It’s been just over a year since Friday, June 23th, 2006, when Oaks residents discovered a tree service crew illegally cutting down protected mature Oak and Walnut trees on four contiguous empty lots on Live Oak East.  More neighbors were summoned, and the police were called.  The tree cutting was stopped but only after a number of trees had been destroyed.

Before the illegal cutting

The City Attorney is, as of this date, still considering charges against the tree service and against the owner of the lots and their representative for their roles in cutting down protected oak and walnut trees on the lot.  If charges were filed, this would be the first case involving the new Protected Trees Ordinance to go before the courts. 

The developer’s original plan called for four large homes (three at about 5,000 square feet each and one at 7,000 square feet) to be built on the four substandard size lots at 2245 to 2261 Live Oak East.  However, prior to the tree-cutting incident, responding to neighborhood concerns about the out-of-scale development, the developer of the property agreed to sell the two end lots to the adjacent neighbors, with the condition that the developer only build one house on the remaining two lots together.  

As of this date, the developer’s original application and permit to excavate and remove dirt from the hillside has expired.  The developer’s plan check submittal for four homes on the lots may have also expired, or been rendered moot by the sale of the two end lots.

Legal action is still under consideration against the developer for the clear-cutting of the mature oak and walnut trees on the site.  This remains one of the ugliest incidents of reckless development in The Oaks within recent memory, and is a reminder to all of us that the preservation of the character of our neighborhood requires vigilance and the willingness to become involved.