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Norgate’s leafy chestnuts to be felled

Neighbours dismayed, FortisBC says row of trees atop underground utilities must go
Norgate trees

Some Norgate residents are lamenting the pending loss of some treasured mature trees on their street.

FortisBC issued notice to the neighbours along 15th Street in late April that the company would soon be cutting down more than 20 trees they say could be encroaching on the utility’s underground natural gas pipeline.

“The integrity of the protective coating can be compromised by tree roots allowing moisture to collect on the steel pipeline, potentially resulting in corrosion,” the letter stated.

Rose Moore, whose strata unit in the Illahee complex backs onto 15th, said Fortis has mishandled the case, starting with poor notification. Moore only found out about the plan after neighbours from the single-family homes on the other side of the street, who received individual notification, asked for Moore’s thoughts on the matter. Moore later learned that Fortis had attempted to alert Illahee residents through a property management firm they haven’t used in 10 years.

Moore also made repeated requests for Fortis to demonstrate in writing why they believe root systems are suddenly dangerous, saying it appears to be arbitrary.

“I believe that the safety of natural gas is of paramount importance; however, why are some trees being removed and other trees that are approximately in the same line not being removed?” she said. “I’m a scientist and I want Fortis to provide documentation on how they came to the conclusion that the trees had to be removed... I think they should be accountable. I’m not asking for anything outrageous.”

Moore said the trees add quality of life for those in her complex and on her street.

“It’s a sound barrier from the road. It’s vegetation rather than looking straight out my window to the house across the street. It provides shade in the summer,” she said.

Neighbour Eleanor Parmelee agreed.

“Right now, I’m looking out my window and there’s the two most beautiful pink chestnut trees in blossom. These aren’t new trees. These trees have been there for years and years,” she said.

Parmelee said she’d like to see Fortis research types of trees that could be replanted without putting the pipeline at risk so they can remediate the property.

“If you walk this block from Tatlow to Mahon, it’s the most treed area in the whole neighbourhood,” she said. “There are not a lot of (mature trees) in this neighbourhood.”

But the trees, which are on the strata’s property and, in some cases, predate construction from the early 1990s, should never have been planted to begin with, said Nicole Bogdanovic, FortisBC spokeswoman. Under provincial rules, trees cannot be planted within four or six metres of a pipeline, depending on the pressure and size of the line.

“We certainly understand how important trees are to communities and we do make steps to minimize vegetation clearing, but this is also a good reminder of why it’s really important to call BC One Call and know where underground utilities are before you plant,” she said. “In this instance, it is the property owners’ responsibility to know where underground utilities are.”

Bogdanovic said the company plans to grind tree stumps down but not remove them.

Fortis won’t be replanting or doing any other remediation, Bogdanovic added, as payment for tree removal is already outside the company’s responsibility.

“FortisBC is covering the cost of safely removing that vegetation. We have to consider all of our ratepayers and not take on additional landscaping expenses on behalf of a property owner,” she said. “To incur additional costs on behalf of a property owner who wasn’t aware they were planting unsafely would be really unfair to our other customers and it wouldn’t offer them any safety or reliability benefits.”

Fortis’ plans have the support of the strata’s property manager, Bogdanovic added.

Fortis is expecting to remove the trees next week.