wants the City of Surrey to save the cedars by designating them as heritage trees.
He said that the developer could save the trees as a group by not constructing building 16, one of 24 townhome buildings in a proposed redevelopment project for the area.
“Canada is a very, very young country. I’m from England. We’ve got thousands of years of history. Canada doesn’t,” he said. “The history that we do have is preserved by First Nations people. I’ve concentrated on trying to preserve trees. Trees are our heritage.”
Landale said in his retirement, he has been keeping track of the urban canopy in Surrey. He says between Jan. 1 and July 23 this year, the city has approved 107 development applications that allow for the removal of more than 10,000 trees.
He said Surrey council is “absolutely out of control when it comes to approving trees to be chopped down because of developers’ requests to build.
“Since January of this year, I have tracked every single tree approved to be cut down. That’s my keen interest as I look at all developments across the municipality.”
A planning and development report says that of 120 protected trees on the King George site, 46 can be retained as part of the redevelopment. The report says 27 western red cedars will be logged and 28 saved.
The developer is required to replace trees cut down with 159 replacement trees, but is exceeding that by planting about 283.
Remi Dube, acting manager of the city’s building division, said Surrey’s bylaws don’t take into account the age of trees, but rather is concerned with safety and whether the tree meets a minimum size.
“We know they’re bylaw-sized trees,” Dube said.
“We don’t quantify the age. As long as they meet the bylaw requirement, they have to be accounted for.”
The project received conditional approval from council in late July. It would be up to the developer to decide not to construct building 16 and save the 10 trees. Under current plans, only two of the 10 trees will be saved.
Developer Dawson + Sawyer plans to construct 110 apartments in a six-storey building facing King George. More than 20 other buildings will contain 218 townhomes on the rest of the 9.5-acre site.
“The proposed density and buildings are appropriate for this part of Newton, in proximity to a future light rapid transit station,” the staff report says.
The developer has reached an agreement with all 81 owner/residents of the trailer park to buy their mobile homes.
They will also be paid for moving expenses, the equivalent of rent for 12 months, and flexible moving out dates to late 2019.