Alarm bells ring for threatened old street tree

The disputed jacaranda tree on the corner of Pillans Rd and Maxwells Rd at Pillans Point. Photo/George Novak

A 70-year-old Tauranga street tree described as part of an historic treescape is threatened with being felled because of its proximity to a townhouse.

David and Helen Webster, who shifted to 144 Pillans Rd early last year, are seeking the removal of the jacaranda.

"The negative impacts on us far outweigh the public benefit," Mr Webster told the council's environment committee yesterday.

A staff report to the meeting said the Websters were unsatisfied with pruning last August that included shifting the crown away from their boundary to allow a caravan to access the driveway.

The Websters offered to fell the tree at their own cost and replace it with a kauri, but they were told that it did not meet the criteria for removal in the council's tree management policy.

The committee postponed making a decision after Mr Webster said he had not received a copy of the agenda for yesterday's meeting. The agenda set out three options for the tree - retain, remove or full reduction of the crown of the jacaranda.

Mr Webster said he canvassed the neighbourhood about the jacaranda, with 12 of the 13 residents approached supporting removal. At that stage he thought that something would happen but then the council carried out its own survey that covered a wider area.

Eighty letters were mailed by the council to houses within 200m of the tree, with 20 replies in favour of removal and eight against.

Mr Webster then launched a petition after learning that the fate of the tree would be decided by the committee, gathering support from 12 households, including Bob and Martha Clarkson at 150 Pillans Rd.

He said the tree was only 2.5m away from their house. "You can imagine the impact it is having on us."

In a letter to the council, the couple said the tree dropped a significant volume of debris across the front of their home and driveway, accumulating in the upstairs deck and guttering.

They were told by an arborist that the branches overhanging their property could lawfully be pruned back to the boundary, but it would impact on the natural look of the tree.

The next speaker to address the meeting about the tree was solicitor Nick Elsmore who spoke on behalf of nearby residents Fraser and Kathryn Lellman. He said the tree planted by Mr Lellman's great-grandfather was part of an historically important treescape in the area.

"It is important that we retain our historical connections."

Mr Elsmore said it would take time for a replacement tree to recover the value that a 70-year-old tree provided.

The seasonal nature of the tree meant that the debris was not an ongoing nuisance, with the Websters getting the beauty of the blossom and the burden of the tree droppings.
"What the tree is doing is natural."

He said it would create a precedent for the removal of other older established trees in the neighbourhood.

"The tree was there before the house was built and the Webster's arrival."

Mr Elsmore said the tree should have been one of the considerations when the Websters' bought the property.

Councillor Bill Grainger was told that 1.5m of branches overhung the section. The jacaranda was on the southern side of the property.

A decision on the tree would be made by the next meeting of the committee in about a month.

Reasons why Tauranga street trees can be felled

• A threat to health and safety

• Interfering with services

• The tree is dying or diseased

• The appropriateness of the tree