A pair of specimen trees will come down with the building of a new warehouse near the corner of Lakeside Pkwy and Enterprise Drive after Flower Mound Town Council voted 4-1 on Monday to approve the removal.
Specimen trees are singled out for their beauty, rarity or unique form. They often perform well as landscaping as they draw attention and stand out.
Flower Mound’s Environmental Conservation Commission had approved the removal of four specimen trees by a vote of 4-1. When it first came to Town Council in April, it was unanimously voted to be tabled so the developer could work to save as many as possible.
At the June meeting on Monday, the developer came back with a plan to save one specimen tree, but said it wouldn’t be feasible to save any more than that.
Cameron Ehn of Claymoore Engineering represented the development team at the meeting. He talked about the ability for the team to get one specimen, as well as another 11 trees, saved.
“Our goal from last time we spoke was to do everything we could to take another look and see if we could save from additional trees,” he said. “We followed up with our client and they fortunately agreed to allow us to remove that connection.”
Another specimen tree, which Ehn said could not be saved due to elevation and current roadwork, was off of Lakeside Pkwy.
“Trying to get down and getting that existing elevation for that specific tree right there was not feasible without taking out a big chunk of the site and making it unable to be developed,” he said. “But, a legitimate effort was made to see if we could give up square footage, but it was not feasible, unfortunately.”
Mayor Pro Tem was appreciative of the effort made by Ehn and the developer.
“I want to say thank you for working with us and trying your best and saving some younger trees,” she said. “I appreciate your flexibility and willingness to do that.”
However, the council ended up pushing back, largely led by Deputy Pro Tem Adam Schiestel’s persistence to save that tree, a 39.5-inch post oak.
“I am going to challenge you on this one tree,” he said. “When you go back to the original plan, those trees were always planned to be saved. In order to get the warehouses, they had to save all these environmental features, specifically these trees.”
In the end, the council approved the removal of the two specimen trees, but denied the removal of the specimen that faces Lakeside Pkwy.
“What I’m asking you to do is to build the building that was contemplated 20 years ago in the manner that was contemplated in the original plan,” said Schiestel. “Just stick to the original plan and let’s save those trees.”
