A live oak with a trunk 63.5 inches across is slated to come down at 1010 S. Main St. in Wildwood, Fla., where the property may become a car wash. Wildwood approved the removal at a Tuesday, Nov. 3, meeting, and the owner must plant four trees and pay $13,208 into the city tree fund, Villages-News reported.
The same meeting cleared two more heritage live oaks at a different property. The two cases show how Wildwood lets large oaks go, and what it charges when they do.
What Wildwood Approved on Nov. 3
Reporter Marv Balousek wrote that Wildwood’s Planning and Zoning Board approved removing three large heritage live oaks, and that Special Magistrate Lindsay C.T. Holt approved the variances that allow it. The trees stand on two separate properties, and both owners must plant replacement trees and donate to the city tree fund. The article does not give a vote count.
The big oak stands on the east side of South Main Street, south of State Road 44. LG Wildwood, LLC owns the 1.3-acre commercial property, which holds 41 trees, including elms, sweetgums and oaks. The owner told the city the oak conflicts with its site plans…