A Living Legacy of Trees
What began as a recovery effort after a devastating storm has grown into one of the most unique neighborhood tree programs in the nation, a living legacy of care, beauty, and resilience.
Neighborhood Arboretum Project
In 1987, a localized downburst destroyed 100 mature oaks and maples in Seneca Gardens. A year later, former mayor Jim MacDonald replaced the fallen hardwoods.
Since that time, Seneca Gardens has subsidized the planting of about 1000 trees. The mission was to plant trees that would live for 100 years and give our neighborhood a sense of stability. The program expanded to include decorative trees like dogwoods and redbuds, but the primary effort remains the replacement of grand overstory trees.
The storm that destroyed so many trees in 1987 was a disaster, but what followed may be the most unique tree planting program in the United States. Rather than replacing the fallen pin oaks with more pin oaks, we planted multiple varieties of oaks, many of them native species that thrive in our climate and calcareous soils. Instead of replanting the destroyed red maples with limited choices, we found dozens of maple varieties.
We planted ginkgos, elms, sassafras, beeches, cypress, dawn redwoods, black gums, Turkish hazelnuts, sycamores, katsuras, magnolias, and yellowwoods in addition to oaks and maples.
Each of those species has multiple forms, such as weeping, fastigiate, or variegated. Over time, our tree-planting program created a neighborhood arboretum in the front yards of Seneca Gardens, which can be viewed from our sidewalks and streets.
Since the storm of 1987, we have continued to lose our grand old trees —though less dramatically, one at a time —to old age, pollution, restricted roots, and construction. We lose five to ten large trees a year. That gradual loss adds up. We have lost more trees to attrition since 1987 than we lost in that storm.
That slow loss will continue. In my lifetime, I expect we will lose almost every large tree in Seneca Gardens, even without devastating storms.
This is why Seneca Gardens continues to subsidize tree planting long after the 1987 storm. There is a saying in the tree business that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now. We started planting almost 20 years ago, and we are still planting now.
Seneca Gardens Tree Policies
The residents of Seneca Gardens value their trees. To support this value, the City of Seneca Gardens subsidizes tree planting and removal of hazardous trees in public easements.
Seneca Gardens will pay up to 50% of the cost of planting a tree in residents’ front yards, with a limit of $200 per house per year. The choice and site of the tree must be approved by the city arborist before installation.
There are three reasons for this pre-approval requirement.
1) Seneca Gardens will not subsidize problematic or invasive trees.
2) The Seneca Gardens arborist can offer information and advice to make the tree successful over the long term.
3) The budget is limited, so subsidies for new trees must fit into that year’s budget.
Seneca Gardens will participate in the cost of removing hazardous trees in the public easements. Seneca Gardens will pay 30% if the tree is in the public easement, defined as 20 feet from the edge of the street pavement. Suppose the tree trunk is outside the easement, on private property, but immediately adjacent to the easement line so that half of the tree hangs over the public easement. In that case, Seneca Gardens will pay a 15% subsidy. Seneca Garden’s limit on this process is $1,000.
Seneca Gardens cannot force a homeowner to remove a hazard tree that threatens public safety; however, Metro Louisville can. In that case, Metro Louisville will require the homeowner to pay the entire cost. Also, if the home/tree owner is aware of a tree’s hazardous condition and does nothing to resolve the hazardous condition prior to the tree causing property damage to others, the homeowner will be held legally liable. Homeowners cannot use the “Act of God” defense.
Each year, Seneca Gardens reviews the tree subsidy policy. The subsidy is subject to change depending on the requirement to balance the city budget.
Michael Hayman
Seneca Gardens Arborist
Neighborhood Tree Map:
Seneca Gardens was developed as a historic Garden District with wide street rights of way and electric wires behind the homes to support mature canopy trees over the streets. We are committed to ongoing maintenance and to replace canopy trees as they die or decline.
Over time we have planted a broad selection of beautiful trees that can live for many years and allow residents to enjoy their beauty and shade. Here are some highlights of our programs below.