Saipan Plant Center owner JM Guerrero said plants and trees should be part and parcel of any construction project, especially those for commercial purposes.
Regardless of their business activities, commercial establishments need to have the best landscape possible.
This is especially true for a tourist destination like Saipan. Even motor shops or recycling centers will benefit from landscaping.
Guerrero, one of the pioneer landscapers on island, enumerated the benefits of plants and trees for commercial buildings:
Marketing. An establishment with a good landscape is more attractive compared to a nearby competitor with bare surroundings. Compare for example a huge store or a restaurant with only a parking space outside, to another establishment with trees that provide shade for customers and their vehicles.
Aesthetic. As a tourist destination, Saipan must maintain its island aesthetic.
Since the economy depends on tourism, it is imperative that everybody should contribute to beautify the island. In Hawaii, Guerrero said there is a law that requires all businesses to make landscaping a part of their establishments.
Businesses with beautiful surroundings contribute to the islands’ aesthetic value. This will bring in more guests and more business activities to the island.
Health and safety. Lush outdoors and indoors help protect the health of workers, clients and other members of the public. Some office machines like photo copiers and even fresh carpets emit certain gases that can be harmful. Plants that can be kept indoors, Guerrero said, absorb these gases the same way trees outside collect carbon monoxide. At auto shops, pressurized car paint and other chemicals emitted by equipment are hazardous to the health of workers and passersby.
Plants and trees, in and out, can help get rid of these air pollutants.
Real estate value. Like what Guerrero already said in a previous Green Tips article, good landscaping adds to the value of a real estate.
But Guerrero observes that not too many businesses on island recognize the value of a greener environment. Years ago, the Saipan Plant Center, as part of the Saipan Nursery Association, planted “golden shower” ornamental trees on both sides of Middle Road from Tanapag to San Jose.
Now, he sees only a very few of those trees. Most were cut down to pave the way for the parking lots of stores and other businesses.
“Those places don’t look good anymore,” Guerrero said, adding that the CNMI should have law that mandates construction projects to include landscaping, especially for commercial establishments.
A certain percentage of construction cost should be allotted for landscaping, he said.
Guerrero is aware that there is a regulation that requires businesses to come up with a mitigation system before cutting down trees for parking space and other important portions of an establishment.
“That regulation should have been enforced,” said Guerrero who believes businesses can save trees while complying with the law on parking spaces.
