Lynnfield board looks to preserve trees, take case to selectmen

LYNNFIELD – One group in town is working hard to ensure certain trees keep spreading their roots deep beneath the ground, preserving not only themselves, but also the neighborhoods they grow in.The Tree Bylaw Committee sprouted from the Lynnfield Conservation Commission in response to “some pretty notorious clear cutting,” said committee member Beth Aaronson.For the past few months, members have been reviewing the bylaws of other communities and working on a draft to present to selectmen next week, and again during the annual Town Meeting in November.”We’re trying to come up with something that will balance the individual property owner’s rights with the protection and preservation of the character of our tree community,” Aaronson said.Tonight the group is holding an open forum to inform attendees about the importance of keeping trees alive and well on your property, as opposed to chopping them down.”We’re just trying to educate people as to why it’s good to have trees on your property,” she said, listing higher real estate value, protection, water drainage and shade as some of the benefits.Aaronson said the committee would like to create a bylaw that requires a buffer zone of protected trees of sufficient size to allow shading and privacy around the perimeter of properties. She said the idea was triggered by the number of people asking for permits to complete large-scale demolition projects or construction work on homes.”We’ve also had homeowners, who for no particular good reason, cut down trees,” she said. “It changes privacy, changes character and not to mention wildlife habitats.”Aaronson noted that not many communities in the area have a tree bylaw in place, but Brookline and Lexington are two that Lynnfield would like to model theirs after. Others work around it by labeling streets as scenic routes, she said, which protects trees from being taken down.There is a similar shade bylaw, but the language only protects those trees in public ways. The committee’s goal is to help create a mechanism to enforce the shade bylaw, as well as help protect trees on private lots, as well.The committee encourages those interested to attend the meeting and express their opinions on the matter. The information session will begin tonight at 7 in the Selectmen’s Room of Lynnfield Town Hall.