Less than a month after a powerful show of opposition to the plans to remove the sequoia that included at least several hundred defiant people in Centennial Square - the City of Victoria appears to be defunding at least temporarily, the planned removal of the Centennial Sequoia.
‘Hard choices’: Victoria reallocates $10.3M to address public safety
"Meanwhile, another $2.5 million is coming out of the city’s plan to redevelop Centennial Square.
Instead of remaking the square all at once, the project will now be carried out in phases, starting with the western half near the McPherson Playhouse – meaning the large sequoia tree near Douglas Street will be spared until a “future date.”"
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Although this is itself a major victory, which shows that with enough public pressure and there has been a ton already - the City of Victoria Mayor and Council can back down on their hairbrained plan for not only the removal of the Sequoia, but for the other threatened trees in the square, and the Centennial Fountain.
Why is a "future date" for sequoia removal being discussed, when there is no evidence the sequoia needs to go?
A vast accumulation of evidence shows that the narrative from the City Council around the Sequoia needing to be removed was false. Councillor Stephen Hammond at the protest voiced powerful doubts about the Council's earlier narrative around the Sequoia, noting that he has since changed his mind about that narrative.
Index of documentation related to Centennial Square and the Sequoia – CRD Watch Homepage
The latest in a string of excellent journalistic investigations by Mary Fowles has revealed the result of a Freedom of Information response, that showed that City of Victoria staff stated in February 2024 that none of the trees in Centennial Square met the criteria for removal, while in contrast, throughout the Minutes of the July 4, 2024 City of Victoria Committee of the Whole at which the new design plan was voted on by the council, trees in Centennial Square that conflicted with the design plan were repeatedly referred to as “unsafe trees”.
A Freedom of Information response revealed that City of Victoria staff stated in February 2024 that none of the trees in Centennial Square met the criteria for removal. – CRD Watch Homepage
Evidence has time and again shown the narrative from the council in regard to a claimed need to remove the sequoia to be false, and none of the councillors have provided any information since showing a real need to remove the sequoia that checks with the evidence available.
Why are the majority of the elected officials then continuing with a debunked, false and misleading narrative around the tree? Why is the tree's removal not being halted entirely, instead of postponing it to an uncertain date (likely after the election, when the elected officials are less compelled to feel so accountable to the voter)?
For those concerned that the Sequoia is an example of Victoria City Council not listening to the general public, and that it will likely be cut down should the same council be elected again; there is a new group in Victoria offering a chance for hope and change.
Called the Sustainable Victoria Network (SVN); their goal is to educate the general public on the draft Official Community Plan and what that means for the future of the city and its environment including what is left of its urban forest canopy, but more importantly to bring citizens together who want a different future for the city. Feel welcome to check them out at:
https://www.sustainablevictorianetwork.ca/
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For more information, please contact: treesmatternetwork@gmail.com
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The following are the emails of the City of Victoria Mayor and Council:
malto@victoria.ca Marianne Alto
jcaradonna@victoria.ca Jeremy Caradonna
mdell@victoria.ca Matt Dell
ccoleman@victoria.ca Chris Colman
mgardiner@victoria.ca Marg Gardiner
shammond@victoria.ca Stephen Hammond
kloughton@victoria.ca Krista Loughton
dthompson@victoria.ca David Thompson
skim@victoria.ca Susan Kim