DC Council poised to cut down heritage trees for RFK Stadium redevelopment

A Casey Trees employee measures a heritage tree near the RFK Stadium Credit Casey Trees A Casey Trees employee measures a heritage tree near the RFK Stadium Credit Casey Trees The D C Council is moving forward with rule that would allow the removal of dozens of protected trees as part of a multibillion-dollar plan to redevelop the RFK Stadium campus The Robert F Kennedy Campus Redevelopment Act of backed by Mayor Muriel Bowser would permit the Washington Commanders to cut down heritage trees large and mature trees that are normally protected under city law The council voted - on Aug to give the redevelopment plan initial approval Instead of paying nearly million in penalties the club will be charged a reduced fee Related News Commanders closer than ever to DC return after council passes RFK deal in st vote The Commanders new stadium would be complete by What about promised housing and retail More rebukes for prosecutors Grand jurors refuse to indict people accused of threatening Trump The exemption is part of a billion redevelopment package that includes a new football stadium housing retail restaurants and general spaces The Commanders have pledged billion toward the project with the city contributing more than billion If approved it would be only the third exemption to the District s tree canopy protections since they were enacted in The ordinance could set a bad precedent for other developers who would remove similar large trees without regard to the impact to the circumstances according to Casey Trees a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of the tree canopy in D C Developers should be considering each existing heritage and special tree on a case-by-case basis instead of cutting down everything that took decades to grow communications director Vincent Drader communicated WTOP It s not just about RFK If left unchecked this kind of exemption could set a troubling precedent that would turn RFK into a blueprint for future unsustainable growth across D C he added Drader stated the loss of mature trees could increase temperatures in surrounding neighborhoods They provide shade for the society and stormwater runoff protection Drader noted adding the surrounding area already doesn t have enough trees The trees on this site are over years old various of them are over four feet wide The proposal comes as the Department of Force and Climate faces vital budget reductions Bowser s fiscal budget plan would cut more than million from the agency though the council restored a portion of that funding The nonprofit has launched a petition asking the council to remove the exemption before its final vote that s scheduled for Sept Source