On Monday night, the DeLand City Commission voted 4-0 to approve the removal of 62 historic trees for the DeLand Tech Park project.
Commissioner Dan Reed was absent.
The development will include “a combination of warehouse and commercial space,” and project officials said the trees need to be removed for the project to move forward, according to city documents.
The trees ― all live oaks, except for one red cedar that is in fair condition ― are near the southeast corner of Cassadaga Road and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, according to city documents. The trees are mostly in good to fair condition.
DeLand City Code defines historically significant trees as bald cypress that are 20 inches or larger in diameter at breast height (the diameter of a tree trunk at 4 1/2 feet above the average ground level at the tree’s base), live oak or sand live oak trees that are at least 25 inches in diameter at breast height and red cedar trees that are at least 25 inches in diameter at breast height.
The city is requiring the applicant, Longleaf Four LLC, to plant 62 replacement trees that are at least 17 feet tall with a 6-inch caliper.
Longleaf Four LLC is also adding to the northern buffer of the project to save a live oak that’s 76 inches in diameter at breast height and providing an additional 10-acre tree protection area north of the project.
Mark Watts, an attorney with Cobb Cole law firm who represented the applicant, said that the developer is going above and beyond the requirements. Among other things beyond what’s already been mentioned, trees will be added for landscaping. The development team also adjusted the design of a pond to save a large oak tree.
Mayor Chris Cloudman spoke positively about the plans.
Commissioner Richard Paiva said votes like the one on Monday night are challenging because DeLand residents and officials have a strong interest in trees, including being a “Tree City USA” through the Arbor Day Foundation.
“When it comes to, you know, eliminating trees, they’re not easy decisions,” he said. “But for me, it’s good to consider that this is commercial and this can mean jobs. So also in this case if we say yes to trees, we’re kind of saying no to business and to jobs.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: DeLand Commission OKs removal of 62 ‘historic trees’
Reporting by Sheldon Gardner, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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