Problems with trees in Rehoboth Beach’s Grove Park are more serious than originally thought, prompting the closure of the park and a move for the city’s farmers market.
Last month, members of the city’s Environmental Advisory Committee heard about concerns surrounding trees in Grove Park. Tree experts from tree maintenance company and arborist Sav A Tree and from the Delaware Forest Service found that trees at the park were showing signs of root compaction, caused by heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
The two reports differed on the fix, with one proposing a move for the city’s farmers market to reduce that root compaction, while the other report advocated for protective measures around the trees. Faced with two pathways forward, members of the Environmental Advisory Committee sought more input from the state’s urban forester, Taryn Davidson. Her findings were even more troubling.
“Ms. Davidson and her team identified five trees as hazardous and recommended their immediate removal,” said EAC Vice-Chair Mary Good. “They also recommended a second level assessment of the remaining trees to more thoroughly evaluate their health and structural stability.”
That intensive secondary assessment took place earlier this week, with a report expected soon. Meanwhile, Good says, the city and the farmer’s market acted quickly.
“Both the farmers market and the city of Rehoboth Beach responded to the public safety concern by canceling the farmers market and closing Grove Park,” she explained.
While the park remains closed until the dangerous trees are removed, the farmers market is back in business at a new location, the parking lot of the city’s convention center.
The five trees that need to be taken down are all Red Oaks, with signs of Bacterial Leaf Scorch (BLS), an insect-borne disease. Those five trees are not the only problem, according to committee member Elise Burns.
“We're focused on those five trees, but Ms. Davidson also identified 14 other trees that are under her terminology, ‘watch,’” Burns said.
Those trees are not currently slated for removal according to a statement from the city.
Rehoboth Commissioner Craig Thier, who chairs the EAC, attributed the issues with the five hazardous trees, as well as the larger concerns about root compaction, to periods of neglect over the park’s long history.
“We're just dealing with decades of there being no maintenance,” he said.
The city will treat the park’s other trees with an insecticide to prevent the spread of Bacterial Leaf Scorch. There is no set date for the park’s reopening.
