Residents near site of new Tallahassee Police HQ concerned over planned tree removal
Longtime Tallahassee residents take pride in their famous tree canopies, and some were outraged when they learned the end is near for almost two dozen of them near what will be the Tallahassee Police Department's new headquarters.
The city plans to remove 20 live oaks from the Parkside and Park Terrace community as the redevelopment of the Northwood Centre continues.
Sterling Gillis, who has lived in the neighborhood for 10 years, said the neighbors are banding together to hopefully save the vibrant, picturesque oaks.
"They're on death row," Gillis said. "We're trying to get a stay of execution."
Tree cutters are scheduled Monday to remove the trees to create more space for a stormwater pond that will be behind the new police headquarters. But frustrations are soaring among some residents because they received no warning this was going to happen, Gillis said.
The only reason people learned of the plans is because one resident found a worker painting an "X" on the chosen trees just days before they were to be taken down.
The news was even more of a shock because the same resident, Melanie Hines, struck a deal long before this by giving the city an easement on her property for the current pond in exchange for the guarantee that the tree buffer would be left untouched, according to Gillis and others.
"She was really shocked that the city wouldn't keep its promises because the city should keep its promises, especially when it got something of great value in exchange for that promise," said Randie Denker, a member of the Alliance of Tallahassee Neighborhoods who is heavily involved in reversing the city's plans.
Asked for comment, city spokesperson Alison Faris instead directed the Tallahassee Democrat to the city's website by sending a link to the project's webpage. The Democrat had also asked to interview an official about the progress and plans for the construction.
Racing against the clock, residents are trying to meet with or at least speak on the phone with city officials to stop the tree removal. "It's completely unnecessary and the way that they did it shows a complete lack of regard for the people who live there," Denker said.
Denker pointed to Cascades Park and said something similar could be done. She said she's brought storm water engineers to survey the area and they've told her there are plenty of design options that don't require the trees to be cut down.
According to the city's website, the project is currently in the infrastructure phase, which includes a new central roadway, utilities, a stormwater pond, street lights, sidewalks, landscaping and parking.
So far, Assistant City Manager Wayne Tedder said at the city's retreat Wednesday, the city has spent $22 million on the project, including land acquisition. About $14.5 million of that was spent on construction.
The city is still finalizing design plans for TPD's new headquarters, but once construction begins, the project could take at least a year to finish.
Gillis said she has no problem with TPD relocating to the area. She said she's actually looking forward to having them around so the partying that happens each weekend in the former mall's parking lot will stop. "The whole house rattles, and I'm across the pond from them," she said.
While new trees are supposed to be planted, Gillis said that these trees will take years to match the stature of the current ones. Plus, a concrete wall will replace the natural buffer
"You're tearing out something beautiful to replace it with something ugly," she said. "It almost looks like you're putting up a prison wall."
Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X @elenabarreraaa.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Neighbors upset at pending tree removal next to new TPD headquarters
