Leawood looking at how to combat tree loss

The Leawood City Council is working to stem the loss of trees.

With concerns from residents about loss of trees in Leawood due to disease, aging, damage sustained during construction projects and the threat of the emerald ash borer, Councilwoman Debra Filla asked the city look into tree preservation.

The council discussed the problem at a workshop on Monday and agreed to continue discussing it in the future.

Among the ideas discussed to combat tree loss were creating a committee to focus on tree preservation; tree protection plans for development projects; and general education.

Other cities in the area, such as Prairie Village, are already combating the issue by using a committee that works on tree preservation and education.

After the work session, Filla said she hoped the discussion would inspire a greater look at trees in the urban landscape.

“I don’t think the focus should be on Leawood,” she said. Tree preservation “is a broader issue. Is it loss due to developments? Is it emerald ash?” Filla said. “I don’t know where we’ll go, but we’ll certainly start at the conversation. Maybe it’s just a natural learning curve that a city has to go through, but we’ll certainly look to others before us.”

Northern Leawood, the area north of 103rd Street, is estimated at having just over 50 percent tree coverage while the city of Leawood is estimated at about 36 percent trees. In addition to increasing property values and enhancing the attractiveness of communities, trees also offer environmental and other monetary benefits.

Councilman James Azeltine said the city needs to clearly outline its plans in coming up with solutions. He questioned whether other standing city committees were capable of taking on tree preservation before another committee was created.

“What exactly are we trying to do here?” he said. “Are we trying to make sure we’re taking care of our own trees as a city? Are we trying to go on private property and tell the property owner what tree they can keep and what tree they can’t? I think it’s important that whatever we decide to do has got to be uniform across the entire city. On the tree board, I would be interested in knowing whether or not that function could be fulfilled within the Sustainability Advisory Board.”

Councilwoman Carrie Rezac suggested that educating developers and individuals about tree preservation could be the city’s starting point.

“My guess is part of the problem with the developers is maybe they just don’t know. It almost seems like we can just utilize in some formal fashion the resources we have to educate any individuals in town that are going to do development, redevelopment, or whatever it is. It might be helpful as a first step to see where it gets us,” Rezac said.

The emerald ash borer is a green beetle native to Asia and Eastern Russia that is highly destructive to ash trees outside its native region. Ash trees make up an estimated 6 percent of trees in Leawood and are prevalent across Johnson County. A case of an emerald ash borer infestation was confirmed in Prairie Village in April. The Emerald Ash Borer reached the greater Kansas City area in late July 2012.

This story was originally published April 25, 2015 at 10:02 PM with the headline "Leawood looking at how to combat tree loss."