South Mountain forestry study details types, number, conditions of trees
By Jarrett Renshaw | OF THE MORNING
CALL
Allentown's portion of South Mountain has trees, plenty of them -- more than 1,000 yellow poplars and black oaks, and even a few black cherry.
While this may not be a surprise, the administration of Mayor Ed Pawlowski has filed a petition in court to keep a tree inventory and other details about South Mountain out of the public domain.
The Morning Call has obtained some documents that Allentown refuses to release even after the state's Office of Open Records in March ruled the documents are public and told the city to release them.
The Pawlowski administration filed a petition in Lehigh County Court in April seeking to overturn the state's decision, arguing the requested documents are a draft and reflect privileged, internal discussions.
The newspaper in January requested the work performed by a consultant hired to determine the market value of all the ''merchantable timber'' on its mountain property. Pawlowski has repeatedly said the city never planned to harvest the mountain, instead arguing that the consultant's work was part of a broader management plan due out Thursday.
City Council President Michael D'Amore, who was provided the documents by the newspaper, said he believes the city is withholding the documents because they may shed some light on the city's initial intentions.
''What appears to be the case here is that the mayor thought the city might be able to generate revenue from timbering on South Mountain and commissioned the study with that in mind,'' D'Amore said. ''But when the story leaked, he had to backtrack.''
Created by the consultant, the pages obtained by The Morning Call describe the type, number and wood volume of trees in two separate areas of 150 acres owned by Allentown. They also include information about the conditions of the woodlot, such as the amount of mature timber.
The Office of Open Records has consistently stated that government agencies cannot withhold documents based on the internal-discussion exemption if the documents are simply stating facts.
The records, provided to The Morning Call by someone involved in the oversight of the plan, also include the consultant's recommendations that include removing hazardous trees, establishing a trail system and controlling invasive species.
Allentown's portion of South Mountain has trees, plenty of them -- more than 1,000 yellow poplars and black oaks, and even a few black cherry.
While this may not be a surprise, the administration of Mayor Ed Pawlowski has filed a petition in court to keep a tree inventory and other details about South Mountain out of the public domain.
The Morning Call has obtained some documents that Allentown refuses to release even after the state's Office of Open Records in March ruled the documents are public and told the city to release them.
The Pawlowski administration filed a petition in Lehigh County Court in April seeking to overturn the state's decision, arguing the requested documents are a draft and reflect privileged, internal discussions.
The newspaper in January requested the work performed by a consultant hired to determine the market value of all the ''merchantable timber'' on its mountain property. Pawlowski has repeatedly said the city never planned to harvest the mountain, instead arguing that the consultant's work was part of a broader management plan due out Thursday.
City Council President Michael D'Amore, who was provided the documents by the newspaper, said he believes the city is withholding the documents because they may shed some light on the city's initial intentions.
''What appears to be the case here is that the mayor thought the city might be able to generate revenue from timbering on South Mountain and commissioned the study with that in mind,'' D'Amore said. ''But when the story leaked, he had to backtrack.''
Created by the consultant, the pages obtained by The Morning Call describe the type, number and wood volume of trees in two separate areas of 150 acres owned by Allentown. They also include information about the conditions of the woodlot, such as the amount of mature timber.
The Office of Open Records has consistently stated that government agencies cannot withhold documents based on the internal-discussion exemption if the documents are simply stating facts.
The records, provided to The Morning Call by someone involved in the oversight of the plan, also include the consultant's recommendations that include removing hazardous trees, establishing a trail system and controlling invasive species.