The Dunedin City Council is deciding whether landowners in Taieri Road will be allowed to remove a 27 metre sequoia tree which is on the Council's "significant tree" list. The owners say that the tree damages driveways, drops debris and causes "huge stress and anxiety". They were supported by 23 submissions with 3 against.
But Council planner, Karen Bain, has recommended that the consent be denied but that the Council contribute $6,000 of the $12,000 required to deal with the problems created by the tree. The owners would have to pay the other $6,000.
It is good to see that an organisation called the Protect Private Ownership of Trees Society supporting the owners. There are few voices in today's society which stand up for private property rights.
The Council panel should respect the rights of ratepayers to manage trees on their own property, and reject the recommendation of the Council bureaucracy.
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While I know nothing of the Taieri Rd case except what I've read in the ODT, I do believe it's right and proper that the public interest is represented concerning the fate of significant trees. The average ownership tenure of residential properties is about seven years, while some tree species live for perhaps 200 years, or even more. A five minute chainsaw job could change a landscape forever. I agree that shading, falling debris, safety and damage to structures are all factors to be considered and in some cases even one of those factors could outweigh the combined advantages to the public of retaining a tree or trees. But no property owner owns the airspace above their property and neither do they own the landscape. Neither do they have the right to dictate major landscape changes. Leaving such decisions in the hands of the property owner would be like putting the fox in charge of the fowlhouse. In my view it is beyond question that all those potentially affected (including the owner) should have the right to state their case to an independent arbitrator - in this case the city council - who should make the decision in consideration of all the facts. As I said, I know virtually nothing about the Taieri Rd tree. I'm talking about a principle.
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