The Road Commission of Kalamazoo County is developing a draft tree replacement policy in response to the scale of tree removals planned under its federally funded Safe Streets for All project and will present it to the board for discussion at the June 16 meeting.
Managing Director Travis Bartholomew told commissioners Monday that the Safe Streets for All (SS4A) project will require removing up to approximately 8,000 trees along about 30 miles of county roads. That figure is on top of the 1,000 to 2,000 trees the Road Commission already removes annually for routine maintenance — work for which no formal tree replacement program has existed in recent years.
Bartholomew said the scale of the SS4A removals made this the right moment to act. “With this influx of additional trees, I think it’s a good opportunity that we put something in front of the board and have some discussion.”
What the Policy Would Do
Under the draft policy currently being developed, affected property owners would be able to use a program to replace trees removed from the road right-of-way. The Road Commission does not currently have a reimbursement or replacement program available to residents when trees are taken.
The managing director said staff is reviewing previous policies the commission has had in place, as well as looking at what other agencies have done, before bringing a draft to the board. The June 16 meeting is the target for that discussion.
Chair of the board said the commission has been receiving feedback on the tree issue from township and county officials, and noted he had agreed to contact the Kalamazoo Conservation District to explore partnerships and potential grants from sources such as the Arbor Day Foundation that could support tree replacement efforts.
Why the Trees Are Being Removed
The Safe Streets for All program is a federal safety grant. The Road Commission’s grant is $25 million in federal funding, with the total project cost approximately $33 million including the commission’s contribution. The project is designed to reduce serious injuries and fatalities on county roads by addressing roadside hazards, including trees within the road right-of-way.
Bartholomew was direct about the constraints the grant creates. Townships cannot opt out of the program. Roads included in the grant application cannot be selectively excluded. If the Road Commission begins the project and does not remove the trees as specified, it risks forfeiting the entire grant and potentially being required to repay money already spent.
“We don’t get to pick and choose what areas or what townships that we wanna participate in,” Bartholomew said. “It’s everything that’s in our application.”
There are limited exceptions. Trees found to be outside the road right-of-way will not be removed. The commission is also working through reviews with the State Historic Preservation Office and tribal representatives; trees in areas flagged through those processes could potentially be preserved. But Bartholomew was clear: trees that don’t fall into one of those categories must be removed under the terms of the grant.
The commission applied for and was awarded the grant after a multi-year public engagement process that began in 2023 and included countywide surveys, social media outreach, and meetings with townships. The Road Commission received more than 300 survey responses during that process.
Community Concerns on the Record
Two residents raised tree removal concerns during public comment Monday. A Schoolcraft Township resident who lives on Portage Road told the board she was alarmed by reports of removals on Avery Road and questioned whether the project’s safety rationale held up, arguing that removing trees from a 55-mph road would encourage faster driving, not safer travel. She asked whether a township could opt out and pressed the board on how tree replacement would work.
The board answered the opt-out question directly: no, townships cannot opt out.
Another resident, participating by phone, asked whether the grant had been reviewed by the commission’s legal counsel. Bartholomew said it had not been sent to the commission’s attorney, it was reviewed internally and goes through state and federal transportation agency review as part of the federal grant process.
The board noted that residents with concerns are encouraged to submit service requests through the commission’s website at kalamazooCountyRoads.com or by calling (269) 381-3171.
The tree replacement policy will be on the agenda at the Road Commission’s next meeting on June 16.
