DATE: Wednesday, October 1, 1997            TAG: 9710010466

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LIZ SZABO, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   49 lines

DEVELOPERS VOW TO REPLACE TREES AT HISTORIC GREAT BRIDGE SITE THREE SAPLINGS WILL BE PLANTED FOR EVERY TREE THAT WAS CUT DOWN.

The site of a Revolutionary War landmark at Great Bridge known as the Green Spot will be getting a little greener.

Developers of a new Rite Aid drug store and BB&T Bank have promised to replace every tree that was cut down last week with three new saplings, said city arborist Miklos Lestyan.

Construction crews knocked down 11 pine trees at Cedar Road and Battlefield Boulevard. Developers decided to uproot the trees after one of them fell over during a storm July 21, Lestyan said. The remaining trees were unstable and were likely to topple over.

So developers will plant 36 young trees in their place, as well two evergreen hedges to serve as buffers alongside Cedar Road and Battlefield Boulevard, Lestyan said.

Although some residents have criticized the trees' removal, Lestyan said, the older pines had no aesthetic or ecological value.

``The existing trees were just tall telephone poles with a tuft of green on the top,'' Lestyan said. ``They had no canopy cover, no horizontal screening. It's going to wind up looking better and not being a hazard.''

Development of the Green Spot has sparked protests for more than two years.

The ground may contain the foundation of the Southern Branch Chapel, built in 1701 and home to American troops who fought in the Battle of Great Bridge, the first Revolutionary War battle in Virginia, according to the Norfolk County Historical Society.

Developers also demolished a 19th century home in order to make way for the Rite Aid, which opened in March.

BB&T Bank has yet to be built, said Herman Hall, one of the project's six developers.

Some of those who fought the Green Spot's demolition are angry that the corner's few remaining trees were pulled down.

``I'm all for progress, but since we lost the land, it was nice to have kept the trees,'' said Great Bridge resident Bob Starowicz. ``We need to balance these things out.''

A small group of Great Bridge residents picketed the Rite Aid on its opening day, encouraging Chesapeake citizens to boycott the drug store.

The boycott has had little impact, store manager Sandy Gooslin said. Rite Aid tried to assuage citizens' concerns by commissioning Chesapeake artist Mark Carey to create a historical display for the lobby of its pharmacy.

``If anything, they (protesters) helped us, because they gave us more publicity,'' Gooslin said. Sales have been so strong the store can afford to stay open longer, she said.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu