DOWNTOWN TREE CUTTING QUESTIONED BY SOME

Cape Girardeau's downtown landscape is being ripped apart by the city's removal of trees along street curbs, says downtown resident Sarah Riley.

Riley, who chairs the art department at Southeast Missouri State University, was shocked when she returned from vacation to find two trees had been removed in the 300 block of Themis.

One of the trees, a large American elm on the south side of the street, had been scheduled to come down in October 1997 as part of a sidewalk replacement program. A tree service began cutting limbs from the top of the tree at that time, but work was halted after Riley complained to city officials. Earlier this month a contractor was hired by the city to finish the job, and the tree was removed.

Riley lives on Fountain not far from the tall elm. The old trees lining the streets are part of the beauty of the downtown area, she said.

The city proposed cutting down 36 trees in an area roughly bounded by Morgan Oak, Bellevue and Pacific streets and the Mississippi River to make room for asphalt paving and curb and sidewalk improvements.

Abdulkader Alkadry of the city engineering department said the trees and their roots have damaged curbs, sidewalks and wrecked the pavement on some city streets. The roots of the Themis Street elm had extended under the pavement, tearing up the street as well as the curb and sidewalk, he said.

After putting together its initial tree-removal list, the city engineering office decided against cutting down four trees upon the recommendation of the Cape Girardeau Tree Advisory Board. Another three property owners are appealing the city's plans to cut down trees in front of their homes.

The board plans to hear their appeals next month.

In all, the city is spending more than $1 million on repaving streets, including about $20,000 to cut down trees.

Riley worries that the downtown will be turned into "a big asphalt parking lot." She said the city's decision to tear down trees cuts into people's property values and eliminates shade that provides a natural insulation for many of the city's older homes.

The Downtown Neighborhood Association also has expressed concern about the removal of trees along city right of way.

Councilman Tom Neumeyer lives in downtown Cape Girardeau. Neumeyer said the city needs to make every effort to preserve the trees that line downtown streets. "We are blessed down here with these beautiful old trees," he said. "Without the trees, we might as well be out in suburbia."

But Neumeyer said some trees must be removed for street paving, curb and sidewalk improvements. He said he would like to see tighter guidelines on the removal of trees.

Riley questioned how the city could cut down the giant elm on Themis without violating Cape Girardeau's historic-preservation ordinance. The ordinance states that the city's historic-preservation commission must review and comment on any capital improvement project that involves work within 185 feet of any historic district or historic landmark.

The tree stood near a historic home on Themis, but city officials said the street work was a maintenance project and not a capital improvement project. As a result, the project wouldn't have qualified for commission review, Neumeyer said.

Officials said the city put a lot of thought into removing the trees. The city didn't proceed until after the Tree Board had inspected every tree on the cut-down list and made its recommendations.

"I hate cutting trees," said Alkadry. He said the city engineer's office notified affected residents and informed them of the appeal process beginning in April.

Dan Muser, director of city parks and recreation, is one of five members on the Tree Board. The board has been in existence for a little over a year.

Muser said board members spent most of a day inspecting every tree on the cut-down list.

Muser said: "We didn't look at damage to the sidewalk or curb. We looked at the tree. We looked at the condition of the tree."

All of the trees that the board recommended for removal were in "pretty bad shape," he said.

"They had a lot of damage to them," he said. In some cases the damage was from disease or storms. In other cases the damage was caused by past tree-trimming efforts.

Muser said the Tree Board felt most of the trees, including the elm, needed to be removed. "It basically was a stump," he said of the Themis Street tree.

Muser said trees planted in the right of way often suffer from being confined by sidewalk on one side and street pavement and curbs on the other.

In many cases it is impossible to do paving work without further damaging tree roots, Muser said.

The four trees the board recommended preserving are all healthy trees, he said.