Fairhope replacing downtown trees

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FAIRHOPE – More than 50 trees along Section Street will be coming down later this year to be replaced by smaller trees around September, following action by the Fairhope City Council.

The council voted May 28 to approve the replacement of 55 willow oaks between Oak Street and Morphy Street. The trees will be replaced by Chinese pistache trees at a cost of $22,480.

Richard Johnson, public works director, said the willow oaks are growing too large for the downtown street.

“They’re a beautiful tree, but they really need a lot of space,” Johnson said. “A willow oak will get about 80, 85-feet tall as a full adult. If you look at the ones in front of the welcome center, they’re already approaching 12 to 14 inches in diameter at breast height and they’re pushing up curb. If we let them get too much larger, the removal is going to be very, very difficult to put another tree back into place.”

He said trees are important to many Fairhope residents, but the time is right to make the change.

“I know we’re sensitive about trees, but we do have a problem with those willow oaks on Section are really reaching their maximum size,” Johnson said. “We really can’t let them go much further because we’re not going to be able to maintain the infrastructure and be able to change them out when we need to.”

Johnson said the Chinese pistache trees grow to a height of 35 to 40 feet and are more suited for the area.

“There are several communities that have planted them,” Johnson said. “They’re really a nice street tree and they’ll get at maturity about 35 to 40 feet, which is a little bit better scale of what we need downtown and it won’t be like the willow oaks, it won’t happen instantaneously or very quickly. That’s a full adult tree.”