Local tree activists (Anne likes those!) are hot about CenterPoint’s “zero-tolerance policy” for trees. CenterPoint’s aggressive anti-tree policy stems from the massive Ohio blackout in 2003 and CenterPoint says it is following federal regulations that were drawn up as a result of that mess.
Recently Mayor White stepped into the tree fray and his office said CenterPoint had agreed to stop chopping down trees willy nilly, but CenterPoint says no moratorium is in place. So, now CenterPoint is supposed to meet with representatives from some local tree groups:
Company officials are scheduled to meet this week with organizations that have been promoting the “reforestation” of Houston, through citywide tree-plantings, as a way to clean Houston’s air and beautify the city.
The groups include Trees for Houston Inc., Scenic Houston and The Park People.
Kathy Lord, executive director of Trees for Houston, said CenterPoint had agreed this spring to postpone any major tree cutting until after a regulatory conference in the fall.
“I think we were moving forward, and somebody screwed up,” said Lord. “They just did not honor their agreement not to do anything until the fall.”
CenterPoint officials have not offered an explanation about the destruction of the crepe myrtles, which were trimmed down to the ground, or about two live oak trees that were cut down near the intersection of the Southwest Freeway and Shepherd.
Kelly, who is trying to protect the mature live oak trees near his alma mater, Rice University, said that on the same day CenterPoint’s contractors cut down the crepe myrtles, other crews chopped down the two live oak trees.
Deborah January-Beavers, of Scenic Houston, said CenterPoint officials repeatedly have cited the 2003 blackout as justification for their policy.
“They need to realize that there is an avalanche of interest in urban forestry in Houston right now,” she said. “And they need to realize what bad public relations tree-cutting is for them.”
And just a bit up north is an example of how trees and power lines can live in harmony together:
As evidence closer to home that trees and power lines can coexist, Kelly and Lord point to Texas Utilities’ recent agreement to plant trees and vegetation under a high-voltage power line in the Dallas suburb of Addison.
In the Dallas area, TXU has cooperated with a citywide plan to develop more hike-and-bike trails near or under power lines. The city has agreements with the utility, as well as the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Authority, for narrow trails, with lower vegetation such as shrubs, and other amenities such as drinking fountains and benches.
Well, maybe not:
CenterPoint officials have declined overtures from officials of the cities of Bellaire and West University Place to use its transmission right of way along the Union Pacific railroad tracks as a park area. Those cities have repeatedly tried to use the area under the transmission towers in different ways, including a dog park.
Mercado and other representatives have said that those transmission towers need to be maintained, and that access to the towers must be clear so that heavy trucks can reach the towers.
Way to go CenterPoint!
Houston-area residents love their trees; CenterPoint would be wise to get on the right side of this issue.
(Thanks to the Chronicle‘s Anne Marie Kilday for a terrific story.)
