Davie officials protest plan to remove trees along canal

DAVIE — A 175-yard stretch of canal along the town’s Linear Park trail could be stripped bare of all vegetation as early as this week.

The town is urging the South Florida Water Management District to reconsider its plan to remove dozens of oak and gumbo limbo trees along a canal that runs parallel to Griffin Road and Orange Drive.

The trees were slated to be removed Monday, but the projectwas temporarily stalled when Davie Mayor Judy Paul asked the district to consider an alternate plan.

“We’re trying to save the mature oak trees, pond apple clusters and gumbo limbos,” Paul said. “We offered to maintain this section so that they wouldn’t cut them down.”

The affected trees are between Nob Hill Road and Southwest 101st Avenue along theC-11canal that borders both Cooper City and Davie.

The district says the trees are hazardous and need to be removed so that debris and tree limbs don’t fall into the canal blocking the flow ofwater, which could cause flooding. The district plans to review the project and make a decision about removing the trees Wednes- day.

Davie used blue tape to mark several trees that it hopes the district will save by relocating them or by allowing the town to trim and maintain them in their current location.

Davie’s PublicWorks DirectorMark Collins said the town is willing to pay half the cost to relocate the trees and asked the district to postpone the tree removal so that it could have time to safely relocate the trees.

But the district, which is independently governed and doesn’t need a city permit to remove trees, determined that the canal needed to be cleared before a hurricane hits, district spokesman Randy Smith said.

“These trees are sitting on the banks of the canal … It would only take one storm to blow those things over to block it up and create a good amount of flooding,” said Smith, who said the district hasn’t decided whether it will help pay to relocate the trees.

Residents, who walk, jog and horseback ride along the trail that runs parallel to the canal said they hope some of the trees can be saved.

“At least don’t remove the native trees,” said resident Chris Westenberger, who was horseback riding on the trail Tuesday morning with resident Carrie Braganca.

“We need the shade — people ride up and down here all the time,” Braganca said.

CARLINE JEAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Davie Mayor Judy Paul stands near the C-11 canal along Orange Drive in the city.