A 150-year-old tree in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood is at risk of being chopped down, and neighbors aren’t happy about it.
The developer for the site at 72 Hyde Park Ave. says the tree needs to be taken down to create room for a stormwater management system, while neighbors say the tree holds historic meaning for their block.
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The space where the tree stands was being redeveloped for a six-unit building. Neighbors were fine with the development as long as the developer kept the tree in place.
“Our concern is that there is a beautiful 150-year-old tree that is on the property and the preservation of that tree was a condition for the approval of the project,” explained Matt Shuman, who lives in the area.
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“The tree is a beautiful - it's 60-70 foot high oak tree I’d say, it's about two or three on the street,” said Shuman. He started a chain email to the Boston Planning and Development Agency asking for help. Over 210 neighbors signed the email -prompting a response from the BPDA.
They issued a statement saying in part, “When it came to our attention that the project was proceeding with a revised site plan that the BPDA had not approved, we immediately contacted the development team and requested the revised plans. Those plans are currently under review."
In response, the developer Vladimir Sirotin at M.I.R Realty told NBC10 Boston that he tried working with neighbors to find a solution but was not able to concede on keeping the tree
“During the engineering of the project, we were faced with unforeseen requirements. What no one foresaw at the time was the necessity for a stormwater management system, which, unfortunately, could only be accommodated precisely where the tree stands."
Sirotin went on to say, “It was not a precondition of BPDA approval for the tree to remain nor an obligation.”
The BPDA says plans for the site are currently under review, they also contacted the Inspectional Services Department to take a closer look at the plans.
