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The committee met Monday night and Beale said the decision was unanimous. The recommendation will now go to the city council which has the final say. The panel's decision was based on the advice of landscape architects who said the trees have become impossible to prune at the rate they have grown, according to the mayor.
This doesn't mean the Avenue will be without some sort of greenery, he told the Daily Herald. The Beautification Committee has appointed a committee to look at replacing the holly trees with some other type of vegetation. “We're just not going to be cutting the trees down. We might try to sell them or find someone who wants them.”
The tree removal is part of the city's plans to renovate the uptown/downtown business district, along with putting in new sidewalks and street lamps.
Although one businessman has offered to use his property as a test for what the city wants to do, Beale said if council agrees, and with the committee's recommendation, the city will use a portion of the Avenue at City Hall to show the public what it has in mind.
City council is looking to revitalize the business district to draw more people and businesses to the area.
Council is also considering changes to a portion of the current noise ordinance that requires businesses such as nightclubs to be located a certain distance from nearby residences. The new requirement would be a decibel-based one in which businesses would obtain a special amplified entertainment permit.
Another consideration is the creation of an overlay district - also known as public use for private places - which would allow sidewalk areas to be used for dining, newsstands and display of merchandise for sale after merchants paid initial and annual fees.
City council will meet at 7 p.m., in the Lloyd Andrews City Meeting Hall on Roanoke Avenue.
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