Behold the Work of Narberth Borough, Great Stewards of the Environment

Originally Posted in the Narberth Community Network on Facebook

A century old Gingko tree, long past the point of being fully grown, providing shade, natural beauty, and atmospheric benefit decades longer than any of us alive today to enjoy it’s presence have walked this planet.

I figured my neighbors in the group who have been enjoying the sudden appearance of aggressive and facially dubious code enforcement notices scolding them for not doing an adequate job in grooming their own properties would appreciate the backstory of how the demise of this beautiful specimen came to be.

Many residents, particularly our friends on Wynnedale, have been thrust to the forefront of local advocacy because they’ve been caught off guard by the revelation that their streets are due for the installation of the Borough’s (arbitrarily) chosen stormwater remediation method, bump-outs. The enormous, disruptive, on-street pits (beautified with perennial flower plantings) have those set to see one of them jammed in front of their homes deeply alarmed by the potentiality for lost parking, tripping hazards for playing children or passersby, and damage to the resale value of their homes. However, they are also a thread connecting each of these recent outrages and this reality bore its ugly head most nakedly in the case of the aforementioned tree.

The resident on whose property the Gingko was present was subjected to incredibly heavy handed, threatening behavior by the local body we all once thought to be a benevolent assortment of neighbors who stepped up to serve as stewards of our beloved community, rather than the mini-Kremlin we’re unfortunately coming to know today.

Following a Borough-wide evaluation of potential spots for bump-out installation, BC code enforcement decided the mature tree was a “problem”. The justifications for this determination shifted, but what remained the same was the aggression with which they terrorized our neighbor over it’s remaining presence. She was ordered to remove the tree several months ago, fully at her expense, and was then bombarded with threatening notices from code enforcement, telling her she was at risk of everything from $1,000 a day fines for as long as the tree remained, to jail time. After commiserating with neighbors who shared the perspective that the tree ought remain, she connected with Consulting Arborist John Hosbach, who’s expert opinion reinforced what was already obvious - that the tree was very old and fully grown and therefore posed no threat of further disruption to infrastructure - and attended a Borough Council meeting armed with a petition signed by 55 supportive neighbors. Following the utterly preposterous suggestion that the tree had to come down because it was a “danger to snow plows” being laughed into oblivion, there appeared to be some mutual understanding that the pursuit of the tree removal was over the top. And during the following days, several members of council and the mayor ventured over to the south side to examine the tree themselves. A general consensus was voiced that gave the impression that they had also come to the conclusion that the tree did not pose some sort of grievous threat to the community and the matter became dormant for a time.

Unfortunately, the old legal adage “always get it in writing” proved prescient once again. After a lull, the notices began anew. Jail time and excessive fines were on the table once again, as was a lawsuit from the Borough. Mr. Hosbach advised that he could take the case to advocate for the tree to remain and that he would likely win, but that it could be costly. With all these factors arrayed against her, and a genuine fear of just how far the terror campaign may go, our neighbor conceded, as the cost of removing the tree was burdensome but less so than a lawsuit from her local representatives.

So let us ask ourselves why? Why is our local government, which prides itself on its alleged eco-consciousness, conducting themselves this way? Why expend so much time and energy on initiatives like the Shade Tree Commission, encouraging residents to offer up their properties for new plantings only to turn around and arbitrarily cite them for not maintaining an 8 foot (seriously?) clearance? How can these supposed environmental champions expend an ungodly amount of energy terrorizing a resident into killing a fully grown, mature tree that has peacefully occupied its spot for decades before she even resided there?

This is not the behavior of a democratic body. This is not the behavior of elected representatives who feel any obligation to their constituents. It is the running roughshod of an entity that feels completely unaccountable after years of uncontested re-elections and a previously passive electorate comprised mostly of people who haven’t witnessed a competitive local contest in their entire time residing here. Even at the smallest scale, at the local level in Narberth or anywhere else, uncontested power is intoxicating. Narberth needs to remind those who hold it that it can be taken away.

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I am attaching a recent picture of the tree in full fall colors and a photograph I took today of the stump where it once stood. I am also including screenshots from Google Maps who’s time travel mechanism in street view came in incredibly handy in this instance, demonstrating that the tree has not grown in at least the last 20 years

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Fall Colors

Finished Product - Hope you’re proud of yourselves

Street View 2024

Street View 2014

Street View 2012

Street View 2007