Editor:

I purchased a home in Fairhope about 33 years ago. I was impressed with the uniqueness, as I still am today. The landscape and beautiful trees and flowers far surpass any other city in Baldwin and Mobile counties. No other city in either county has that beautiful view along Mobile Bay.

Nobody appreciates trees more than I do, but I think the city, because of their passion for beautification, has gone beyond common sense. When I first bought my house, the big draw was the view of the bay. Now, from my house, the view is almost non-existent. Years before I purchased it, the house was called the Sunset Inn because of the beautiful sunsets. We would love to sit on the porch and watch the boats, the great view of the water and the great sunset.

Benches were put in years ago for the privilege of relaxing and taking in the view of the bay. If you sat on those same benches today, you would be looking into the thickest part of all those trees. What they call the park down the bluff just north of the pier should be described as woods. What were they thinking?

You can always plant more trees, but you cannot create more bay view. Years ago, my out-of-town guests loved to sit on the porch and watch the sunset. When they come to visit now, they are stunned by the absence of the beautiful view.

As I write this letter, there are ongoing plans to add more trees to this already over-crowded area. I love trees, but common sense needs to be applied.

A great architect told me trees need to stand out individually and should not have to compete with a cluster of trees where none have an identity. Trees are just a part of landscape beautification. I’m not alone; everyone I talk to agrees that since we have such a short stretch of bay view, we ought to be able to see it.

I certainly apologize if I appear too critical, but every time I walk out my front door, I get knots in my stomach over the fact that my great view of the bay has turned into a tree wall. It’s the scenic route, and was called that because of the bay view. Visiters to this area can see beautiful trees where they live.

If the city would consider topping the trees at the bottom of the bluff and trimming them up on the top of the bluff from the ground, we could bring back the bay view and also keep the trees.

I love Fairhope, but let’s put the scene back in the scenic highway.