Time could be running out for a stand of landmark redwood trees in central Kerikeri.
Some Kerikeri residents see the redwoods as a menace, threatening surrounding homes. Others see them as an attractive part of Kerikeri's skyline and a windbreak contributing to the town's pleasant microclimate.
Either way, feelings over the trees run high. The last time the stand was thinned, in 2010, a contractor's car was rammed and police were called.
The 80-year-old redwoods are in two stands totalling about 300 trees along Wendywood Lane and Hawkings Cres.
The Far North District Council has them checked annually by an arborist and had 15 cut down in 2010, a result of storms in 2007 bringing a branch down onto the neighbouring Kerikeri Retirement Village.