Have you signed the TreeWatch petition yet?

Coconut Grove TreeWatch is circulating a petition regarding the tree issue. Liliana Dones and Santiago Villegas have been getting signatures in the parks, here last week, a yoga group was approached for signatures at Kennedy Park.

If you like you can sign it online. Here is what it says:

Dear City Commissioner Sarnoff and County Commissioner Suarez,

We are the neighbors, friends, citizens, residents and visitors of Coconut Grove, Florida. We have concerns about the tree removal projects by the Coconut Grove BID/City of Miami Capital Improvements Program, specifically, Phase 1 encompassing Florida Avenue, Fuller St. and Commodore Plaza, Phase 2 encompassing Grand Ave. and Main Highway, and the County’s 27th Avenue Beautification Project, Phase 2. Altogether these projects compromise approximately 100 mature trees that are part of the history of Coconut Grove and the canopy that has defined, to residents and visitors alike, its special character and charm.

We encourage the planting of new trees, but not at the cost of trees we currently have. We do not want our streets to look like an artist’s rendering. We do not want to look like other parts of the City or the County. We do not want Coconut Grove to lose the trees we currently have so that they may be replaced with exactly spaced, uniform trees of the same thickness and height, which will never grow to abundance in our lifetimes. We ask that the City and County explore ways to safeguard our existing trees in order to promote their health and longevity.

Respectfully submitted by Coconut Grove TreeWatch and supporters

The online petition is here.