Three rare trees stand in way of developer’s construction plans
LONDON It’s man versus nature, and nature is winning — in a way.
The fate of three hard-to-find trees on a London property has gone up to the province, listed on the same environmental registry where development applications with air and water pollution fallout are found. It’s an unusual twist, but it’s a rare type of tree — the Kentucky coffee tree — that stands where a developer plans to build a small subdivision.
Native to the Carolinian forest zone, a temperate area of the United States that pokes into parts of Southwestern Ontario, the coffee tree produces the largest leaves of any tree in Canada. It grows thick, large pods that cover the ground beneath them as they drop. Developer David Tennant Jr., owner of David Tennant Urban Concepts and its subsidiary Revere Developments, plans to build a 16-home subdivision on Riverside Drive, where three of the rare trees stand.
Tennant has been in almost a yearlong process with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry to figure out what will be done with the trees.
Because of its endangered nature, once a Kentucky coffee tree is planted, a permit from the province is needed for anyone wanting to do something that would affect the trees.
“Any species under the (Endangered Species) act gets protection from the ministry,” said Kathryn Markham, a management biologist with the ministry.
“The (developer’s) proposal is to remove three trees on the property and they have to plant 15 coffee trees, minimum, to offset that.”
The Kentucky coffee tree can survive well in backyards and can be seen in some London neighbourhoods, but the city has recently stopped planting them, said Pam Cook, a health-care manager and horticulturalist at CLC Tree Services in London.
“Even the city has to apply to remove them,” she said. “And if you can’t remove them, you have to protect them from construction damage.”
Markham said any municipality has a responsibility to work with the ministry when it comes to species at risk and endangered species.
Tennant said his company plans to plant 15 of the rare trees in the Walpole Island area, since they’re better suited to grow there. Now, he’s just waiting to hear back if the ministry will approve that. “It’s an effective way to ensure the species is safe,” he said. “We have to be leaving the land better than we found it.”
Tennant said he hopes the permit to remove and replant the trees will come through by the fall, but until then will fence the trees to make sure construction crews are careful.
Even the city has to apply to remove them. And if you can’t remove them, you have to protect them from construction damage.