A Burnaby resident is raising concerns about a lack of consultation as the city prepares to cut down 166 trees in a local park as part of the Cameron Community Centre and Library redevelopment.
Swati Jain said locals only realized the trees would be cut down when they saw construction fencing go up – so she emailed city staff to confirm.
It took three weeks for her to get a response and learn the city plans to replace the trees with 779 new trees.
But Jain wants more proactive communication around the process.
“The idea is to make people aware of what we’re losing,” she said.
She said the park is an important community gathering spot that helps people’s mental health.
After the deaths of her grandmothers earlier this year, Jain said the park has been a refuge.
“This park was a space where I actually processed my grief,” she said.
“I meditated there; I did yoga. … That’s why it impacts me and other people who spend a lot of time there.”
She wants more information about the tree loss – including the environmental impact study to explain what will happen to the biodiversity like the park’s resident birds and squirrels – to be prominently included in city communications and in the news media.
The city says it’s following the bylaws for removing trees on public land.
“The city will be following a plan to sustainably salvage and repurpose as much wood as possible from the removed trees,” public affairs officer Cole Wagner told the Burnaby NOW in an emailed statement.
The project team estimated 70% of the wood could be reused on site or at other local sites, according to Wagner, who said potential wood reuses could include:
- Finishings for interior design, play structures, benches, and/or other utilities in the new community centre
- Ecological stream restoration and habitat structure enhancement on local streams in conjunction with BC Wildlife Federation
The city will make “all necessary efforts” to replant the 779 new trees at the new Cameron Community Centre site, but if the trees can’t be accommodated there, “the remaining trees will be provided in areas with low tree canopy to ensure Burnaby’s urban forest is enhanced,” according to Wagner.
Due to the construction in the area, the trees won’t be replanted until closer to the project completion date, Wagner said.
While the city doesn’t know the exact ages of all the trees being removed, it’s “quite unlikely” that any are more than 100 years old, as they’re either the same age as the community centre (almost 40 years old) or younger.
As for the city’s public communication process regarding tree removal?
“City staff place signage in the area two weeks prior to the scheduled removals,” Wagner said.
