Yesterday’s arrival of the August 1, 2023 Design Review Board meeting package came with news of a proposed plan by St. John’s Methodist Church to enlarge their parking area. This plan calls for the demolition of the 1978 building, (originally built as a doctor’s office, later used as a kindergarten) on the corner of Chesterfield Street and Barnwell Avenue. The plan also calls for the removal of seven trees.
With the shock and anger still fresh over the City’s recent destruction of the Williamsburg Street parkway, the public mood for cutting yet more trees is non-existent.
The Historic Aiken Foundation (HAF) commented, “Removal of these trees would detract from the integrity of the site and the historic district.”
The materials in the DRB agenda package (beginning on pg 17) provide answers to some of the questions being raised about this plan. Below are selected screenshots from the DRB agenda package plus photos taken today at the proposed site.
Concerned citizens can familiarize themselves with this information and attend the Tuesday August, 1 meeting at the Municipal Building at 111 Chesterfield St to learn more. The DRB work session begins at 5:30 p.m. ( no public comment permitted), and the regular DRB meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.
Note: As HAF points out in their comments, below, the legend is a bit fuzzy on the locations of the trees proposed for cutting. The photos below offer good, tentative guesses based on comparisons made between the x-marked trees on the plan and and the physical layout of the site, as viewed in-person.
A church isn’t a building (or a parking lot). I have noticed that some of these local groups are Hell-bent on bigger, more extensive buildings & grounds. Timing is everything. Perhaps the larger opportunity is for win/wins in terms of shared use of parking lots, in terms of meeting the needs of church groups AS WELL AS offering after 5 pm and weekend overflow for those seeking restaurant’n’retail options less than 2 blocks away.
The trees need to remain. The church could perform a very humanitarian deed by turning the building into a residence to house some of our homeless population. Withe the church’s resources, it would be simple to use the building in this manner and to also provided those needed supportive services for the homeless. The parking lot would be scarcely used except for one day a week, while the homeless are without lodging every single day.
Why does Aiken no longer care about our beautiful trees. This City Government is attacking the very things that make it such a beautiful City of Trees. Who is the leader who will get us back in course? We have a chance to rught the ship in the current election.
I wonder how many beautiful trees were sacrificed by Beckenbyck when he was the leader in the North. Shameful. He and Ruck are failing us.
It’s unbelievable how careless this city is with its own history and regard for anything that helps the environment.
They want to remove these beautiful guardians then bring in a sky scraper crane and repurpose those drinks transplant them to the farmers market.
Waste not Want not. What does the church need more parking for? I attend this church and there is no issue and there is plenty of parking and plenty of seating inside the church for service.
My mind still reels over the beautiful oak trees that were removed from the nearby First Baptist Church property on York Street not too long ago. Maybe I didn’t notice the trees outright when they were there, but now, whenever I pass by that area, it just looks barren… like there’s something missing. I remember the parking lot at the former Aiken Mall…. how people would cluster, parking their cars in spaces underneath the few trees that were there to avoid being baked in the summer sun. Do those St. John’s trees really need to be removed? If the City is hell-bent on removing trees, let them eradicate all of the miserable Bradford Pear trees around town and replace them with native species.
No. No to cutting anymore trees. St. John’s can figure something else out. If the DRB allows this after the last fiasco at the Farmers Market, they should all be replaced. It’s bad enough that developers are getting variances on clear cutting and buffer zones!