Some Lake Forest residents are concerned about the future of the city’s 260-year-old Heritage Tree in light of a proposed residential development.
The tree stands on a proposed 10-acre residential development site at East Laurel and North Western avenues.
According to an article written by Judy Nickels for the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society in 2011, the tree dates back to roughly 1750, about six or seven decades before white settlers arrived in what became Lake Forest. In 2007, the tree was measured to be 55 feet high, the trunk 52.5 inches in diameter and the spread of the branches – called the drip line – 97 feet across. Starting in the 1980s, pipes were installed to supply liquid mulch to improve the soil and conserve moisture around the tree, Nickels wrote. A lightning rod was installed in 2003. The Heritage Tree gets about 2,000 gallons of water in the summer and is pruned by the city every five years.
Lake Forest resident Philip “Bud” Davis, who lives in a condo nearby, is concerned about how demolition of the Municipal Services Building that formerly stood at 110 E. Laurel might have impacted the tree’s root structure.
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Davis said during the demolition of the former municipal services building, he observed a bucket at the end of a construction shovel “slam it down to break the concrete.” Davis is concerned the impact might have already have damaged the tree roots.
Root damage could get worse when construction takes place, worries Bill McFadden, president of the Ashbury Woods Condo Association, kitty-corner from the site.
“We are concerned about soil compaction and construction damage to the root zone, which could eventually kill the tree,” McFadden said.
Lake Forest Community Development Director Cathy Czerniak said the city has taken steps to protect the root zone.
“The entire front lawn where the roots may have extended is all fenced off and locked,” she said. She added the city will hire an independent tree expert to evaluate the tree and make recommendations on additional protection measures.
The roots of a swamp white oak are shallow – no deeper than 3 feet – and typically the roots can spread as wide as the tree is tall. That’s according to Kris Bachtell, a certified arborist at the Morton Arboretum. Bachtell has not examined the Heritage Tree in Lake Forest, speaking only generally of the swamp white oak tree species.
Bachtell said tree species vary in their tolerance to nearby construction.
“A swamp white oak would be on the more tolerant side,” Bachtell said. “It depends on the current condition of the plant and the degree or severity of (construction) impact.”
Age could also be a factor.
“Like a person who is geriatric, it would be less tolerant of change,” Bachtell said.
While soil compaction could be an issue, Bachtell said nearby construction would be less impactful than digging, trenching or adding soil closer to the tree.
“There are two things that can take a tree that old down,” Bachtell said. “The systems (root, leaves, etc.) not staying functional or trauma like a tornado or lightning strike. That’s an old tree. If it’s taken care of, it could certainly live another 100 years.”
McFadden said he was pleased to hear about the city hiring a tree expert but doesn’t understand why the city doesn’t just retain ownership of the tree and surrounding land. Resident Don Sully, who lives on nearby East Laurel Avenue, would like to see the same thing.
“It will be spun off to the homeowners association and the homeowners association will be responsible for watering it and taking care of it and maintaining the lightning rod,” Sully said. “[The city] is assuming that whoever inherits the tree will take care of it in perpetuity. Homeowners associations can start off good and then cut back on maintenance. If the homeowners association does not perform duties, what happens?”
Czerniak said the owners will be prohibited from damaging the tree, that she expects the city council to set out specific requirements on caring for the tree and that the city would retain the ability to perform maintenance, repair or protection of the tree if needed.
“There will be an enforcement mechanism to make sure that happens,” Czerniak said. “And [any cost] would be charged back to the developer or homeowners association.”
Sully says that’s an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
“That’s ludicrous, to think you can make an agreement on paper that will last 100 to 200 years,” Sully said. “If [the city] is going to take over and do all those things, why don’t they just take care of it? They could spin this tree out of the development and make it a mini park.”
The council considered that, Czerniak said, but, she said the city is looking to focus its grounds maintenance efforts on community parks, as opposed to smaller pocket parks.
The Focus Development project calls for 12 single-family homes, 42 condominiums and 110 apartments on a 10-acre site. The Building Review Board is considering details of design, materials, landscaping, lighting and building mass. Final engineering plans will be reviewed by the city engineer, then the Building Review Board, then the Plan Commission before being considered by the City Council.
Czerniak estimates the project could get through the city review process by the end of 2015 or early 2016. Meanwhile, soil clean-up after the demolition of the Municipal Services Building will take place over the next few months.
The price of the property will not be released to the public until the city council gives final approval on the development, Czerniak said, probably in the first or second quarter of 2016. The actual sale would follow that.
“Terms are confidential during the review process,” Czerniak said.
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