City may spare trees at Northwood Centre, where new Tallahassee police HQ will go
Days after the Tallahassee Democrat reported that residents were up in arms over the proposed tearing down of almost two dozen trees that buffer their neighborhood from what will be the new police headquarters, city officials have temporarily halted those plans.
Residents of the Parkside and Park Terrace community and the Alliance of Tallahassee Neighborhoods banded together days before the scheduled uprooting to beg the city to keep the trees.
Twenty oak trees were scheduled to come down Monday, but after public backlash, the city asked engineers to evaluate options for the per-construction work at the Northwood Centre.
City Manager Reese Goad said in an interview that he hopes to receive an answer Wednesday about whether the trees will have to be removed. If not, a resolution would be presented by the end of the week.
Engineers are working to determine if the stormwater holding pond can be relocated without redoing the site's master plan.
The trees that serve as a buffer around the existing pond were scheduled to be removed to create more space for a bigger pond that is supposed to be behind the future home of the Tallahassee Police Department.
"There's a balancing act here," Goad said.
A new pond is required by the Northwest Florida Water Management District. Moreover, there are obligations to meet aesthetic needs and the area is also a desirable location for new housing developments, Goad added.
The city has worked very closely with the neighborhood alliance, he said. The current plan accounts for increasing green space. The number of trees on the 30-acre site and both ponds will be a community amenity once it's constructed, he said.
"We're being very respectful, listening," Goad said. "That's what we've done the entire time on this project — we want to be in good dialogue with them."
Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: City of Tallahassee temporarily halts tree removal at Northwood Centre
