January 6, 1999
City Offers Neighborhood
Reduced-Price TreesTHE CITY PARKS DEPARTMENT wants to plant more trees throughout the neighborhoods, and so it is offering discounted trees to homeowners.
Under Operation Treescape, 8- to 10-foot high oak trees are available to homeowners for $85. At that price, the tree will be delivered to the homeowner but not planted.
For an extra $25, the city will also plant the tree.
The trees must be planted in the public parkway (the strip of grass between the curb and the sidewalk) at a distance of five to seven feet from the curb. This roughly uniform spacing is needed to achieve a canopy effect along a street. Homeowners are responsible for watering any new tree they request.
The trees are available only through neighborhood associations, including the NSNA. This allows the city to deal with a handful of neighborhood spokesmen, rather than hundreds, or even thousands, of individual homeowners. The tree coordinator for the NSNA is Lane Lastinger. If you would like to order a tree, call Mr. Lastinger at 822-8509.
The current round of delivery and planting will be in February and March. To receive a tree during this period, call Mr. Lastinger as soon as possible, and no later than Friday, January 29. Any trees requested after that date will have to await further rounds of the program.
IN A RELATED effort, the city has agreed to work with the 4th Street Beautification Committee on a master plan for upgrading the landscaping along 4th Street N, between 5th and 30th Avenues.
This committee is an ad hoc group with representatives from several neighborhood associations and business groups. If you have any questions about this committee, call Steve Lange at 823-7868.