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Permitting
for Vegetative Maintenance, State of Ohio
In
order to enhance the view to offices, institutions
commercial and industrial developments and billboards, the
Ohio Department of Transportation [ODOT] has proposed a
vegetative cutting and maintenance standard that will permit
removing 850 ft. of vegetation within the public
right-of-way. The
original ODOT draft proposal was a 250 ft. clearing. The new
draft of 850 ft. is a compromise ODOT made to the billboard
industry’s request for 1000 ft.
Scenic
Ohio opposes this policy for the following reasons:
1.
It is a “give away” of the public right-of-way to
the billboard industry.
It allows the taking of public land for private benefit. The public right-of-way
belongs to the citizens of Ohio- not the billboard industry.
2. The
compensatory vegetative
plan in the policy might mitigate
the loss of trees and
shrub by
relocating them, but it will not
compensate for the loss ofhabitat
and biodiversity. It will result in
the destruction of hundreds of
acres of Ohio native landscape.
3. Ohio’s
scenic vistas are an
important attraction
for tourism
and
economic
development
and should be
protected.
4. The
title, Vegetative
Maintenance is misleading. It
should be titled “Vegetative
Clearing
or Removal”.
What you can do:
1.
Contact
your Senators – Statehouse, Columbus, OH. 43215
2.
Contact
your State Representatives - 77 South High Street, Columbus, OH. 43226
3.
Write
to Governor Ted Strickland – 77 South High Street, 30th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215
4.
Write
to Director James G. Beasley, ODOT, 1980 West Broad Street, Columbus, OH 43223
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