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Indicative Street Tree Reinstatements
A3. Auckland Council Comments
DWP section 4.3
4.1.2
4.2.1
4.2.1
Comment
Condition 55 will need to be adhered to as outlined with the 1:1 replacement of a suitable sized new tree and that the new trees will receive a minimum of 5 years aftercare maintenance to ensure successful establishment prior to handed over to Auckland Council.
The Link Alliance should work with council’s parks specialist to start the process of selection and contract growing of the tree stock that will be necessary for the replacement plantings.
The Urban Design work plan needs to be urgently developed to show locations for replacement planting The tree removal work is going to attract public attention and it is important that a consistent set of messages are developed by the Link Alliance communication team to answer public concerns over tree removal. Prior notification of the date for tree removal is requested from the Alliance to Auckland Council representatives prior to works taking place.
There is a need to ensure that the tree protection measures for trees directly outside of the area of work are adhered to by the contractors undertaken utility relocation work. In addition, I would request an opportunity for council arborist to walk over the area of works with the contractors where trees are identified as being affected along with their project arborist to ensure that the measures outlined for tree protection are being implemented.
Ongoing site attendance by the project arborist is recommended as being necessary to ensure the trees that are outside of the area of works are being adequately monitored and where necessary protected for the duration of the site work.
Resolution
The Link Alliance are currently confirming the processes, information requirements and engagement needed to inform the Urban Design DWP. Meetings with the Link Alliance Urban Design team (who will be leading this process) are currently underway. The Link Alliance will be meeting with Auckland Council within the next couple of weeks to brief them on this process, and this will include how and when the Link Alliance intend on engaging with Auckland Council’s Parks department in relation to tree mitigation (location, number, size, species, tree pits etc).
The Link Alliance will coordinate between the contractors, comms team and planning team, to ensure Auckland Council is made aware of important matters relating to tree felling.
The TVDWP has been updated to include the advance notification of the Council arborist. The Project Arborist for the Aotea Station is Matt Paul of Peers Brown Miller. The Link Alliance will coordinate a site walk over between Auckland Council’s Arborist, the Link Alliance Project Arborist, contractors undertaking the works and site compliance officer, to ensure all protection measures are in place.
The TVDWP has been updated to include this as a step required to be followed by the construction team. Ongoing monitoring will be undertaking by the Link Alliance Site Compliance Officer to ensure the trees that are located outside of the area of works are being monitored and where necessary protected for the duration of the site work. Any issues raised will be directed to the Link Alliance Project Arborist, whom will ensure correct mitigation measures are implemented.
The TVDWP has been updated to include this as a step required to be followed.
Appendix B: Aotea Stages 4 and 5 –Indicative Street Tree Reinstatements
As a result of CSA establishment works during the Aotea Utility Relocation Works - Stages 4 and 5’ (herein referred to as the ‘Stage 4 and 5 works’), 14 scheduled tulip trees which provide a boulevard effect along Mayoral Drive, will require removal (refer to the ‘Stage 4 and 5 TV DWP’). Through
discussions with Auckland Council’s Senior Advisor Urban Forest during the preparation of the Stage 4 and 5 TV DWP, it was agreed that an initial (indicative) plan for reinstatement of street trees would be provided in the Aotea main works TV DWP.
Link Alliance Urban Designers have indicated that the main design intent to mitigate the loss of 14 street trees along Mayoral Drive, is to reinstate a boulevard of evenly spaced (6-8 m) tulip trees (Figure B-1).
Figure B-1: Mayoral Drive Tulip Tree Re-instatement
To enable replacement planting to occur the design will need to allow for 15m³ tree pits with adequate drainage and irrigation. Two options for pits are currently being considered:
extending the tree pits under the road to achieve the space required for each tree to reach maturity, without conflicting with services. The pits would be similar to the detail approved for the C2 package (Figure B-2). combining the pits into a single trench in which all trees are located, with a vertical stacking of services located adjacent to the trees.
To determine if there is sufficient space to deliver the tree boulevard at Aotea Station, trial pits will be dug (early 2020) to confirm the location of existing utilities.
The Urban Design proposal indicates the reinstatement of 12 tulip trees to offset the loss of trees locally, with the aim of delivering a tree boulevard effect. If spacing allows, and agreement with Auckland Council is obtained, this could potentially include replacement planting along sections of Mayoral Drive outside of the CRL designation boundary.
Figure B-2: Cantilevered Tree Pit
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Aotea Station Main Works
