A healthy, 120-year-old City tree is about to be cut down for a private homeowner's convenience. Demand the Park Board pause the chainsaws and enforce non-destructive soil monitoring.

The Core Conflict 

A private homeowner at 1633 Stephens Street removed a leaking underground heating oil tank and wants to dig out all the contaminated soil. To do this, the contractor would have to chop away roughly half of the roots of a healthy, 120+ year-old City-owned Horse Chestnut tree, which would make the tree unstable and dangerous. The Vancouver Park Board agreed to let them cut down the tree, essentially treating the homeowner's preferred cleanup method as an absolute right that overrides the protection of a public asset.

Why the Community is Fighting Back

1. The Law Doesn't Force This Destruction: The oil tank removal contractor claims they must dig up all the dirt to get a clean environmental bill of health. However, both BC provincial law and the City's own rules offer an alternate way to save the tree. They legally allow the owner to manage the contamination in place with a safe monitoring plan, or simply wait to clean up the soil until the property is eventually redeveloped.
   The Tree is Safe Right Now: An independent tree expert (arborist) inspected the tree and found that the damage done so far is minimal and the tree is structurally safe. It only becomes a "hazard" if the City allows the contractor to proceed with their massive excavation.
2. The Tree is Actually Cleaning the Soil: Science shows that a mature tree of this size acts like a giant natural pump, sucking up hundreds of liters of water daily. This naturally pushes, pulls, and dilutes the leftover oil. Digging up the roots destroys nature's own built-in cleanup crew.
3. Rule Breaking: The contractor already started digging and cutting the tree's roots before the City was ever called in to assess the situation. Rather than penalizing the contractor for damaging public property, the City is rewarding them by granting permission to remove the tree entirely.
4. The Suspected Real Motive:  According to neighbourhood reports, the property owner has been trying to get rid of this specific tree for years. A 1908 house isn't worth much, but a clear lot without a giant public tree blocking the frontage is highly valuable to a developer. The community suspects the oil tank leak is being used as a convenient excuse to finally clear the lot.

The Bottom Line

The community wants the City to enforce its own bylaws, stop bowing to the private homeowner's "preference" for a destructive excavation, and require the owner to use the legal, non-destructive monitoring pathway so the tree can survive.