08/18/1998 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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PREFACE - A contradiction and controversey exist in North Olmsted, and has since the earliest pangs of urbanization. That contradiction is as follows: As soon as someone bought property in North 0],msted,a~ii moved-from the t~ty;- they "cleared the--land" as they had been taught in gradeschool as appropriate behavior when settling the wilderness. Despite proCests to the contrary, someone who has lived their whole life at West 55th and Denison views North Olmsted unbuilt property as "wilderness". Never mind that the City of North Olmsted has been incorporated nearly as lon$ as Ohio has been a state. Then, as time went on, the immigrant, who now considers himself a North Olmsteder, begins to plant, first flowers, then a vegetable garden, then some conifers "for shade", then some selected deciduous hardwoods "for Autumn color", and 20 years later, the bulldozed lot now looks somewhat like it did before being "cleared". Someone coming newly from Cleveland now looks at that wooded property from their urban perspective of 10 ft X 40 ft lawns and three rose bushes and says "Why don't those people take care of their property like I do; I mow m~ lawn every other day." Twenty years later, a new "settler" in North Olmsted looks at the lawn }`:own every other day", and says "Why don't those people take care of their property like I do?". The problem has been exacerbated in recent years by the construction of condominiums where an "association" controls and plans all landscaping and grounds maintainance including plants allowed to grow. The vegetative growth tends to be formal, minimalist, unimaginative, and uses imported exotic plants as plantings. When people become accustomed to that style of landscaping, anything else becomes unacceptible.. So then results the ambivalence of the city government. On one hand passing the so-called "Tree Ordinance" some time ago (and since declared to be unconstitutional), prohibiting the cutting of any tree without forester and Council approval, and on the other requiring that trees be cut and trimmed (apparently whether they need trimming or not~,but ultimately to be evaluated by the Service Director under this new proposed ordinance. p.K... ,.~,. -r.--, ..ter. ~ _„_. _ _.~4r R. a.-.:.