Left, the Armchair Mayor and Ald. Nora Stocks in the 1970s. Right, Donna Stocks and her dad Don with banned hawthorn (Submitted/Mel Rothenburger).

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Planting a memorial tree shouldn’t be nearly this difficult

Jul 17, 2021 | 6:30 AM

THE NARROW STREET that winds through 1950 Braeview Place is lined with trees and bushes. In front of each townhouse, a Saskatoon, hawthorn, cedar or red crabapple lends shade and colour.

But not at Don Stocks’ unit. There, a few marigolds grow where a young hawthorn was removed a couple of weeks ago on orders from the strata council.

There’s quite a story to that tree, which now stands in a pot on his front step.

Don’s wife, Nora, was a community pillar in Kamloops for many years. As Kamloops entered the 1970s, it was booming, and new municipalities were springing up everywhere. One of them was the district of Brocklehurst; when it was incorporated, she was elected to the council.

That’s how I first met her — me, a young reporter new to town and she, the first woman to be elected to a local council. She helped me navigate the complicated and volatile waters of politics in Kamloops.

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After greater Kamloops was amalgamated in 1973, she was elected three more times to the new City council, again the first woman to serve in that role.

When she and Don moved to Braeview Place 22 years ago, there was a Saskatoon tree on the front lawn. It wasn’t the best looking Saskatoon and Nora told Don he should pull it out and plant a new one, but it remained until it died in 2015. That’s the same year Nora passed away. The lifeless tree stood there for a few more years until the strata council had it removed.

The strata council opted not to replace it so Don decided to plant a new tree himself in Nora’s memory. He and daughter Donna couldn’t find a Saskatoon at local nurseries so they picked a hawthorn, a blossoming tree that can be pruned and shaped and grows to no more than 20 feet.

Enter the strata council again, telling Don the hawthorn would have to go. He was breaking strata Bylaw 4.1(f) and Rule 1.2, which prohibit altering common property without permission.

Never mind that there had previously been a tree there for decades, and that every other townhouse in the 105-unit complex has a tree or a bush out front.

Don’s memorial tree became the subject of several strata council meetings. Yesterday I contacted John Brandon, president of Columbia Property Management, the company that administers Braeview Place. He said the decision was strictly up to the strata council and that, regardless, he couldn’t comment on individual strata disputes due to privacy rules.

However, a June 29 letter from property manager Francine Thistle outlines the rationale for banning the tree: “It has come to the attention of Strata Council that you have altered common property by planting a tree on the common property without permission. The landscaping committee is entrusted with ensuring that all trees and shrubs that are planted, are appropriate for the location. The arborist has informed Council that the tree that you have planted will be too large for the location. Please have the tree removed.”

A separate email contended that the soil in front of Don’s home is poor and “any tree planted there will die.”

Donna questions the definition of common property, saying the lawn in front of the townhouse is part of the home. “It’s not really common property.” Besides, there are two other hawthorns in the complex.

But, two weeks after they planted it, she and her father pulled out the tree, put it back in a pot, and parked it on the front step. “Anything that’s potted is legal,” Don explained yesterday, adding wryly that the hawthorn had already started to get its roots into the new soil — the soil that was supposedly going to kill it.

Father and daughter will continue trying to convince the strata council to change its mind. John Brandon says they can ask for a hearing before a strata tribunal to make their case if they wish. In the meantime, Donna has been talking to the City about a possible backup plan to plant the tree in a public park and install a suitable plaque in Nora’s honour. But cities have rules, too.

City arborist Brian Purves offered to plant the tree for $1,000 as per the City’s memorial tree program. The fee covers planting, the plaque and “a small portion of the ongoing maintenance.”

When I got in touch with Jeff Putnam, the City’s parks and civic facilities manager, he confirmed the cost and said waiving it would require a resolution from City council as staff doesn’t have the authority to deviate from policy.

So, that’s where the tree stands, so to speak.

Don Stocks will be 99 in a couple of months. He and Nora met and married in England during WW2, came to Canada, raised a family and ran the Brocklehurst Town and Country Store.

Nora Stocks served the city on two councils and the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, was a staunch advocate for the handicapped, was instrumental in the development of local parks, sat on library and hospital boards, and was a Legion and civil defence corps member. When the big flood hit Kamloops in 1972 she organized high school kids to fill sandbags.

Throughout her public life, she received numerous accolades, including a Queen’s Silver Jubilee medal for community service.

Planting a tree in her memory doesn’t seem too much to ask.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.