Professional Care for Village Trees:
Legacy of Outgoing Chairperson Luann Jacobs

by Judy Silberstein

(August 8, 2002) When Luann Jacobs joined the Village of Larchmont Parks and Trees Committee in 1999, she was instantly thrown into the role of chairperson. She set to work on Larchmont’s trees and recruited Elaine Kellogg to handle the village’s traffic islands. Now as she goes to retire, there are eight new, energetic members and a knowledgeable chairperson, Jan Feinman. However, she cites as the most important change, “We now have a professional consultant managing our urban forest, our park and street trees.”

During Jacobs’ tenure, safety was an important consideration of the Parks and Trees Committee. Elaine Kellogg coordinated closely with the Traffic Commission to bring the traffic island plantings into safety compliance. You might not think of cannas or pampas grasses as traffic hazards, but tall bushy vegetation can obstruct sight lines for vehicles and pedestrians. “Traffic islands are for traffic. Aesthetics are second to safety,” Jacobs pointed out. “We want our village to be as safe as possible for everyone to walk and bike.”

After Elaine Kellogg left, Jacobs continued as a committee of one. It was around that time that she brought in Peter Woodcock as a consultant to manage our village trees. “I want to emphasize that tree management is a profession, not an avocation and should not be handled by volunteers.” She views each street tree as a valuable asset, but also as a judgment call. Is the tree unsafe and needing to come down, or can it be saved?

She relied on Woodcock to make these professional decisions. “What Peter does for our Village is to visually inspect every Village tree once a year.” In addition, when Villagers request street trees, Woodcock inspects each site and recommends a specific species that would grow best in the location. He then goes to the nursery and personally selects the best tree.

The state of Larchmont’s canopy trees has been another concern for Jacobs. “We are losing some of our canopy, “ warned Jacobs. Many of the older street trees preceded the power lines and cannot be replaced with similar species that would interfere with the lines. Jacobs stressed, “This is nonnegotiable with the power company.” However, the canopies may be maintained in two ways: first, residents can plant canopy trees on their own property where they have a chance of growing to their full stature unencumbered by wires; and second, the Village will continue to plant canopy trees in the parks and wherever there is root and air space. “It’s a major priority for the Parks and Trees,” said Jacobs.

In addition to planting canopy trees, there are other ways homeowners can help the Village maintain its appearance. “Our properties are so tiny that when you make major landscape decisions you affect your neighbors, sometimes profoundly,” said Jacobs. She observed that many landscape architects prefer to work with a clean slate and encourage homeowners to cut more than may be desirable. The Parks and Trees Committee strongly encourages new homeowners to live with their plantings for one full year to see how they bloom, how they leaf. “Speak to your neighbors before making major changes,” Jacobs advised.

As Jacobs looked back at her Parks and Trees tenure, she was clearly proud of what she had accomplished. “We have a responsible tree program in place,” she stated. The new committee with eight energetic villagers can now focus on the new goal of making our parks community-gathering sites for residents of all ages.”

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