Dangerous trees force Rehoboth Beach Farmers’ Market to relocate after 20 years in Grove Park

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The Rehoboth Beach Farmers’ Market has been operating out of Grove Park since it started about 20 years ago. It’s a cool, shady area just about a mile from the boardwalk.

“It’s a meeting place,” said Pat Coluzzi, the market’s founder and manager. “It’s more of an event than just a farmers market. And the park has been ideal for that.”

Earlier this month, the scheduled market day was unexpectedly cancelled a day prior to its usual time slot. It has since reopened, but in a new location. Grove Park closed due to hazardous trees.

Before the cancellation, a group of arborists and representatives from the state Department of Agriculture Forest Service assessed trees in the park. They had determined that five trees were dangerous and needed to be removed immediately. Coluzzi was present during the assessment and made the quick decision to cancel the event.

“I left a little bit early once I realized that there were trees that were dangerous so I could immediately alert my farmers and vendors,” Coluzzi said. “I couldn’t allow people to be in the park. I run the market and I make those decisions of when it could be dangerous [for others].”

The assessment was completed at the request of the city’s Environmental Advisory Committee, which has been looking into the park’s tree health since spring.

The market is not associated with the City of Rehoboth Beach. But after the city learned about the trees, officials closed the park out of caution.

Since the park closure, the farmers’ market has been held in the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center Parking Lot. It will be held in the center until further notice.

Grove Park’s trees and why they need to be removed

Last week, City Arborist Mike Lilly and the state’s Urban & Community Forestry Program Coordinator Taryn Davidson completed a secondary assessment of nearly 50 trees in the park. They found that five red oaks needed immediate removal. Three of the trees are located near the park’s restrooms, while two are near a storage shed.

The marked trees had poor canopy growth, but also exhibited signs of Bacterial Leaf Scorch. It’s an incurable infection spread to trees by insects. Essentially, the infection prevents water absorbed from the trees’ roots from spreading throughout the organism.

“It will kill the tree unfortunately,” Lilly said. “It’ll reduce the canopy and you’ll just be left with just dead branches unfortunately.”

Typically, after a tree is infected, it only has three to eight healthy years left. Lilly said that the trees pose a safety hazard, so it was important to remove them as soon as possible.

City officials said it’s not clear when the trees would have been infected, but they have shown a quick decline. According to Lilly, the trees could have contracted the disease years prior but only recently shown symptoms, like halo formations on tree leaves.

According to city officials, the trees and canopy appeared healthy during an assessment completed two years ago. The city completed aeration of the park this past spring, but it does not impact bacterial leaf scorch.

Fourteen trees were also flagged for removal in the first assessment completed this month, but they do not require immediate removal and it is only a recommendation at this time. City Manager Taylour Tedder said the city does plan to keep an eye on these trees in the meantime.

The city plans to treat other trees in the park with insecticides. If left untreated, the disease could spread to other trees. Once the dangerous trees are removed, the city also plans to replace them. It’s unclear what those trees will be, but Tedder said it’s important to maintain the tree canopy.

“With removing these trees, I also want to come up with a really solid planting plan so that we’re replacing trees as we go, so we always have a good amount of tree cover there,” Tedder said.

Lilly also said that the trees in the park are very old and provide shelter to local wildlife, and that it’s important to maintain the area.

“We all know there’s not many places that you can cool off at the beach, if you’re not in [air conditioning],” Lilly said. “And Grove Park is one of those spots where you can actually go and sit under a canopy, so I think it’s quite important.”

Additional pruning is also scheduled for the fall.

From park to parking lot

City officials say the park will reopen to foot traffic on Friday. Previous reports of the park’s tree health noted that some tree roots were compacted from foot traffic and vehicle use.

However, founder Coluzzi said this was not a result of the farmers’ market, as the park has been in use for almost a century.

“If the city starts up with a maintenance program where they aerate and fertilize, it should be okay. But, [Grove] used to be a trailer park,” Coluzzi said. “For a long time now, there’s been a lot of things going on in that park. So, I don’t believe it’s us that’s caused any problem.”

Lilly also said the stress in the area is not from recent activity, but rather long-term activity dating back at least 70 years. Previous reports commissioned by the city’s Environmental Advisory Committee earlier this year from SavATree, a local tree service, recommended the farmers’ market move locations due to the environmental stress.

Tedder said that the city plans to conduct in-depth evaluations of tree compaction, but until then, it probably won’t be open to vehicular use. He also said that the market won’t likely be able to move back into Grove Park until next season.

“Ultimately, we’re happy to work with [the market] and they’re a great community partner and people love it,” Tedder said. “We want to make sure we’re helping them out and make sure that people still have the enjoyable time that they’re used to.”

The trees are currently being removed, and officials anticipate it to be completed by the end of the week.

Coluzzi said the city has been accommodating to the market, especially with providing a temporary location. She also noted that the public has been happy to still visit the market, but the location isn’t as desirable as the park was.

“Frankly it’s a parking lot, and it’s hot,” Coluzzi said. “If the weather is just warm and sunny, it’s very difficult to be on a blacktop.”

Coluzzi estimates that roughly a thousand people visit the farmers’ market a week, and about 20,000 people visit throughout its 26 weeks of operation.

“There are people who say they plan their vacation around coming to the farmers’ market. People tell me it’s the highlight of their trip to Rehoboth,” Coluzzi said. “It’s really such a friendly, happy place. Everybody who comes there seems to absolutely love it.”

Coluzzi said she hopes to eventually return to Grove Park, which she describes as her “happy place.”

“It’s a community meeting spot. That’s what’s different about the parking lot. It’s not a place that’s like for the community,” Coluzzi said. “It’s really the only community type of event that’s here in Rehoboth Beach. I mean, the rest is pretty much for tourists.”

The Rehoboth Beach Farmers’ Market takes place every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine. The market hosts more than 40 vendors, ranging from produce to baked goods to seafood. It is open from May to October each year.