Hedwig Village residents desperate to save age old Oak Tree, developer plans to tear it down
HEDWIG VILLAGE - A battle between Hedwig village residents and a property developer continues to heat up, and at the center of the controversy is a giant oak tree.
Residents like Harry Craig, who has lived on Constance Drive in Hedwig Village since 1983, says for 39 years he’s driven past the giant live oak tree, and he’s seen the memories that have been made underneath.
"It’s lived through a lot, if it could talk it’d probably tell you a lot of stories, and we just hate to see it come down to a chain saw and a stump grinder," he said. "I mean a lot of sentimental and great memories are here."
However, that age-old oak tree is in jeopardy; a developer produced plans to tear down the nearly 200-year-old tree in order to build a spacious 6,700 Square foot dream home on the property.
Residents say taking this oak tree away is literally like removing a piece of Hedwig village, a community known for its vibrant and beautiful oak trees.
"These are landmark trees, they’re part of the city’s image," said Mr. Dickey, another resident who has lived in the area for 4 years.
Neighbors say they were told the tree would be torn down on Friday, but we contacted the developer who said a date on when the tree will come down hasn’t been set. He refused to comment any further.
Joel Delgado is the owner of ‘Tree of life tree services’ he plants, removes, and trims trees in the Houston area. He says he heard about the battle over this oak tree, so he drove by just to have a look.
"This is a beautiful tree you can’t replace this, we won’t see another one grow this big in our lifetime," Delgado said.
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He also says he’s glad he’s not the contractor responsible for tearing down this historic oak tree.
"If I was the guy that had to remove the tree, I don’t think I could bring myself to do it" he said.
Community members have pulled in architects to help re-work the blueprint for the home developer's plan on building, with an approach so that the tree could remain in place.
One way or another, these residents say the oldest oak trees in their community won’t go down without a fight. They've started a GoFundMe account to try and raise enough money to buy the property, and hopefully, turn it into a small park preserving the trees that are on the land.