U.S. 41 Tree Removal Not Happening Yet, County Says

Hillsborough County’s decision to remove trees from the medians along U.S. 41 has been met with an icy reception in Lutz, but officials are saying there’s been a misunderstanding of sorts.

Residents plan to gather Monday, Jan. 14, at 7:30 a.m. at the apex of Florida and Nebraska avenues to protest the removal, said Lutz resident Marion Smith. County officials, however, say not all the trees in the medians will be removed.

Trees marked with ribbons will be saved, county staff wrote in an email to Commissioner Ken Hagan.

"That is the response that I received from our administration today (Sunday)," Hagan wrote in an email to Patch. "However, just to be sure, I will be on this first thing in the morning."

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The Issue at Hand

At issue are the trees planted in the U.S. 41 medians from the apex north to the Pasco County line.

The landscape improvements were originally planted by the Florida Department of Transportation, but Hillsborough County has been overseeing maintenance of the medians for the last few years, a Tampa Tribune article said.

A landscaper stepped forward to assist the county in the effort when budgets got tight, but that deal has since fallen through, the Tribune reported.

Now, the state is stepping back in to assume maintenance of the medians, but won’t do so until some of the trees are removed. 

It was initially thought removal would begin on Monday, but county staff says work orders have not been issued.

The Community Mobilizes

News about the proposed median project broke late last week. Reports indicated that many of the trees planted in the U.S. 41 medians would be removed.

When residents heard about the plans, an outcry arose.

“Removing 'OUR' Trees from Hwy. 41 is just another example of how our Government has assumed they own our County,” wrote Rod “Hot Rod” Gaudin, owner of Hot Rod’s County BBQ on the Lutz Patch Facebook page. “Our Government owns nothing! Everything they have, control, buy, sell or work is owned by the people.”

Gaudin isn’t alone in his sentiments.

Smith said the protest is growing. Several people are spearheading the effort, which includes members of the Lutz Civic Association and other community groups.

Trees Marked With Ribbons Will be Saved

While residents have been given the impression there’s nothing that can be done to save the trees, county officials say that’s not entirely true.

Hagan responded to one resident’s email on the issue by saying, he has been looking into the tree removal and shares resident concerns.

Hagan forwarded on a response from county staff in regard to the issue:

This action was necessitated because many of the private entities that once agreed to maintain the landscaping on this roadway have neglected to do so in accordance with the terms of maintenance agreements and to FDOT standards. There are unfortunate errors in the article which may have escalated the reaction, namely the trees with the ribbons are trees that are to be saved, not trees to be removed. Other trees have been determined by FDOT to be unhealthy or dead. Nonetheless, the work orders to proceed with this have not been issued.

We are contacting the residents who have corresponded with you, and tomorrow we will work with our Community Affairs staff and FDOT to address and resolve this issue.

It is unclear at this point if the protest will continue as planned.

What do you think about the tree removal? Share your thoughts in the comments section.