White Rock Coun. David Chesney is hoping to get some answers about the city’s ‘vegetation removal’ on the Marine Drive hillside, when he tours the area with senior staff Friday.
Requests for Peace Arch News to attend, however, were turned down by city manager Dan Bottrill, according to Chesney, who said Bottrill told him “he would like to keep it internal.”
Requests for an explanation from Bottrill were not returned by PAN press time Thursday.
Chesney, a longtime advocate against the removal of trees on ‘the hump,’ told PAN last week that he felt the city was being “disingenuous” in its reasoning for removing trees and shrubs from the slope, surmising it was meant to improve the views of those living on the hillside.
Greg St. Louis, the city’s director of engineering, said the work was a continuation of a project launched in the spring, aimed at “maintaining slope stability,” and the main focus is to reconstruct the retaining wall and eradicate invasive species.
The work has received mixed reviews from residents.