27 Avenue project and trees discussed at meeting

The tree disposition meeting took place at City Hall last night and it was a full house. Basically, I think the county public works people don't know what they came up against in Coconut Grove, it almost seems as if they do things their way, no questions asked, and they are not used to being questioned by the taxpayers, the people who pay their salaries..

Everyone in the audience had a chance to speak and it didn't appear as if anyone was for the wholesale removal of trees for no apparent reason. As for the large banyan trees that were taken down at 27th and S. Bayshore Drive, the county must have given four or five different reasons for their removal, because they have a different explanation each time they are asked for a reason for the removal.


What was quite interesting happened toward the end of the meeting when Mr. Karl Crook (KC), owner of Crook and Crook, the boating store on 27th Avenue and US 1 spoke. He pointed out that a "bait and switch" took place in the streetscape plans, where the county added some sort of median to the area near his store, which will affect business. That wasn't there the last time the public was shown the plans, the same with the missing trees.

The median blocks access in and out of Crook and Crook, Burger King and the Shell gas station. If you look at the diagram here, you'll see that if you try to exit Crook and Crook, you cannot make a left turn back into the Grove, you are forced to go onto US1 and the same for Burger King and if you turn onto SW 27 Avenue from US1, you cannot turn into Crook and Crook or Burger King.

You also cannot exit the gas station, cross SW 27th Avenue and go into Burger King or Crook and Crook or go onto US1 for that matter. KC said they changed the plans, and that is the case with the trees. I have been accused of knowing that so many of the trees would be destroyed and am now feigning surprise, but to be honest, the trees were never a subject or missing from the previous plans. They always were part of the plans and only after they were destroyed were the current plans exposed.

Again, the bottom line here is that the county seems to just do what it chooses. After the public approved the final plans, the county went in and made some changes -- major changes, like destroying trees and putting in the median, who knows what will pop up next.

Last night's meeting was about Phase I, they would not address Phase II, which looks like it may be the scene of another tree slaughter. But the county people promised to meet with the residents and discuss any future plans. They said that the new mitigation trees will be decided by the public, and not be some scrawny trees like they put in in Village West on Grand Avenue.

One resident was concerned that every time a major project is done in the Grove, it just adds more cement and destroys the Grove. The consensus seemed to be that people want green in the Grove, they don't want cement. Even people in wheelchairs spoke last night, saying that they should be in favor of more cement sidewalks, but they would choose the trees over the sidewalks, even if it made it toughter for them to navigate the street.

Tree Watch has filed an appeal to stop any more tree removal during Phase I. Two oaks in front of the Shell gas station are slated to go and so are about five palm trees on the other side of the street.

But in all honesty, the best part of the evening was when KC spoke about the bait and switch going on with the county plans and this corroborated the assessment of many that just know that the trees were not missing on the last set of plans seen by the public, but were gone on the final plan only seen by a few. It may appear now that the county planning department will understand that they cannot railroad the Grove residents as apparently they do with the rest of the county residents and we do not want our side of SW 27th Avenue to look like the rest of the ugly cement covered thorofare.