Battle Brews Over Trees

A Florida community is considering replacing 168 Oak trees due to what proponents cite as damage caused by the trees roots. Opponents of the plan say removing the oaks would deprive the community of the shade and beauty of the neighborhood. Palm Beach Post

In 1978, the Canadian rock band Rush wrote a song called ''The Trees'' with lyrics including: ''There is unrest in the forest, there is trouble with the trees, for Maples want more sunlight and the Oaks ignore their pleas.''

A present-day battle is brewing in Florida over trees, this time Oaks versus Palms.

Dozens of trees are scheduled to be chopped down in an upscale gated community in West Palm Beach, Fla., upsetting environmentalists who can't stand the thought of the oaks receiving an untimely death.

But neighborhood board members and residents say they have a right to remove 168 live oak trees - some will be replanted and others cut down - and replace them with palm trees. The oaks, they argue, damage their properties and should have never been planted.

''The (roots) are tearing up sidewalks, threatening or actually causing damage to water pipes and cables, stuff like that,'' city commissioner Jeri Muoio, who is backing homeowners association boards in subdivisions the Preserve and Quail Meadow, said. ''The HOAs have been spending a lot of money to replace sidewalks that only get torn up again.''

In the Preserve, a land planner hired by the HOA estimates that 70 percent of the oaks can be replanted in the neighborhood - a claim resident Michael Lerner, a vocal opponent of the project, doubts. In Quail Meadow, most of the trees will have to be chopped down.

Al Vazquez, the city's Green Task Force chairman, said there are oaks across the city that residents deal with. He said it's worth the occasional hindrance for the shade and beauty they provide.

''These are snowbirds basically coming down to Florida periodically and saying, 'I expect to have palm trees in West Palm Beach,''' Vazquez said.

Tony Chiarello, treasurer for Quail Meadow's HOA, called the snowbird claims absurd.

''These are legitimate complaints from neighbors who come to us, and the city is not doing anything to correct the problem,'' he said. ''The city is quite happy the homeowners are picking up the tabs.''

Preserve HOA board member Steve Kozak said he did a door-to-door straw poll. Of those who responded, 50 residents were in favor of replacing the oaks with palms, and six were against it. Quail Meadow residents were in favor 36 to eight.

Kozak said 133 royal palms will be planted in the Preserve to make up for lost shade. Vazquez said that's not enough.

Brian Cheguis, the planner hired by the Preserve's HOA, said code is not being violated because the city allows trees planted in the right of way to be removed. He said the oak trees, all planted within the past 20 years, are poor quality.

"There's no historical significance, and now is the time to do it before the problems get worse and moving the trees gets more difficult," said Cheguis, a senior land planner for Cotleur & Hearing.

The Rush song concludes, ''. . . And the trees are all kept equal, by hatchet, axe and saw.'' Undoubtedly, all parties involved in this dispute would prefer a different outcome.