tree canopy<\/a>, Vice Mayor John Herbst said.<\/p>\n\u201cI think maintaining a tree canopy on Las Olas is critical for the look, the feel of what makes it unique,\u201d Herbst said. \u201cBut whether that\u2019s in a median or on a sidewalk I don\u2019t think is the driving force. If we\u2019ve got an extensive tree canopy that\u2019s on the sidewalk, I think that can work just as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Commissioner Pamela Beasley-Pittman said she too is now ready to say farewell to the median.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited about the opportunity for the increase in the number of trees that are being proposed in these options,\u201d she said. \u201cLas Olas means so much to everyone. This is the time to elevate and make some changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several residents and one former commissioner did speak up for the trees, however.<\/p>\n
Bill Ott, speaking for the Downtown Fort Lauderdale Civic Association, argued the median and its majestic trees should stay.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that\u2019s an iconic design element of the city,\u201d Ott told the commission. \u201cIt\u2019s what makes us stand out around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like others, Diane Gagne said she was worried Las Olas would lose its charm without the canopy provided by the black olive trees planted decades ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought keeping the olive trees was an option,\u201d she said. \u201cIt sounds predetermined that it\u2019s not an option. I\u2019d rather have a median with different trees than not have a median at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Warren Sturman, who lost his District 4 commission seat to Sorensen in November 2024, was unable to attend the meeting, but sent a written note to Herbst asking that his request that the median stay be read into the record.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe beauty and uniqueness of the tree-lined median has always defined and set Las Olas apart,\u201d Sturman\u2019s note said. \u201cEven when the current trees die, keeping the median keeps a placeholder for future landscaping. If the median is removed, this option will be lost forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charlie Ladd, a board member of Fort Lauderdale\u2019s Downtown Development Authority who owns property along Las Olas, made a strong case for getting rid of the median.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as I know, the median at 6 feet in width is not allowed to be replanted with canopy trees,\u201d Ladd told the commission. \u201cThe best you can have is palm trees or a smaller tree [under the current city code].\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead of planting trees in the median, the redesign calls for planting dozens of trees along the sidewalks on either side of Las Olas.<\/p>\n
\u201cFifteen trees in the median would be gone and replaced by up to 90 or 94 canopy trees,\u201d Ladd said.<\/p>\n
But not just any tree will do, according to Ladd. If it were up to him, he said he\u2019d plant oaks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we could line that street with 90 oak trees, you would have one of the prettiest streets in the world,\u201d he told the commission.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s 100,000 people a week who come to Las Olas,\u201d he said. \u201cThat defines our city. That with the Riverwalk and the beach is what we are. And we can\u2019t screw it up. We have a chance to really make it special.\u201d<\/p>\n
The commission plans to make their decision official with a vote at their next public meeting on Feb. 3.<\/p>\n
Under the latest plan, several trees along the boulevard would be replaced with large canopy trees at 75% maturity, said Catherine Prince from the city\u2019s design consultant WSP USA Inc.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are not going to be baby trees,\u201d Prince told the commission. \u201cAnd we hope they will reach their full canopy in five to eight years.\u201d<\/p>\n
A consulting arborist told the commission the black olive trees are nearing the end of their lifespan.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe average life span of a tree in an urban environment is around 30 years,\u201d Brian Voelker with Chen More and Associates said. \u201cThese trees have been in the ground a lot longer than that. I would say they\u2019re heading toward the end of their lifespan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com<\/a>. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Say goodbye to those pretty black olive trees on Las Olas. The fate of Fort Lauderdale\u2019s famous tree-lined…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125881,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250,62396,21409,42486,19722,30666,42482],"class_list":["post-125880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news","tag-john-herbst","tag-las-olas","tag-olive-trees","tag-steve-glassman","tag-the-commission","tag-tree-canopy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}