KEY POINTS:
Takapuna resident Stan Collins plans to be using his 33-year-old pohutukawa for firewood next winter.
He spent $7000 and several months getting official clearance to fell the protected native tree which was causing problems on his section and in the neighbourhood.
Now the tree has been cut down but Collins said it was a long and hard struggle to get clearance.
In March, he and his wife, Marie, applied to North Shore City to fell the tree which Collins said he planted on his Riveria Place section three decades ago. The application was supported by three neighbours and opposed by one.
"We bought the section in 1972, build this place in 1973 and I planted trees all around," Collins said yesterday. But as the tree grew, so did the problems.
Last year, an attempt to get council permission to chop down the tree was knocked back.
Two officials opposed his application to fell the 12m native tree for a number of reasons, citing various district plan and Resource Management Act provisions.
Chris Boucher, a consultant arborist, prepared a report for the council recommending against the felling, an opinion shared by the council's consultant planner Sally Robins.
Their reports said the tree should stay because it enhanced the urban environment, provided a habitat for wildlife, gave relief from the built environment and pohutukawa were protected by height and girth.
But Stan and Marie Collins complained about a list of issues with the tree: a driveway was being damaged by root growth and a sewer had been blocked, branches needed to be pruned from another pohutukawa nearby and the couple wanted to establish a garden where the tree grew. Leaf fall, shade to a neighbouring property and branches overhanging the driveway were other issues.
Collins said the tree's roots had grown into the main sewer line, causing effluent overflow into a neighbour's property.
"The tree is not only causing property damage but it is also contributing to a serious health risk," neighbours said in written submissions.
The sewage overflows could become worse and drains could collapse, they said. A driveway was already lifting and cracked. Eventually, the root system would reach under their house and crack concrete floors, the neighbours said.
Collins also complained about restricted access for emergency services, saying the tree was a danger.
Boucher said trees should not be blamed for intentionally invading sewer lines, he said. Instead, roots "found their way" into a leaking, deteriorated, cracked or incorrectly installed system, resulting in the tree being blamed for the problems. This was "tiresome" from an arboricultural perspective, he wrote.
Removing a tree did not automatically mean problems with deteriorating sewers and structures were eliminated, he wrote.
Boucher considered vehicle access to properties was adequate, with a clearance of 2.6m above the ground.
As for driveway damage, Boucher said a thin concrete surface of about 75mm, vehicle movement, parking and the age of structures were other reasons for the problems.
"I am not convinced the pohutukawa tree is entirely responsible for these issues, although it is predictable that the tree is likely contributing to and exacerbating the situation," he wrote.
The tree should continue to "co-exist" on the site, he said.
Robins also recommended against chopping down the tree, saying there were "no strong reasons" to remove it to maintain onsite amenity because there were alternatives which could be used to meet concerns raised by Stan and Marie Collins.
The March application went to a panel of hearing commissioners headed by North Shore City councillor Ivan Dunn. They accepted the case put by the couple and allowed the tree to be removed.
Dunn said North Shore commissioners were hearing at least one application a month for tree removal. About half were approved, he said.
TREE RULES
* Native trees above 8m high are protected.
* So are those of more than 800mm around the girth.
* Penalties can include a $200,000 fine or prison sentence.
