By David Helwig
SooToday.com
Tuesday, November 03, 2009

The gated front yard at 659-661 Queen Street will remain a natural space after Pita Pit establishes its new Sault location on the property, says Chris Fountain, chief executive officer of Pita Pit Canada.

Both Fountain and local Pita Pit franchisee Matt Di Flumeri say the trees removed from the yard on Sunday morning by Blue Diamond Cleaning were unhealthy.

"I did get expert advice about the trees (including from the City of Sault Ste. Marie) and they all said most of the trees were not healthy," said Di Flumeri, who is also a full-time employee of the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation.

"It's not like I am putting a parking lot there," Di Flumeri tells SooToday.com. "I will be landscaping and planting new greenery in the courtyard to get a more welcoming feel to it."

"The area in question will remain a natural space," says Fountain, CEO of the Kingston, Ontario-based quick-service restaurant chain.

"From my understanding, not only did the City of Sault Ste. Marie agree with the removal of the trees from the property due to the lack of health and pruning of the trees in question, but the local franchisee has plans in the spring to add additional greenery through a landscaping initiative," Fountain says.

"Pita Pit corporate has guidelines for building the interior of a store and the exterior signage portion, all of which must comply with municipal and provincial laws.

"At this time we do not have policies regarding external natural space although any projects involving such space would also be subject to local regulations.

"The Pita Pit promotes a healthy lifestyle by offering a nutritious alternative in the current QSR landscape. We have been operating in Sault Ste. Marie since 2001 and recommend that our franchisees buy produce locally for freshness and to support the local merchants.

"We do have a sustainability audit planned in 2010 to ensure our stores promote and maintain a healthy environmental footprint in the communities we operate within," Fountain said.

Alison Walton, owner of the Tiny Bubbles store at 332 Queen Street East, had started organizing a petition against removal of the trees late last week.

Walton, who is also past president of the Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Association, is now launching a personal campaign to protect the Sault's urban forests by convincing City Council to regulate tree removal from private lands.

Under Walton's proposed changes, property owners would be required to provide replacement trees in those cases in which trees must be removed.

The City of Toronto protects all trees on private property having a diameter of 30 centimetres or greater above ground level.

Such trees cannot be injured or removed without a City of Toronto permit, which is granted only if the applicant has submitted a detailed report from a certified arborist, as well as relevant plans for landscape/replanting, tree protection and a site plan.

A permit is not needed in Toronto to remove a tree that's dead, terminally diseased or imminently hazardous, but a detailed arborist's report must still be submitted to the city.

Numerous other Canadian municipalities restrict removal of privately-owned trees with trunk diameters of 20 centimetres or more.

An unscientific poll of SooToday.com readers at the bottom of our home page currently shows more than 75 percent of our readers would oppose having to get permission from City Hall before removing large, healthy trees from their own property.