Big shade tree faces chopping block in downtown Lake Worth Beach
The thriving oak outside Dave's Last Resort is coming down Oct. 14 because its root system has created a public safety hazard, city officials say.
A large shade tree in the heart of downtown Lake Worth Beach is destined for the chopping block early next week.
The mature live oak has been thriving on the sidewalk at the northeast corner of Lake Avenue and K Street since the Florida Department of Transportation planted it there in the mid-1990s. But in recent years, it’s been outgrowing its home.
The tree’s expanding root system is buckling pavers on the sidewalk and spreading beneath Dave’s Last Resort & Raw Bar at 632 Lake Ave., creating a safety hazard for pedestrians and threatening the building’s plumbing, city officials say.
“That is a major trip hazard,’’ Vice Mayor Sarah Malega said at a pre-agenda meeting Oct. 3 when commissioners told city officials to remove the troublesome tree. “It’s us being open to a lawsuit that we don’t need.’’
A city spokesperson said a crew will remove the tree in the early morning hours of Oct. 14 before sunrise. The intersection will remain open during the removal.
City commissioners have been aware of the tree’s potential safety issues for a while. On May 2, Commissioner Anthony Segrich brought it up at a pre-agenda meeting.
“I personally observed a woman in a motorized wheelchair almost fall over just by going down (the sidewalk) by Dave’s. It’s so bad that the wheelchair almost toppled over and people had to grab her before she fell,’’ he said.
When Mayor Betty Resch brought up the safety concerns again on Oct. 3, Interim City Manager Jamie Brown said the city was planning to remove the tree next spring after the tourist season.
He said city crews preferred to wait until they have a replacement tree to plant in the same spot right after the oak is removed. The tree they want, a Dahoon holly, is part of a larger downtown tree replacement program, but those trees are in high demand and won’t be available until next year, Brown said.
“We are not going to do anything with the tree in front of Dave’s until we procure replacements,’’ Brown told commissioners Oct. 3. “We are going to have to deal with it for one more season.’’
Commissioners overruled him. They told him to remove the tree as soon as possible and repair the sidewalk before the start of tourist season, which includes the annual street painting festival Feb. 21-22.
“Everyone knows this tree is a hazard,’’ Segrich said.
“We don’t want anyone to get hurt,’’ Malega said. “It’s a huge liability at this point for the city.’’
Until the Dahoon holly can be planted in the oak’s old spot, commissioners said, the owner of Dave’s can erect a potted plant or a large umbrella there.
City commissioner Chris McVoy is among residents who wanted the city to see if there’s a way to repair the sidewalk and reduce the safety hazard without destroying the tree.
“We knew that the pavers needed fixing but to cut the tree down was never discussed with us,’’ Diane Brown of the city’s advisory Tree and Landscape Board said in an interview earlier this year.
“It’s a big beautiful oak tree and it’s a real shame,’’ she said. “It would be lovely if you could save that tree. It provides wonderful shade.’’
Earlier this year, city officials debated cutting back the root system to make the sidewalk compliant with federal Americans With Disabilities Act standards. But they were worried that option would make the big tree — and its expansive canopy — more susceptible to high winds.
“We prefer not to have a tree that large that could, especially in hurricane season, blow over on either the building or onto the street,’’ Jamie Brown, the interim city manager, said in May, adding: I don’t know how the tree could possibly be saved.’’
City commissioners understand some people are upset about the finicky oak’s fate, but they said safety must take priority.
“We are not mean people that want to cut down that amazing tree,’’ the mayor said.
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