Editor:
We are very fortunate to live in a beautiful neighbourhood in Surrey.
Some homes are 30 years old. Well-established gardens are enjoyed by almost everyone. People jog, walk their dogs, take their children to the playground or walk in the forest.
For the last five years, a ‘negative energy’ has been hovering over our neighbourhood. Many homes have been sold overnight to off-shore buyers. With some of the new owners comes problems. Beautiful green yards are demolished, leaving sticks where flowers, bushes and trees flourished the day before.
We hear a chainsaw, and everyone knows another tree is coming down, topped or excessively pruned.
We have excellent tree bylaws. They have to be respected by everyone. Many in the neighbourhood who have trees that need attention have done the right thing – they call an arborist and apply for a permit.
An old-growth cluster of trees in front of the home of a new owner was almost lost to the chainsaw, if not interrupted by a neighbour who quickly called the bylaws department. The result – one big tree stump, a sad reminder of what might happen if the home is sold again.
We are trying to save our neighbourhood trees. They are our lungs, habitat for many creatures, and they give us so much beauty.
It is hard to feel welcoming towards your new neighbours when they do not seem to respect the environment around them or the bylaws.
Enough is enough. There has to be a solution. We do not want to be angry. Fines do not work. The beautiful trees are destroyed.
Why does the real estate agent not point out to the buyers that the tree bylaws in Surrey have to be taken seriously by everyone? We have already lost thousands of trees to new development.
Heidi Bumann, Surrey