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| Do you like trees? |
This is a Petition to Stop United Illuminating's Enhanced Tree Trimming and Enhanced Tree Removal Plans in New Haven. This petition is a grass-roots effort to complement legislation to protect New Haven’s trees, proposed by Alder Michael Stratton, that will be considered by the Board of Alders on February 3.
It currently has almost 700 signatures, but is looking for 1000+. If you like trees, you should sign this and tell others to sign it too.
United Illuminating (UI) has begun a pilot tree removal program that will needlessly cut down trees in New Haven and other UI service areas. So if you don't like trees, here are the Official Dockets.
UI plans to remove healthy, curbside trees taller than approximately 15-20’ under utility lines and and severely trim tree branches from nearby trees in a practice called Enhanced Tree Trimming (ETT). The practice has also been referenced by CL&P as Enhanced Tree Removal (ETR), which is more fitting given the overall goal. In the past UI provided selective trimming in a U or V shape around power lines, if trimming was needed at all.
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| This is a screen shot on Feb. 11. Click to sign. |
This basically means that they are planning on taking the authority to cut down just about every single tree in New Haven, in order to cut costs to their own operations.
"Common-sense selective trimming worked well for over a hundred years in Connecticut when responsible routine maintenance by the utility companies has occurred," says the petition.
“Beyond beautification, it is estimated that New Haven's street trees currently save the city about $4 million dollars per year. These savings come through reducing storm water runoff, improving air quality and public health, and lowering energy bills, among other things.” [Source: Yale]
The Connecticut Public Utility Regulatory Authority (PURA) last reviewed UI’s plans on Wednesday, January 29.
