Tree Must Stay, City Says

A 30-year-old live oak tree in the front yard of Peter Hornemann at 320 Cooper Road will remain, despite Hornemann’s request that the city allow it to be removed because, he says, the tree poses a potential danger to his home’s underground utilities and has damaged a property delineation wall. The City Council voted 4-3 to deny Hornemann’s appeal of a Parks and Recreation Commission decision that he keep the tree—which is set back 17 feet into the property—and just prune its roots and branches. Had it been another three feet further inside his property, Hornemann wouldn’t have had to seek the city’s permission to remove it.