Trees to be pulled from LR levee as officials focus on flood safety
Posted on Monday, December 5, 2005
Cottonwoods and hickories are inching into the levee encircling 250 acres in Little Rock’s Riverdale area where opulent homes in Canal Pointe and dog walks at nearby apartments parallel the Arkansas River.
Next year many of the trees, some of which residents say date back half a century, will be removed roots and all — a move officials say is needed to protect the levee’s integrity. The Riverdale Levee Improvement District’s Board of Commissioners voted unanimously last week to issue $ 375, 000 in bonds to cover the cost of removing all trees and other plants with trunks measuring more than 2 inches in diameter.
When the work is done, gone will be a thicket of trees and brush at the levee’s north end, just past a little man-made lake in the Round River Condominiums. A wooded area between Rebsamen Road and the railroad tracks, and a hedge that borders steps leading to the riverfront beside a home in Canal Pointe will also be cleared.
Residents and people who work in the area have mixed opinions on the plan.
While some offered timid support or said they hadn’t heard of the plan, others said it would be a shame to lose stunning trees that pre-dated the developments in which they lived. Trees growing on the levee and those with roots extending into the levee will be cleared.
“Some of the trees involved are probably more than 30 years old,” said Marion Burton, the chairman of the board of commissioners for the 31-year-old levee district.
The private three-member commission oversees the rectangular-shaped district between the Arkansas River and Cantrell Road, stretching from the Rebsamen Golf Course to Cottondale Lane.
With the exception of a concrete lock near a marina at the edge of Canal Pointe, the levee is dirt. The levee was built three decades ago to allow the development of the Riverdale area, which now includes the Alltel campus, Winrock International and several other businesses as well as homes, including the gated community of Canal Pointe.
Flooding in the area was common before the levee was built. The last flood in the area was in the early 1990 s and the levee, built to withstand a 500-year flood, held up, Burton said.
While levees are operated and maintained by local levee boards, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers inspects them annually. In order for the area to qualify for flood insurance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the levee must pass inspection.
The trees have long been an issue, said P. J. Spaul, a spokesman for the Little Rock District of the Corps of Engineers.
The Riverdale levee has never been rated “unacceptable” — essentially a failing grade by the Corps. The agency also issues acceptable or minimally acceptable ratings, said Tony Hill, an emergency management specialist for the Corps’ Little Rock district.
Since at least 1998, the earliest inspection report Hill had on hand, the Riverdale District levee has been rated minimally acceptable because of the amount of trees and other vegetation growing on and near it, Hill said.
“If you get large trees, roots really spread out,” said Spaul. “During times of high water, roots can provide a path for seepage.”
Just how many trees will need to be removed is hard to quantify, both Hill and the commission’s Burton said.
Some areas, particularly at the north end of the levee and in spots near the railroad tracks, have a dense thicket, while in others there are just a few trees that are close enough to the levee to pose a threat.
It is unclear how much it will cost to remove the trees and plants, Burton said. This month the commission will seek bids on the project. The last estimates pegged removing the trees along the riverfront at $ 160, 000. But those estimates are a few years old.
If the project cost exceeds the amount the bond would cover, Burton said, the commission will have to go back to the drawing board. About $ 9, 000 of the bond money will go to covering the costs of the 15-year bonds, while the remainder is for the project itself.
About 27 percent of the district’s annual assessments is paid by Alltel Corp., which owns nine parcels of land in the district, according to district documents. Another 13 percent is paid by Winrock International, which owns 10 parcels. This year the district expects to collect about $ 75, 000. Assessments were increased from about $ 45, 000 to help pay for the tree removal.
Burton said he hopes the work will start early next year. Access will be difficult to some areas along the waterfront. The project will entail not just chopping down trees and clearing vegetation, but filling any holes left by their removal.
Vince Floriani, a design review engineer for the city of Little Rock, said that there is an exemption to the city’s land alteration ordinance that allows for trees to be removed to protect public health and safety and that the work on the levee should fall under that exemption. He said the ordinance usually restricts cutting to no more than seven 6-inch diameter trees a year. There is no limit to the number of trees under 6 inches in diameter that can be cut.
Property owners were sent a notice that the levee district may have to thin trees and other vegetation earlier this year, Burton said. There have been no formal meetings on the topic.
To some the loss of trees will leave a void that can’t be filled.
“Those trees have been here 50 to 60 years,” said Frank Bauer, 81, who lives in Canal Pointe. “There really are some beautiful trees.”
He feels the Corps is wrong and that the trees don’t pose a threat.
And if the trees are removed he said Corps money should cover the project costs.
Others said that if the trees were indeed a hazard that they should be removed.
“If there’s a danger to the neighborhood, I guess it has to be done,” said John Hampton, who also lives in Canal Pointe.
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