South Pointe residents concerned about removal of oak trees
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – South Pointe residents, caught off guard by the clearing of trees up to the edges of their back yards as construction begins on the Parker Road extension, are appealing to the Alachua County Commission for help.
Alachua County announced last month that construction would begin on February 23 to extend NW 122nd Street from Newberry Road to NW 17th Avenue; the project also includes 10-foot-wide multiuse paths for pedestrians and cyclists, along with drainage improvements intended to enhance long-term roadway performance.
Michelle Nguyen has started a petition, asking local elected officials to save the oak trees along the roadway. In an email to County Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler, she said she has measured five oak trees with diameters over 60 inches. She is advocating for pausing the project so the design can be adjusted to protect the trees.
Another South Pointe resident said the clearing of all the woods behind her house is a public safety issue; she said her yard is “exposed to construction for a new road being built behind my house without any barriers or trespassing protection for us.” She also asked for a pause to save more trees and construct a safety barrier between the road construction and the homes.
After Wheeler forwarded one of the emails to Assistant County Manager Missy Daniels, asking for more information, Daniels responded, “The County has had many conversations with GRU over the past few years trying to determine where our right-of-way can be located within their easement. Unfortunately, trees in the right-of-way have to come down to get this road built. Our arborist, Lacy Holtzworth, will be following to plant any trees that can be once the road is built.”
Don’t these people know that these trees coming down is very good for Alachua County. After all GRU can burn them to give them power. It is a win win for everyone. After those oxygen producing, CO2 absorbing trees are ripped from the ground they can be loaded on a diesel burning semi truck and hauled to a diesel burning chipper and then burn for power. The good news is that everyone will be over charged for the electricity they receive so the GRU debt, created by the Gainesville Commission can be paid. The reality is that no tree is safe in Alachua County thanks to the City of Gainesville building our environmentally friend tree burning power plant.
No one knew the trees would be in the way?
Chances are the County didn’t expect some residents to get in the way.
Ah, progress, expansion, and sprawl — gotta love it.
This road has been on the books for many years. I feel that they should have been more invested in the process. I hate the trees coming down because I can see their houses now. I agree they shouldn’t cut down the trees, like the ones that were cleared when they built South Pointe
The folks that flee the blue state horror-show and get their stucco box in the former pasture/swamp/grove/forest…..and then freak when the development continues…..ah well….
If the county let Celebration Pointless clear cut most all the hardwoods when they began construction why would they care about an established neighborhood with large majestic oaks.
We used to be the ‘tree’ city….but not anymore.
Lou. I’ve lived here over 20 years and this area used to have almost triple the tress it has now. No local media covered when the ‘Tree City USA’ signs were all quietly taken down. It’s a shame.
Government says the trees are important until they stand in the way. Then they are not important. Government says one thing but then does another. The amount of trees they are clearing in Alachua county could run biomass for the next 5 years alone. You can thank the out of state developers for combing every square foot of this county chomping at the bit to clear cut it for their crummy osb homes.
Did they pull tree removal permits?
Were public meetings held about the project and neighbors noticed? Or are government projects exempted?
Watch the temp go up. GRU will charge more for A/C. When will the county get a vote on things that affect county residents? Will GRU pull the same sleazy stunt they pulled this winter? We paid more because the powers that be did not realize that winter is cold. Now we will pay more because summer is hot in Florida. Greedy, inefficient people.
From my understanding they are still planning on using that large sink to control the runoff from the road expansion. Civil engineering 101 says to never use an open sink for stormwater management. They couldn’t care less about the aquifer.