Council Says "Leaf Trees Alone"
In parts of Hugo, oak and box elder trees encroach on the city's rights-of-way. Some Hugo City Council members want it to stay that way.
At the March 5 meeting, the council discussed the city's tree trimming and brush removal practices along its byways and concluded that additional work is needed on the current policy to preserve some of the more scenic drives within the city's borders.
Photo by Deb Barnes
After driving down the avenue south of Victor Gardens recently, Council Member Becky Petryk requested that Hugo Public Works crews stop clearing brush and trimming trees in the area.
She noted that area residents use this stretch of Elmcrest for recreational purposes - bicyclists and joggers are common on the recently-paved stretch of country road - and that Elmcrest serves as an informal buffer between the undeveloped area of southwestern Hugo and the Victor Gardens neighborhood.
"The problem here was simply that the Public Works Department was doing what they thought was the right thing to do, but I thought it was excessive," Petryk said.
"This is an area that many people drive on for that look - that rural, canopy look," she added.
Petree told the council that Public Works employees were simply clearing brush within the public right-of-way, which is a standard practice around the state.
"We were intending to improve vehicle and pedestrian safety, reducing potential liability to the city as encouraged by the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust," he said.
Petryk, in response, pointed out that "there are utility poles in the right of way that won't be cleared."
Petryk made the request despite the fact that no property owners in the area had complained about the Elmcrest Ave. clearing. She supported her position by referring to the vision of Hugo Trees/From A1outlined by the city's last comprehensive plan, completed in the late 1990s.
"In general, during the visioning process, I heard over and over that people in Hugo didn't want [this area] to lose that rural feeling - they wanted the greens, they wanted the trees to remain," she said.
Petree, however, maintains that the clearing on Elmcrest Ave. was consistent with current Public Works' policy. The city's rights-of-way are maintained in this manner during the winter months, he said.
The discrepancy between established policy and Petryk's view prompted Petree to ask the council for direction.
Council members were sympathetic with Petryk's position, and moved to direct staff to work with Petryk to refine the city's policy.
"I don't think that the same policy we use in one part of the city is something we can blanket across the whole city," said Council Member Mike Granger.
Trimming on Elmcrest Ave. stopped even before the council took action, and won't resume until after formal policy changes are adopted. Petree and Petryk both said they have already begun compiling information in hopes of hammering out a policy sooner than later.
Both Petryk and Petree suggest that changes will be a compromise between the two positions, allowing for cleared right-of-way in some areas and the preservation of robust trees and canopies in others.
"There are areas in the city where I agree it's appropriate to have your rights-of-way cleared; in this area, I felt that we wanted to maintain the rural feel," Petryk said.
While the council's motion may appear to be a censure of Public Works' current policy - and, by extension, Petree as well - Petryk and other council members insisted that Petree and the rest of the department staff do a great job.
"I have nothing but praise for our Public Works Department. If it's anyone's fault it's my fault - I should have really been proactive," Petryk said.