1 ___________________________
2 Councilmember Trayon White Sr.
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5 A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
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7 ___________
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9 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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11 _______________
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13 To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to relocate two trees located
14 near the property line of 450 Xenia Street S.E., in Ward 8.
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16 RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
17 resolution may be cited as the “Xenia Street Tree Relocation Emergency Declaration Resolution
18 of 2023”.
19 Sec. 2. (a) In November of 2020, the Urban Forestry Division of the District Department
20 of Transportation (DDOT) planted 22 trees on the ____ block (s) of Xenia Street S.E. after
21 posting notice on their website. The notice included a map showing the accurate location of the
22 proposed trees but contained an error concerning the written address. After the trees were
23 planted, DDOT was responsive to requests from the community and held meetings with the
24 community and local leaders to remove some of the trees, and eventually 14 of the 22 trees were
25 removed. After the 14 trees were removed, an additional request was made to remove three trees
26 (which may grow up to 40 feet each) located on or near the property line of 450 Xenia Street by
27 the Condominium Board and other residents. DDOT maintains that further removals are
28 inadvisable due to concerns with the amount of tree canopy in the ward.
29 (b) Since DDOT has made this determination, members of the community have contacted
30 the Council over 25 times through testimony during budget and performance oversight hearings,
31 at other Council hearings, and through calls and emails to members of this Council to remove the
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32 three trees. The basis for removal is to avoid any interference with the property line and to avoid
33 future disputes between DDOT and the community regarding the size and upkeep of the trees.
34 (c) Without legislation to compel DDOT to remove the trees, the trees will grow larger
35 and overwhelm the property line, and residents will continue to request the removal of the
36 growing trees.
37 (d) Emergency legislation is necessary to avoid any further interference with the property
38 rights of the owners at 450 Xenia Street, to respond to the request for the removal of the trees
39 made by an official resolution of the relevant Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC 8
40 Resolution 2023-05.3-Reccomendation for District Department of Transportation’s Urban
41 Forestry Program to Remove Three Trees from the Property Line of 450 Xenia Street, S.E.), and
42 to respond to repeated requests made to the Council for assistance.
43 Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances
44 enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Xenia
45 Street Tree Relocation Act of 2023 be adopted after a single reading.
46 Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
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