EASTON, Pa. — Lafayette College plans to plant nearly 100 trees after deforesting a slope on College Hill for a $1.2 million walkway project without city approval.
- Lafayette College submitted plans to the city to replant 98 trees after clearing more than 40 for a walkway project
- In addition to trees, the college also plans on planting shrubs
- The plan is under review by the city's engineering department
The plans, submitted May 26 and viewed Wednesday morning through a Right-to-Know request at City Hall, include planting 98 trees to replace 46 that were cut down during construction. Those plans are currently under review by the city’s engineering department.
City Chief Zoning Administrator Dwayne Tillman said the plans also include adding “aggressive ground coverage, like shrubs” to the hill behind the William E. Simon Center for Economics and Business that goes to the Karl Stirner trailhead at North Third Street.
The tree-replanting plan was organized by tree diameter. Eight 6-inch to 11-inch trees were removed, and the plans call for eight to be replanted. Twenty-four 12-inch to 23-inch trees were removed, with 48 to be replanted.
And, after removing 14 trees that were 24-inches or greater, the college plans to replant 42.
Planting is expected to begin Aug. 17 and continue through mid-October, according to the plans.
Asked if the college gave any reasoning for why the trees were cut down without approval, Tillman said officials cited safety and maintenance concerns, as some trees were dying.
However, now that the trees have been cleared, it is impossible to confirm the health status of those trees.
Tillman on May 15 sent a letter to the college, notifying officials that the walkway project had deforested a portion of a slope without city approval.
"It has come to the attention of this office that the removal of trees and vegetation on the steep slope of the hill that leads to Lafayette College has exceeded the supplied information on the approved project submittals."City Chief Zoning Administrator Dwayne Tillman, in a letter to Lafayette College
“It has come to the attention of this office that the removal of trees and vegetation on the steep slope of the hill that leads to Lafayette College has exceeded the supplied information on the approved project submittals,” Tillman said in the letter.
The letter outlined a 15-day deadline to resubmit new plans or a stop-work order would be issued. The letter cited the city’s steep slope conservation ordinance, which aims to mitigate sedimentation and erosion.
The original plans, approved by the city June 14, 2022, and viewed through a Right-to-Know request at City Hall in late May, show the vast majority of the trees would be retained. Instead, more than 40 trees, along with a slew of foliage and shrubs, were cleared.
In early May, the city’s Environmental Advisory Council voted unanimously to send a letter of concern to city council, citing the negative effects of clearing shade trees, as well as soil erosion and sedimentation concerns.
“I think it's safe to say that our letter made some waves,” said Ian Kindle, chair of the city's Environmental Advisory Council during the committee’s monthly meeting Tuesday night. “So hopefully that plan is underway.”
In response to a request for comment in late April from LehighValleyNews.com on the deforestation on the campus, college spokesperson Bryan Hay said clearing the area was necessary for construction of a multimodal elevated walkway to connect the city’s Downtown and College Hill neighborhoods.
“Most of these trees were removed because they were dead, dying or created safety concerns due to the extent to which they leaned over pedestrian walkways,” Hay said in an email. "Because of the ways [the walkway] will improve the connection between the city and the neighborhood, this work is supported by a grant from the Commonwealth Financing Authority’s Multimodal Transportation Fund.”
The college has not responded to several requests for comment since that initial inquiry.
The project is earmarked to be completed by mid-August, less than two years after Lafayette announced it had received a $869,694 grant to create a multi-use trail extending diagonally across the slope. The college committed a 30% match, or $372,726, toward the grant for a project total of $1.2 million, according to a news release announcing the funding.
