Texas Chain Saw Massacre: Promising Change

After apologizing for the "Texas Chain Saw Massacre", the City of Richardson pledged on Facebook, "We will also do everything in our power to make sure this never happens again."

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First let's note that the pledge is not to protect the City's green heritage. It is only to better communicate to the public when the City does cut down trees in future. Still, "everything in our power" is a pretty big promise. The City Manager has a pretty big arsenal of powers at his command. I wish he'd specify the steps he's instituting to make this pledge worth more than the paper it's not written on. What makes this pledge stronger than, "I solemnly vow to mildly inconvenience myself if I happen to think of it at the time." Let me start the brainstorming of ways to give the City's pledge some teeth. Here are some ideas off the top of my head. The good thing is they don't come close to exhausting all of the City Manager's powers.

Require an environmental impact study for every City project. City staff already review zoning change applications for traffic and utility impacts. The staff reports include some such language as, "The proposed request will not have a significant impact on the surrounding roadway system and will not impact existing utilities in the area." Why not require not just a traffic/utility impact study, but an environmental impact study as well, not just for zoning changes but for municipal projects as well?

Include professional arborists in the planning stage of every City project. If they end up asking, "Why was I needed for this project?", that's OK. Just knowing that an arborist was checking means the rest of us can feel confident no trees need to be cut down.

Require a staff member to "sign off" on statements like the above ("The proposed request will not have a significant impact on the trees in the area.") Add their initials by the statement, to know who to ask if any questions come up any time during the project.

Add gates in the process for public review. Applications for zoning changes are usually required to have a public hearing and get approval from the City Plan Commission, a group of citizens who are not City employees. Why not require the City itself to get approval from a citizen commission like the CPC before demolition or construction equipment ever shows up on site?

Publicize projects to the public even before the meeting takes place at which CPC approval will be sought. Feature such projects on the City's home page, on the front page of "Richardson Today", in the "Week in Review" email, etc. Conspicuously link to the environmental impact study. There will be a time later to brag about the benefits once the project is complete. For now, highlight the negatives to minimize the chances they are overlooked. Give the public a chance to suggest alternatives before the aggressive growl of chain saws triggers the aggressive growl of angry citizens.

Perhaps the City's response to my suggestions will be to claim some of these are already done, some are impossible, some are burdensome, some are unwise. That's OK. I'm brainstorming, remember. What are the City's own process improvements to turn the City's pledge into something more than an empty promise? My ears are open.

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"Ancient giants fall,
My hand wields a mindful axe,
Respect for their grace."
— h/t ChatGPT