‘Very upset’: 75-year-old oak tree cut down in Prairie Village despite public outcry

A 75-year-old oak tree was cut down and removed Wednesday from a Prairie Village residence despite ongoing public outcry.

The tree was in the front yard of a residence in the 5200 block of W. 69th Street where James Engle Custom Homes is building a new house in place of the old one.

Community members and neighbors expressed outrage on social media in the days leading up to its removal.

The former owners of the home, Laura and Jack Treml, who sold it to the company, thought the oak tree was protected by a city ordinance and would not be cut down.

The city ordinance protecting trees does not prohibit all tree removals, it just requires tree removals have extra justification, according to Prairie Village Deputy City Administrator Nickie Lee.

“The new driveway construction, given the orientation of the new home, caused the removal to be approved,” Keith Bredehoeft, public works director for the city, said in an email. “They followed our process by submitting the tree removal permit, which was approved. This was not an arbitrary removal.”

The ordinance specifies that an exemption can be made if the developer submits an application with specific documentation and justification for a tree’s removal. Some valid reasons to remove a tree include if the tree is dead, diseased or if the tree’s removal is necessary for construction and reasonable efforts were made to save the tree, according to the ordinance.

“We were both very upset that the tree came down,” Laura Treml said.

Jack Treml said that he was first convinced to move to their home in Prairie Village in part because of the tree and others like it throughout the city. He said trees like the one taken down are part of the character of the neighborhood and should be protected.

Over the six years that the couple lived there, they serviced the tree twice and said it was healthy.

Nancy Silverforb lives next door to the residence where the tree was cut down, and said the ordeal has made her want to be more of an advocate for her community and neighborhood.

“I have said to many people, we’re not opposed to growth and change in Prairie Village. But the destruction of a perfectly healthy tree for the sake of a driveway that the developer for whatever reasons chose not to move, is pretty hard to take,” Silverforb said.

Laura Treml questioned how many trees are protected by the ordinance if her old tree was taken down despite being at least 75 years old and healthy.

James Engle Customs Homes was not immediately available for comment on the development.