Council decides to create plan for citywide tree planting

The Homewood City Council's planning and development committee has asked the Homewood Environmental Commission and Henry Hughes, the Birmingham Botanical Gardens' retiring vice president of education, to help create a plan for planting native trees citywide.

At tonight's meeting, committee members and Hughes expressed the importance of a planting plan for several reasons. These included adequate tree canopy fullness throughout the city, replacing trees that are no longer healthy and seeking healthy planting spots based on soil and water. 

“I’d rather see one tree succeed than 10 struggle along,” Hughes said. He added that he views the planting effort as a "reforestation," since trees in groups tend to thrive better than solitary trees. Particularly in downtown areas, Hughes said special care is required for trees to survive.

Future planning is also important, Hughes said, to add new trees in areas where older ones may die out. Hughes said a citywide planting plan would likely require the help of several experts, including in landscape architecture, soil and traffic.

“Just because trees are there doesn’t mean we don’t plant,” Hughes said. 

Ward 1 Representative Britt Thames said he would like to see a tree planting priority list similar to the city's priority lists for road paving and sidewalk construction, as he said those lists made it easier for the city to proceed quickly and with less "horse trading" among council representatives to move particular projects along faster.

“We don’t want to just start dropping trees everywhere and then they’re dead in a couple years,” Thames said.

The city allocated $20,000 in the 2018 fiscal year's budget for tree planting, though $9,500 of that has been used to hire a consultant to help develop a new tree ordinance. HEC representative Amy Milam said the commission could continue to focus on small seedling plantings, such as its annual planting along the Shades Creek Greenway, while the city works on larger tree plantings.

The HEC also presented tonight its plans for projects in 2018, including a residential tree planting program, a tree inventory project to gather information about the city's greenery and a possible trail adoption program with the Freshwater Land Trust for the greenway, which would allow groups to adopt and pay for the maintenance of trail sections. The HEC was also part of Homewood's designation as a Tree City USA earlier this year.

Hughes and the HEC will begin the work of developing a tree planting plan to bring back to the council. Additionally, Ward 1 Representative Andy Gwaltney asked Hughes and Milam to identify a few good planting spots to use the remainder of the $20,000 before the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, as a precursor to a larger plan.

In addition to the special issues committee's tree discussion, the finance committee also considered a request from John Gray, the homeowner of 1769 South Lakeshore Drive, to partially fund a drainage project on his property.

Gray brought video and photos of improper drainage on his land, which he said makes it difficult to upkeep the property and also presents some safety concerns from the design of the existing culvert and stormwater pipe. Gray has received permission to work in the city's right-of-way to install a box culvert and extend the pipeline through the right-of-way and part of his property.

Gray asked the council tonight to fund the cost of installing the pipe on the right-of-way at an estimated cost of $18,250, while he would pay roughly $28,000 for the pipe installed on his property and new sod.

Committee members were hesitant, noting similar requests that have been turned down in the past.

“In my ward on several occasions we’ve had this issue, and the council has declined,” Thames said.

After a 2-3 vote, with committee members Barry Smith (Ward 4) and Mike Higginbotham (Ward 2) in favor of the funding and Thames, Walter Jones (Ward 3) and Peter Wright (Ward 5) in opposition, Gray offered to meet the council halfway on the costs for work in the right-of-way.

“I kind of feel like this is more than a standard flow,” Gray said of the conditions on his property when it rains.

Jones said the full Council will discuss the request, as well as Gray's offered amendment to the cost, at its next meeting.

“We know your proffer to meet us halfway and that means a lot, it really does,” Jones said.

The finance committee has also sent two sidewalk projects to the full Council to approve for funding: $14,547 for a sidewalk on Clermont Drive, from Valley Avenue to Royce Road, and $9,850 for a connecting pathway on Covenant Way to Columbiana Road. A segment of Saulter Road, from Sylvia Drive to Rockaway Road, is one of the next priorities for funding.