‘Incredibly disappointing’: Plaza Midwood tree clearing for billboard sparks outrage

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - A natural buffer dividing Plaza Midwood from one of Charlotte’s busiest highways was wiped out this week, leaving local business owners blindsided and climate advocates sounding the alarm.

The reason: clearing a path for a single billboard.

Construction started on Monday, Oct. 26, to clear the land. The work removed a sound and pollution barrier between Undercurrent Coffee and Independence Boulevard.

Todd Huber has lived in the Plaza Midwood neighborhood for 20 years and has owned his coffee shop for 10 years. He said discovering the demolition of the trees came as a surprise.

“The biggest shock and the saddest part of this is the benefit that comes out of this is just increased visibility of a billboard for a few more seconds on the highway,” Huber said.

The added visibility amounts to about three seconds, and less for a fully unobstructed view.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation said Adams Outdoor Advertising obtained a permit, with a $400 fee, to clear the viewing zone of its billboard.

A new law, passed in May, allows for 500 feet of clearance on a road with a speed limit over 35 mph.

The billboard currently advertises Charlotte FC. Tepper Sports and Entertainment said it had no knowledge of the tree removal for a better view of the billboard.

Shannon Binns, founder of the nonprofit Sustain Charlotte, said he tried to work with the company to stop the complete clearing, but his efforts went unanswered.

“Now we’ve taken things that taxpayers spent money planting and maintaining over 30 years ago. We’re now letting a private, for-profit company cut all of them down, and no money is being paid back to us, the taxpayers, to compensate us for what we spent,” Binns said.

Binns said the clearing raises concerns about Charlotte’s green space.

“We are cutting at an unsustainable rate, and so we’re going to see even hotter, a hotter city,” Binns said.

Adams Outdoor Advertising was contacted for comment and did not respond.

Binns said trying to reverse the law could take a year or more. In the meantime, he said he hopes to work with billboard companies to try to eliminate complete clearings like this one.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation said it cannot use highway funds to replant spaces that are cleared.