Hydro One is worried about “regeneration of non-compatible trees.”
Translation on the ground: a two-ft. tall oak “tree” on the property line of a home on Greening Ave. that borders the hydro right-of-way in Applewood Acres, is ripped out by its roots — a sapling that couldn’t be a threat to a power line in anybody’s estimation for at least a couple of decades.
Last night, Hydro One came to a public meeting to explain why it is eradicating every possible tree that could potentially pose any problem in the future to its power lines along its right-of-way that runs through some of the oldest, and proudest, neighbourhoods in the City
Residents turned up to say they hate the results of the Mississauga Chainsaw Massacre so far. Lorne Park residents, who have the biggest trees, the highest taxes and the most political clout of any neighbourhood in the City, decided to draw a line in the sand.
They got Hydro One to stop cutting in their community earlier this summer and now they want it to hold the cherry pickers and the chain saws in abeyance until the community reviews its plans to kill another 62 mature trees in the right-of-way in this, the first of what will be three rounds of environmental cleansing.
If you listened very carefully to what Hydro One manager of distribution, development and lines sustainment George (Vroom, Vroom) Juhn had to say at the beginning of the meeting, you could tell that Hydro is trying to draw its own line in the sand.
It wants to remove every species that could possibly grow large enough to infringe on the 230,000-volt lines and replace them with saucer magnolias and Japanese lilacs and other types of pretty and (key word) short species.
At one point Juhn said, “we are removing a lot of smaller trees that will mature and generate a lot of significant public opposition” when they get bigger. Those were telling words.
Hydro is cutting the problem off at the ground now, so it doesn’t have to fight even tougher tree battles in future.
Hydro is in a tough position, trying to keep the lines clear of potential tree threats through a right-of-way where it is already committed to trimming, not cutting, 40 heritage oaks. That was part of the deal made when it took over the right-of-way back in the 1970s.
How do you justify cutting down some magnificent oaks here, when you are trimming them to keep them away from power lines right over there?
Consulting Arborist Philip van Wassenaer, who reminded hydro gently of the loss of the tree canopy that is a continuing problem in Mississauga (the bigger trees increase in environmental value exponentially), also showed how even large trees can be systematically pruned back over years so that we can have our power lines and our oak trees too.
But Hydro One seems fixed on its target. When Phil Green pointed out that they plan to start cutting in three weeks and suggested they mitigate their public credibility problem by paying for independent consultants like van Wassenaer to review their plans, they seemed insulted.
The old Ontario Hydro may have been dismantled, but the air of entitlement that the once-all-powerful utility epitomized, is as strong as ever.
That was evident at the end of the night when residents demanded Hydro staff either put a moratorium on cutting. They refused to do so but did promise to at least try the idea on senior management and get back to the public.
And how was the response to be passed on with no other meeting scheduled before the work is to start? “At the least, you get another e-mail,” said Enza Cancilla of the communications department.
How about e-condolence cards for all the late, lamented trees that didn’t need to die?