Public Works - Conservation/Open Space
TREE REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT / URBAN FORESTRY MANAGEMENT
The tree removal and replacement program represents the Town's effort to balance street tree removals with plantings. As trees mature or are impacted by storm damage or disease, it is critical to remove these before they become public safety hazards. New tree plantings are also critical, as they directly impact the tree-lined character of the community, improve stormwater quality, provide oxygen, reduce heat impact in the summer, and improve the overall quality of life in Brookline. In addition, funding is included for on-going management work in the four conservation properties (Hall's Pond Sanctuary, Amory Woods Sanctuary, D. Blakely Hoar Sanctuary, and the Lost Pond Sanctuary) and parks. Storm damage, disease, and old age continue to reduce tree canopies. The funds will be utilized to remove hazard trees and provide structural, health, and safety pruning to prolong the life and viability of our significant trees. New trees will be planted in anticipation of the ultimate loss of existing mature trees.
Included in the requested annual amount is funding for Urban Forest Management to address a range of significant improvements needed, such as: tree removals, crown thinning, soil amendments, woodland canopy gap management, invasive removal, pest management, health and structural pruning, and planting throughout the Town’s parks and open spaces. This program will help with resiliency to disease, pests and rapid decline attributed with trees unmanaged in an urban environment. The first phase of work will be performed in collaboration with the Olmsted Tree Society of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy who has worked with the Town of Brookline, City of Boston and Commonwealth of Massachusetts on an Urban Forestry Management Plan for the Emerald Necklace. The work outlined in this plan will be supported with public, private and grant funding. The protocol outlined in the plan shall be used to plan for and address urban forestry management priorities throughout Town.
OLD BURIAL GROUND
The Old Burying Ground, located on Walnut Street, is Brookline's first cemetery. Although the cemetery dates back to 1717, its appearance today reflects the ideals of the 19th century rural cemetery movement. The cemetery is listed as part of the Town Green National Register Historic District. It has been featured in a publication by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management entitled "Preservation Guidelines for Historic Burial Grounds and Cemeteries". Research completed by both landscape architects and specialists in monument conservation indicates that the Town has much work to do in restoring the perimeter walls, markers and footstones, tombs, and monuments, as well as landscape improvements.
WALNUT HILLS CEMETERY
The Walnut Hills Cemetery was established by the Town in 1875. Designed to preserve the natural features and effects for the landscape, the Cemetery provides visitors with a place of solace, natural beauty and quiet charm. The Walnut Hills Cemetery was listed in the National and State Registers of Historic Places in 1985.
In 2004, the Town completed a master plan for the Cemetery in order to set the parameters necessary to meet town cemetery needs of the future while maintaining the visual, service, quality and other features that make the Cemetery such a valuable historic cultural resource for the Town.
Current plans for the $770,000 in Future Years, intended for lot expansion, is to use a combination of Town Tax dollars, cemetery perpetual care fund (SW01) and an expendable cemetery trust fund (TW23). A bond authorization with debt service funded from these accounts is also a possibility. Meetings with the Trustees will continue, and they will include discussions regarding potential changes to how revenues received for the sale of lots is currently split.