Monday, January 14, 2013

A statement by The Honorable Charles R. Samuels, Councilman, North Central 2nd Voter District

RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL


Richmond City Council – Richmond City Hall - 900 E. Broad Street, Suite 200 - Richmond, VA 23219 - www.council.richmondva.gov



COUNCIL PUBLIC INFORMATION NEWS ADVISORY

IMMEDIATE RELEASE TO BE FORWARDED AND SHARED

Monday, 14 January 2013



A statement by

The Honorable Charles R. Samuels

Councilman, North Central 2nd Voter District



(Richmond, Virginia U.S.A.) – "This weekend I drove past the Redskins training site to see how construction was moving along. I was shocked when I saw that every single tree on the property had been removed. This was not the intent of the City, nor was it the agreement I had made with the Administration regarding the development of this site.



The agreement between the Administration and myself was that, while there would be a one-for-one tree replacement for any tree that had to come down, as many trees as possible would remain; including those surrounding a portion of the vita course on the west side of the property.



While I do not believe the trees were torn down at the direction of the Administration, I am gravely concerned about the communication efforts that preceded the trees coming down, as clearly our agreement between the Administration and Richmond City Council was not honored or communicated to the construction workers.



Trees are an integral part of our urban neighborhoods and my goal is to repopulate the city with appropriate trees, not to remove old-growth trees merely for development. I am sorry this situation has developed and will work to find a solution."





CONTACT For more information, please contact Councilman Charles R. Samuels, Richmond City Council, North Central 2nd Voter District, at 804.646.6532; or by email, at charles.samuels@richmondgov.com.





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