THE LEAFLET

This April, Councilmember Gray introduced legislation to exempt the Parkside development from DC’s Heritage Tree protections. Parkside is a 1.5 acre, 200-unit apartment project of City Interest Development Partners, located in Ward 7, with public, market rate, and subsidized housing.

Jacob Fenston of WAMU reached out to both sides on the matter. Councilmember Gray did not comment. However, Councilmember Cheh responded: “I was not inclined to consider an exemption…I know the exemption business: Once you have one, then you have two.”‘

Peter Farrell, managing partner of City Interests, added: “What we have here is a bit of a conundrum for a developer. We were given a right to develop the property and subsequent to that being issued, the District government introduced new legislation protecting heritage trees. So we’re at a conflict because without removing the trees, you can’t build the buildings.” Casey Trees’ sources say that City Interests were told they could have applied and would have been approved for an exemption. So why didn’t they? Should they be given a pass for not following the development process and ignoring City laws?

Most important, Parkside could accommodate some or all of these Heritage Trees. For years, Casey Trees and others spoke out for their protection during the public input process. This input was ignored. But suppose we are serious about achieving the District’s 40% canopy goal and creating greener, healthier communities in all Wards, especially those most vulnerable like Ward 7. In that case, this could have been designed differently.

Mr. Farrell also stated, “We just have to decide, since we can’t achieve both” (housing and greenery). “I think housing is a critically important element for this city: We simply don’t have access to affordable housing for enough people in the District of Columbia. Period. End of discussion.”

Casey Trees disagrees. First, Parkside is part of a broader, 15+ acre development site; these Heritage Trees could be relocated to another portion of the site or somewhere else, as required by law. Second, for over 20 years the building industry has claimed that trees stop development. If this were true, building permit issuance would have slowed significantly in 2016 after the passage of the Tree Canopy Protection Amendment Act of 2016. It did not. Building permit issuance ebbs and flows based on the economy, full stop.

DCRA Building Permit Requests Since 2009  

Parkside’s bare-earth approach perpetuates a false narrative that trees are a hindrance, not an asset, to development and, ultimately – the communities that all developments support and serve. Our Tree Report Card shows that this view has led to the loss of over 550 acres of tree canopy in DC over the past five years. Locally, the canopy within a 5-minute walk from Parkside is a paltry 10% – far below DC’s 40% canopy goal. Over time this severe lack of canopy will lead to adverse public health outcomes for the residents of Parkside, requiring significant additional taxpayer dollars to deal with. This disturbing statistic alone is reason enough to make sure that Parkside is done in a way to protect the public good.

Casey Trees’ Director of Policy and Land Conservation, Kelly Collins Choi, said, “We’re not against development, but we are for equitable, sustainable development. The Parkside community — and every community — deserves to benefit from the ecosystem services that large shade trees provide.”

Stay tuned for updates on this going forward, and reach out to advocacy@caseytrees.org with questions or comments.

Photo Courtesy Jacob Fenston/DCist/WAMU