Shopkeeper's Fight to Save a Tree Appears to Hit a Dead End

Wendy Dawson Kates  sat in the front row of a borough Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday night clutching a picture of a 1,000-year-old Japanese cherry blossom tree that survived the recent tsunami and an earthquake in Japan.

She hoped to use the prop to change minds about a to uproot a cherry blossom tree that stands in front of her vintage clothing shop at 25 Tanner St. The borough decided the tree needed to go as part of a multi-million dollar street improvement project. Local officials said the tree, one of 13 on the block being removed, was not healthy and did not conform with the town’s regulations for shade trees.

“The tree is gorgeous, I’d like to go up and hug it,” said Bill Polise, chairman of the borough’s shade tree commission. “But this tree has seen its best days. It doesn’t fit and it’s not in good shape. It’s terrible that we’re being seen as the bad guys today. But my job is shade trees.”

The meeting ended shortly after Polise spoke. The commissioners unanimously agreed to uphold the decision to remove the tree. They did not vote, but they all expressed support for the Tanner Street plan, which replaced utility lines under one of the borough’s oldest streets and will feature a new streetscape offering more parking and new trees.

“I see their point, I understand their point, I don’t agree with it,” said Kates, who has operated Stardust Memories on Tanner Street since the beginning of the year. “I think the tree should be allowed to live its life.”

Kates stirred up support for to save the tree with a posting on the Haddonfield Patch Facebook page and a petition drive she said produced nearly 200 names. She hinted she wasn’t going to give up her drive to save the tree.

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