Bob Mulder, former Chair of Raleigh’s Planning Commission and a Raleigh real estate professional, sent the following letter to Raleigh City Council on February 29, 2024.
We are publishing it here with his permission.
To: Raleigh City Council
Date: February 29, 2024
Re: Continuing tree loss in the City
I am continually shocked by how much vegetation and trees we are losing in Raleigh. Yesterday I drove by 838 Woodburn Rd. This property is located at the corner of Woodburn Rd and Wade Avenue.
This is what the lot used to look like when it had trees and additional vegetation. This is a photo from Google Maps.
You’ll notice that there is an excavator sitting on the root zone to the left of the tree while digging a hole inside the root zone. There is also a tree on the neighboring property whose root zone is being adversely affected as well. If the tree on the neighboring property dies, should the building contractor be obligated to pay for its removal?
As a city, we are currently not doing a very good job on two fronts: having a strong and aggressive program educating citizens and the building industry on the importance of tree preservation/protection, and, having some common sense regulations in place that will result in a better outcome for trees in the city.
When my in-laws purchased a lot in Brentwood in 1960, they were given the option of marking the trees they wanted preserved. The end result was a well-built home on a wooded lot. An older subdivision like Brentwood is in fact an example of an urban forest. There are other subdivisions like this, and I wonder how much longer they will last given the drive in the city towards unfocused density.
Robert Mulder, Former Chair
Raleigh Planning Commission
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