Go Hug a Strip Center

It's been a couple of years since the Mentor Planning Commission unanimously approved, with the acquiescence of City Council,  the sawing down of 50 (fifty) 50 (that's right FIFTY!) MATURE HEALTHY TREES at the K-Mart Strip center. 

The Mentor Planning Commission – a well-intentioned but misguided group that is to land planning what Justin Bieber is to astro-physics - approved the sawing down of  50 (fifty) 50 (that's right FIFTY!) MATURE HEALTHY TREES at the K-Mart strip center because everyone knows that trees and landscaping are bad for the retail business.

Everyone knows this except people who have actually studied the relationship between trees and the retail business.  Those studies show that trees and landscaping actually help retailers. In fact, commercial districts with healthy street trees have a higher revenue stream than those without.

Why? 

Because people like trees. And people like to spend time in areas with trees. And people who spend more time in commercial districts are more likely to spend more money. And isn't that what retailers want people to do? Spend money?

But so what? 

If and when the Mentor Planning Commission wants facts before it makes another decision about whether or not to saw down 50 (fifty) 50 (that's right FIFTY!) more MATURE HEALTHY TREES somewhere else, it'll ask itself for those facts.

Until such time as that happens – you tree huggers can go find something else to hug – like another street widening, or another strip center, or another big rig semi truck ferry terminal or another...