As a resident of Newton for over 50 years, I am writing about the need to preserve our trees as a measure to fight climate change and rising temperatures. This is a citizen alert. ACT NOW
The City of Newton has pledged to address climate change by promoting green housing and reducing carbon emissions. But the City’s Action Plan for 2020–2025 left out a crucial recommendation in the 2018 “Climate Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation and Resiliency Action Plan” (pp. 58-59), and what is missing is what Boston Mayor Michelle Wu calls the “best green technology to fight climate change” globally and keep local temperatures, air pollution, and flooding from getting worse: preserve mature, healthy trees!
City Councilors docketed a proposal to change Newton’s tree protection ordinance in June 2022 to address these needs. But in August, the mayor docketed a competing proposal that carries over from the current ordinance most of the exemptions on residential property (for any tree under 55″ DBH) and offers only modest increases when new plantings are required.
Newton’s tree canopy only covers 48% of total land, and 55.5% of that tree canopy is on residential property (Climate Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation and Resiliency Action Plan,” pp. 29-30). And 30 new trees are required to replace the environmental services of one average (17″ DBH) street tree (Newton City Forester Marc Welch, webinar, April 21, 2022). It is not possible to replace at a 30:1 ratio, so there needs to be a disincentive to cut healthy trees.
Tell the Newton City Council that we need a tree ordinance that does not allow exemptions and that requires an environmental mitigation payment that reflects the many environmental, public-health, and infrastructure costs to our community.
Rachel Ethier Rosenbaum
