HOUSTON – There’s been a public outcry among some in Montrose after a proposed plan to improve a section of Montrose Boulevard means the removal of some historic Live Oak trees.
Recently, someone shared the removal of trees outside a condominium on West Main Street. The group, “Save The Montrose Live Oaks” has been advocating to save the trees from being removed from a proposed improved project to redevelop Montrose Boulevard. They say the tree that was most recently removed was close to 130 years old.
”This is one of the majestic trees planted probably before the 1900s,” says Melissa Gilhart with ‘Save The Montrose Live Oaks.’
KPRC 2 reached out to Montrose TIRZ (Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone), which is a city council-created entity that works on capital improvement projects in Montrose. They’re behind the Montrose Boulevard redevelopment project, which calls for the removal of some trees. They say this most recent tree removal, isn’t a part of the project.
We learned, through the Houston Parks Department, that the tree was removed by Public Works because of a months-long water leak underneath it. The removal though was a surprise to many, after they were originally told the leak could be fixed without removing the tree.
“I was contacted by the forestry department verbally who explained they intended to cut the tree down and subsequently upon another investigation by the Public Works department the inspector indicated to me that they intended to bypass the tree and not cut it down by running the water line underneath the sidewalk, “says Jonathan Orr, who called about the leak earlier in the year.
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He says he worked up to the tree being torn down, last week.
Although this tree isn’t a part of the Montrose TIRZ project, members of ‘Save the Montrose Live Oaks’ say it’s a reminder how precious these trees are.
“I take this personally, have planted over a hundred native trees in my neighborhood, and yet it’s so easy where it took me years to do that and it’s so easy for one to come down like this it is irreplaceable and I’m going to miss it so much,” says Gilhart.
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The group continues to take their fight to city hall to save as many of the century-old Live Oaks as they can.
“Please put preservation ordinances in the city to preserve these trees and come up with better solutions,” says Gilhart.