After our week of worry, it feels like we dodged a bullet when Hurricane Florence shifted south.
In Chapel Hill, the power outages were short-lived, the flooding no worse than expected, and no one has died. Those of us who lived here through Hurricane Fran feel a guilty relief — and empathy after seeing the devastation in the towns in Florence’s new path that weren’t as prepared as we were.
A special thank you to town employees who staffed a call center around the clock for a few days to provide human-to-human information for people who needed non-emergency assistance during the uncertainty of the storm. This supplemented the terrific job emergency responders do on a routine basis.
I felt particularly safe, cocooning in my brand-new neighborhood that has large trees only on three sides of the development. Having had the privilege of living in Chapel Hill for more than 20 years in houses shaded by very large, leafy trees, I know the pros and cons. After soldiering through Fran and numerous ice storms and large snowfalls, I deliberately chose a house smack in the middle of the new development, as far away from any mature trees as possible. I’m a tree NIMBY — I love trees, but not in my backyard.
I recall a friend coming over to see my new house and commenting, in a condescending tone, “I couldn’t possibly live in a place without trees.”
I thought at the time: “Then you haven’t been paying attention to development in Chapel Hill.”
My friend will be in for a shock. For those who love trees, the past few years have been disturbing at best, and looking ahead, the distress continues. It seems like every month we see a new swath of land clear-cut to prepare for development already approved or anticipated. And our council docket promises even more to come.
New development means sacrificing trees. Yet trees and green space provide documented benefits for mental and physical health. As density increases, the need for green becomes all the more crucial.
As development projects come before council, we need to pay attention to how many, what size and what type of trees will be planted as replacements for the mature trees taken down.
We also need to respect the few remaining parcels of land that could become permanently protected greenspace where the public can gather without having to pay. The more development that springs up around the American Legion property, the stronger the case for preserving the entire 36 acres as community gathering space.
I want to welcome more people and businesses to our town. That means removing trees by the acre. But we don’t have to “live without trees.” We can preserve acres more, if we choose that path.
— Nancy Oates
