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Fire station on the Holly tree site

2007 May 24

Holly tree that is located at Carrboro’s future fire station site is estimated to be 200 years old. Photo by Ken Moore.


By Ken Moore
Flora Columnist

Please Note: In my enthusiasm last week for “hugging” that 200-year-old Persimmon tree on the university campus, I failed to credit Betsy Green Moyer, photographer and co-editor of Paul Green’s Plant Book, for the image of that grand old specimen. (Betsy Moyer’s photo of the seldom-noticed tiny Persimmon flower appears on The Citizen website.)
A similarly aged specimen of American Holly, Ilex opaca, is located along the edge of Homestead Road near the entrance drive to the former homestead that is now the site of the much-needed and anticipated Northern Carrboro Fire Station. Oh, the stories that tree contains of the comings and goings along that well-traveled roadway during the past 150 or more years. This holly tree is very nearly the same stature as the big male holly still present on the UNC campus, not far from Silent Sam. During his campus landscape walks in the early 1990s, legendary local horticulturist William Lanier Hunt always enjoyed stopping under that big specimen to describe: “This big holly was standing here near the Davy Poplar when the ‘old boys’ were deciding to put the university on this site over 200 years ago. This holly is a male and is big enough to service all the lady hollies this side of South Building.”
Here’s another one of our great native trees that populates our local forests with separate male and female plants. Folks always admire the female hollies in the winter months, showing off their brilliant red berries against shiny evergreen leaves, unless of course it’s a deciduous holly, and that’s a description for another time. The less noticed male holly, however, is just as important, because without him, well, no red fruit to adorn the ladies.
Now a lot of folks have been driving by this old holly on Homestead Road over the decades, and more than a few of them apparently have come to cherish it as an old friend, an important visible reminder of times gone by. When the old home place was removed to open up the site for the new fire station, that holly became even more prominent. Also prominently visible is another impressive holly, partnering with an equally impressive Red Cedar, (Juniperus virginiana) and several other groups of nice trees, including a good size Pecan (Carya illinoensis).
It was with anticipation that some of those holly-admiring citizens attended this week’s well-publicized fire station charrette in the Century Center. There was a lively discussion, but the session was disappointing. There were less than a dozen citizens present. I suspect they will come out with complaints and protests months and months of meetings and decisions from now when the first shovel goes in the ground. More disappointing is that the gathering was not a charrette. It was an information session with the usual shortcomings of PowerPoint presentations – i.e., charts too small to read and significant images just not to be found in that clever little device and too few copies of the presentation for general distribution.
In spite of the design team’s invitation to interrupt with comments and questions, some of the few citizens in attendance left midway through, possibly also disappointed that a true charrette was not taking place. The town’s selected architectural team is certainly well credentialed, with 160 Public Safety Facility designs, most of them fire stations. My personal response to this information session is that good work has been accomplished in programming the needs for a safe and efficient operation within a new facility, a facility of approximately 9,000 square feet plus necessary adjoining paved areas.
Addressing citizens’ concerns for a “green” facility, the design team explained that the town wanted the most efficient sustainable design that was affordable. A short discussion followed about the $40,000-$60,000 cost of the procedures and paperwork necessary for the project to be an officially certified green building. Though there was no strong protest about saving the money and forfeiting the official recognition, there was concern voiced that there would be no individual responsible for enthusiastically pushing for the green aspects of the facility through the entire planning and construction process. An environmental consultant was introduced as a member of the team, but unfortunately was not provided much expressive opportunity. Rather alarming were the parts of the session that included a description that the big holly simply could not be saved and images of several suggested facility-design solutions. Though admittedly far from final, and shown primarily to illustrate space requirements, these proposed solutions in no way seemed to be designed to create a structure that would conform to the site. Rather, as has been the situation throughout our two towns, the site seemed headed for reconfiguration to suit the easiest and cheapest facility design.
While the narrow triangular site does present real challenges for a design team, the site has positive aspects of favorable open solar orientations and some very worthy mature tree specimens that offer great potential for a creative facility design conforming to the site. Carrboro has the opportunity to create an exemplary green facility, beginning with the first component of “greenness,” which is designing with the site in mind.
There is so much more to this ongoing “Holly Tree on a Fire Station Site” challenge. Whether or not Carrboro succeeds in having a truly green facility that fulfills the needs of the staff working and living there will largely depend on Carrboro citizens becoming actively involved in the entire process from now to occupancy. Citizens can urge town staff and board members to push the design team “out of the box” to create something that works with the site. Now that would be unusual.
For the immediate future, as was recommended at the so-called charrette, the town will be wise in allowing the town horticulturist and staff to take measures to improve the health of that old holly, as it was so successful in improving the health of that old elm in front of Town Hall. In addition, the town, if it really wants to pursue green, will also be wise to gate the driveway onto the site now and to place fencing at least as far out as the drip line of all the significant trees. Periodically, construction or other trucks are already seen parked beneath the shade of the old holly, and that means inappropriate treading on the old tree’s root system.
Email Ken Moore at flora@carrborocitizen.com.

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