Tree lovers in Burlington lamented and vented this week as construction crews cleared acres of timber along North Avenue to make way for the Cambrian Rise development project.
The logging is necessary to move forward with the largest housing development in Queen City history, according to developer Eric Farrell. Crews cleared nearly half of the 21.65-acre plot, which extends down to Lake Champlain, he said. Much of the rest of the site was already without trees.
The cutting did not escape notice.
“Burlington development at Cambrian Rise property results in tree carnage. A very sad day,” members of Keep the Park Green posted on Facebook, along with a series of videos and photos. The group has been advocating to preserve trees at a different Burlington project in City Hall Park.
“Our urban tree canopy is under siege,” read another post, which suggested a tree preservation ordinance for the city. Other commenters posted videos of the trees falling.
“It’s a little stark,” Farrell acknowledged. But, he added, “it’s the reality of developing that site.” Some of the felled trees will be sawed into lumber to be used for construction. The rest will be chipped and sent to Burlington’s McNeil Generating Station to be burned for electricity, he said.
The clearing will make way for 12 buildings and 739 units of housing planned for the former Burlington College site. Farrell said the project is proceeding apace.
The first part of the development, Liberty House, opened last summer and has been fully rented since the beginning of the year, he said.
On May 1, Champlain Housing Trust will break ground on a building with 76 affordable family units. Cathedral Square, meanwhile, plans to begin building an affordable senior living complex this fall, according to Farrell.
The developer said he received his Act 250 permit in January and now has all the necessary approvals needed to move forward.
This month, Farrell plans to finalize sales with CHT and Cathedral Square for each organization’s respective plot of land. He also plans to buy another piece of the former Burlington College building, which is owned by People’s United Bank. It’s attached to Liberty House, and will include commercial space on the first floor and apartments above.
The full build-out of the land is expected to take between six and eight years.
This week, crews will finish up clearing the land. As for the trees, “I’ve heard some pushback,” he said, noting that he had gotten some calls from Burlington residents — and from media. There have been no protests so far, he said.
The tree cutting, he added, is unfortunate — but inevitable. “It had to happen sometime,” he said.
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While you’re at it, just dig up the cemetery next door and build there, too.
This is just the start under Mayor Miro. Just wait until the downtown Catholic cathedral goes up for sale. Plus the old YMCA building, plus Memorial Auditorium. Maybe even kick the Episcopal Church off of Rock Point? All of this will be (over) developed and Burlington will turn into a high-rise sardine can city with snarled traffic, increased crime, more pollution, urban canyons that block out the sun. This is not “smart growth’ as the Neo-liberal looters like to call it, this is municipal suicide.
Next on the agenda: declaring Imminent Domain in all of the Old North End to chase out the poor folks to make way for the people the Chamber of Commerce and their servants on City Council really want living here: white collar professionals. You know, the Brie and Chablis crowd, the techies, the trendy, edgy hipsters and Economic Master Race 1%ers who eat at the Farmhouse and Sweetwaters. In other words, those few who will be able to truly afford living in Burlington if they don’t already live in Shelburne or Charlotte.
City Council obeys the Big Landlords and will never try to implement rent control, thus abandoning their poorer constituents yet again. “Progressive”? “Liberal”? Yeah, right. Give me a break.
Miro and Trump are proof that real estate developers should never be in power.
Just wait until the effects of Climate Change really hit. Burlington will be totally unsustainable and ungovernable. Too many hungry, thirsty, scared, angry people who will not want to go shopping or enjoy the arts. Then things will get tribal and ugly.
Looks great! What a view.
Can’t wait for the new affordable housing.
This is great for the people of Burlington.
Oh no – Trees cut down . Oh the horror !
Love the new open space look on North Ave. Clearing trees will allow a lot mor sunlight to make it down to the terrestrial environment for both people and the proposed solar panels.
Those affordable housing units could help our city accommodate more humanitarian refugees from Africa and the market-rate units could help us attract more domestic climate refugees from coastal environs, boostikng our citys labor force. Love it!
All this and not a single TIF dollar will be used in the development; all incremental property tax revenue growth will be going the VT Education Fund, lowering statewide property tax rates for ALL Vermonters.
Mr Farrell is bringing us these tremendous benefits, a win-win-win for taxpayers, local employers and community members, yet this opposition group is more concerned about 10 acres of ornamental (video clearly depicts non-native NORWEIGIAN Spruce) trees?
Paco DeFrancis
BTV GOP
This is not news. It is just more food for Burlington’s fringe elements to decry all development and an opportunity for everyone else to feel smug and satisfied at the lunacy of the aforementioned fringe. Seven Days, you are better than this. There are enough wedges between us already.
I can understand cutting the trees located in the footprint of the new buildings. But why clear cut every tree, especially the large, beautiful trees in front of the existing buildings where the plan calls for green space? The trees in the front of the existing building could have been worked into the landscape design. This is another example of thoughtless clearcutting without consideration for existing natural resources on the property. This kind of mndless cutting happened at the intersection of Maple and Summit Streets with the UVM alumni building renovation. Why dont we have more green architects and landscape designers in this town? The mindset here seems to be make a plan and cut down everything that doesnt fit within that plan, instead of creating a plan to work with what already exists on the landscape. Trees are not disposabe props. They are a valuable natural resource. Keep the Park Green will be working on a new Tree Preservation Ordinance so that there is a sane process to review tree removal and replacement for development and renovation projects.
To get involved, follow us on Facebook: Keep the Park Green