Cherry Hill Man Seeks To Protect His Cherry Tree Legacy
CHERRY HILL, NJ – After calling police for what he believed to be cherry blossom poaching, a Cherry Hill man could see new protection for his life's work.
Joe Zanghi recently called police when he saw a man cutting dozens of branches off the cherry trees that line Chapel Avenue.
He cares because he planted them.
Over the last 40 plus years Zanghi planted 1,482 cherry trees in Cherry Hill Township.
"I'm sad because some of them are just devastated. They're no longer a beautiful cherry tree," says Zanghi.
The man told Zanghi he was cutting the branches to sell the blossoms to florists, which turned out to be perfectly legal with permission from the homeowner.
"When the homeowners give somebody permission to do that, we really can't stop them," says Cherry Hill Twp mayor Chuck Cahn.
But hearing Zanghi's concerns, town officials held a meeting Thursday morning to discuss how to preserve the cherry trees without taking on all the maintenance costs.
"By changing the ordinance to restrict the pruning of the trees until after they blossom, I think will keep the trees in a really healthy form and hopefully keep the trees going for many years to come," says Cahn.
Zanghi hopes the Township and Camden County will designate the cherry trees with a protected status.
"I want to protect that for future generations," says Zanghi.
To learn more about the cherry trees visit http://cherryblossomsincherryhillnj.yolasite.com/