I am writing in response to the “Plant or else!” article in the Nov.-Dec. newsletter. I can understand the homeowners’ frustration, but, in my opinion, trees add many benefits, not only to the homeowner, but society as well. According to the International Society of Arboriculture, the benefits are numerous:
Economic: Increases property values by 5 to 20% over homes without trees, lowers energy costs, and, in Portland, offsets water bills.
Environmental: Moderates climate, reduces storm runoff, improves air quality, helps wildlife habitat.
Social: Adds beauty, calms traffic, reduces stress, reduces crime, promotes healing.
Communal: Increases privacy, reduces glare, complements and softens architecture.
Information about each of these benefits can be found on the Portland Bureau of Transportation website: https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/363601#lowercrimes
As for the prohibitive cost of planting, I would suggest these homeowners check out local nonprofit, Friends of Trees (FOT), an organization dedicated to planting trees in the Portland area for almost 30 years. I have volunteered with them for 25 years, and they are a great resource for anyone needing or wanting to plant trees. They provide a wide variety of high-quality trees at wholesale prices (or below) and will plant the trees, as well as even do some maintenance on them. For details, contact FOT at 503-282-8846 or go online (www.friendsoftrees.org). By the way, the next FOT planting day for Beaumont-Wilshire is on Saturday, April 6, 2019.
P.S., I really enjoy the newsletter—keep up the good work!
(Editor’s note: First off, Doug, thanks for your encouraging comment regarding the newsletter! With respect to your letter, unfortunately, a good deal of relevant information about the provisions in the tree-planting ordinance and the couple’s predicament could not be included due to space constraints, including the fact that FOT was contacted for this story and provided the following response: “Turns out, FOT is legally forbidden from assisting homeowners affected by the ordinance due to a ‘conflict of interest’ situation stemming from a prohibition in the ordinance that forbids city funds from being used to defray homeowner costs and, by extension, prohibits any organization on the receiving end of city funding from doing so as well, which is the case with FOT.”)