U.S. 41 Tree Fix in the Works?

Good news might be on the horizon for Lutz residents who want to keep the community – or at least its medians – green.

On its new webpage dedicated to updates about U.S. 41 maintenance through a 7-mile stretch of Lutz, Hillsborough County has announced it is meeting with third-parties that might be able to help keep crepe myrtle trees and other plantings in place.

No details about the talks are being provided just yet, but county officials say they intend to keep the community informed.

“A public meeting is still being planned for the third week of March to allow the County to discuss its proposed solutions with the community and to receive input and comment from the Lutz community,” a statement on the webpage says.

The Heart of the Matter

A local controversy erupted in January when it became public knowledge that Hillsborough County intended to turn over maintenance of the U.S. 41 medians to the Florida Department of Transportation.

While FDOT is technically responsible for maintaining the medians, the county took on the responsibility years ago to ensure the decorative plantings could stay in place. In January, the county announced it could no longer afford to keep up the medians and wanted FDOT to resume the task.

The problem, however, is that FDOT says it’s not equipped, required or even allowed to maintain decorative plantings. As a result, it told the county to remove about 86 trees before it would assume responsibility.

Lutz Residents Rally

News about the proposed tree removal caused Lutz residents to mobilize in protest. During the weekend before the planned removal, they spread the word via email, Facebook and phone calls. They even planned an because the county responded and said it would put the tree removal on hold and work with the community to find another solution.

During a subsequent meeting in January, county officials met with Lutz residents to hear their concerns. At that meeting, county staff promised to work with residents to find a solution. They also promised to create a webpage dedicated to updates on the topic. That webpage is now live and can be viewed on the county’s website.

Stay with Lutz Patch for updates about the median maintenance and the upcoming meeting.

What do you think about the U.S. 41 trees? Should they stay or go? Do they help beautify the community? Share your thoughts in the comments section

See Also:

• County: ‘Give Us Some Time’ on Lutz Trees
• Lutz Residents Tell County ‘We Don’t Trust You’
• County 'Goofed' on Lutz Tree Removal Handling
• U.S. 41 Tree Meeting Takes Place Tonight
• Protest Over U.S. 41 Trees Called Off
• Public Meeting Set to Discuss U.S. 41 Tree Removal