After the fact, a Northeast Philly civic association gives its approval to a project involving tree removal

This story was updated on March 7 to include a rendering of a proposed building.

A group of Northeast Philadelphia residents has signed off on a project that already has led to clear-cutting and culling of woodlands along the border of a private golf course in their neighborhood — and is expected to result in the removal of 43 more large trees elsewhere on the property.

While the project also calls for planting nearly 600 replacement trees, some residents are upset about the transformation of what had been an attractive buffer, windbreak, and noise barrier for homes on Chesterfield Road into a stark vista of raw ground, fallen branches, and tree trunks lying side by side.

But in a 62-21 vote on March 3, the West Torresdale/Morrell Park Civic Association approved a plan by the Union League Golf Club at Torresdale to develop a golf learning center and a nine-hole, par-3 course designed for family use.

The $1.9 million project will next be reviewed by the city’s Zoning Board. As a registered community organization, the association can review certain applications that come before the board, but RCO votes are not legally binding.

“A lot of people wanted to know why the trees are gone and wanted to know what was going to be done about it,” association president Heather Stanton said.

More than 100 people attended the association’s meeting at Christ the King School in Morrell Park. The presentation about the project by engineers, architects, and club officials focused largely on trees and sparked sharp questions from some in the audience, and applause from others.

“The neighborhood had a vote, but the trees were already down,” said Ken Law, the association’s treasurer.

“After the golf course started cutting the trees, I called 311 [Philadelphia’s non-emergency service number], and the operator told me inspectors would respond in 15 days. But many of the trees were down by then,” he said.

“I understand the rights of private property owners, but when you’re talking about cutting down acres of trees, and the neighbors have questions, there should be better channels of communication with the city,” said Law.

“That forest had been there for 100 years.”

Concern for the health of the tree canopy in the city and other communities in the Philadelphia region is growing. Trees along streets, in parks, and on private property are being damaged or destroyed by extreme weather, utility work, development projects, and invasive pests such as the emerald ash borer and the spotted lanternfly. Recognition of the environmental and human health benefits of trees — and the association between wealthier neighborhoods and denser canopies — is increasing, as well.

But in the last two months, clear-cutting of trees in the region has emerged as a public issue. A chunk of woods disappeared along Kresson Road in Cherry Hill to make way for the construction of 16 upscale single-family homes, and restoration work at the Cobbs Creek Golf Course in West Philadelphia has eliminated hundreds of trees.

The Torresdale club, a local landmark for more than a century, occupies 175 rolling acres along Grant Avenue. The number of trees cut so far is not clear, although local residents estimated the tally at well more than 100.

“We removed a lot of trees that [may have] looked beautiful on the outside, but inside were extremely rotted or diseased,” Jeff McFadden, CEO of the Union League of Philadelphia, told the audience at the March 3 meeting. The Union League purchased Torresdale in 2014 and owns golf clubs in Lafayette Hill and in Cape May County.

The Torresdale club opened in 1921 and features an 18-hole course designed by the renowned Donald Ross. It has 350 members and more than 100 people, many of whom live in the neighborhood, work there. And the club regularly picks up trash along Grant Avenue, cleans up the portion of Byberry Creek within its borders.

“We’ve been investing in Torresdale for seven years, and we are good stewards of the environment,” McFadden said.

“Some of the trees we removed were [in danger of falling]. They were really terrible trees,” he said.

“We also removed 150 tires, two washing machines, mannequins, hypodermic needles, and a car. We’ve made a huge improvement, in my opinion. We are planting beautiful hardwood trees — not saplings, but 10- to 15-year old trees, and also evergreens.

“This will eventually frame the property absolutely beautifully,” McFadden said.

The presentation appeared to be persuasive to some at the meeting, association officials said.

“When they said they were going to replace the trees, that made me feel better about the whole situation,” Law said.

“I hope the neighbors directly affected by the trees that were taken down see a quick result” from the replanting, Stanton said.