A Mount Maunganui neighbourhood, already fed up with Bay Hopper buses, faces another battle - to stop pohutukawa trees being planted in front of some of their homes.
Tauranga dermatologist Dr Paul Salmon has donated the pohutukawa to Tauranga City Council as part of his 13-year-old campaign to reduce skin cancer by planting more trees.
But his generosity has had an unexpected reaction. Fifteen Valley Rd residents have complained the trees will interfere with parking on the street verges fronting their properties and they intend to bring a petition to a meeting next month of the Tauranga City Council.
It is the latest issue to hit Valley Rd, which was already rebelling against the nearly 800 buses that go up and down the street each week - a campaign that has forced the Bay of Plenty Regional to investigate shifting at least some of the buses on to the Mount's main roads.
The latest issue arose after the council assessed more than 300 potential street verge tree planting sites to arrive at a list of 90 locations. Most sites were ruled out because the roots of the pohutukawa would have eventually impacted on underground services.
Residents next to the 90 locations on Valley Rd, Ranch Rd and Bain St were then notified by letter about the planting plan by city arborist Richard Conning.
After an initial reaction in which Mr Conning said he attempted to satisfy most people's concerns, the protest narrowed to a petition representing 15 Valley Rd property owners. The main thrust of the petition was that the trees would interfere with car parking on the verges.
He said the plan was to plant young 2m high single stemmed pohutukawa, a species different to that people associated with the coastline. He said it was an upright variety that allowed good visibility underneath and room to park a car.
When the trees got bigger, the council would keep them pruned and do whatever it could to manage people's concerns, he said.
Mr Conning said there was a wide verge on Valley Rd and there would be about 3-4m left to the property boundaries once the trees had been planted - enough room for a car.
"I can't see it will make a substantial difference to their ability to park on the verge," he said.
The council also planned to plant olive trees on the verges although none of them had sparked a petition.
Mr Conning said the council was a good neighbour when it came to street trees and the plan was to have good looking trees that would be there for up to 60 years. He said they would keep the canopies lifted so people could drive underneath. Council street trees were inspected twice a year to make sure they did not interfere with services.
Cr Murray Guy, who was contacted by a Ranch Rd resident, was concerned the council letter provided no opportunity for residents to contribute to the decision on where the trees should be sited.
Other issues included shading, root damage, a reduction in sight lines and future access to properties.
Trees final straw for residents
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