HAMPTON, Va. — A large tree, possibly hundreds of years old, sat in pieces in an empty lot on Locust Avenue in Hampton Tuesday. It had recently been cut down.
Residents in the neighborhood were concerned and frustrated.
"Taking this tree down has changed the character of the street, and it can change the character of the neighborhood," Robin Mabie said.
Mabie lives on Locust Avenue. She reached out to News 3 about the tree. She said the character is something the residents in the neighborhood take pride in.
It’s also something the city is trying to preserve by creating design plans for new homes in the neighborhood so those homes will match the character of the neighborhood.
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“Coming in and taking down trees to develop an infill lot and a home seems counterproductive on the pride that Hampton takes in its historic preservation," said Mabie.
Unfortunately, in this case, there's not much the city could have done to stop the tree from being cut down. The lot is owned by a real estate company. State law doesn’t allow the city to control what happens to a tree unless the tree has been designated as one of four types.
This tree had not been designated.
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At a meeting February 23 to update residents in the neighborhood about the effort to create design plans for new homes, Mabie brought up the tree.
She asked News 3 to attend the meeting.
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A representative from the architecture firm developing the plans said the tree being cut down was not something the company intended to have happen. A representative for the real estate company that owns the lot tells News 3 developing it would be hard with the tree there.
Mabie disagrees and, as of Tuesday, was advocating for the city to develop a tree canopy preservation plan, which could require a new tree to be planted when one is cut down.
“If you’re going to have abnormal lots already that aren’t normally developed on, then you can consider a waiver on the setback of the home to where the roots may not affect the home," said Mabie.
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Aside from the impact on the neighborhood character, Mabie was also concerned about the impact on other trees that are now more exposed and on the air quality with the big tree no longer there to help keep the air clean.
"With the [environmental] resiliency that Hampton prides itself on, I'm just not connecting the dots," said Mabie.
