The First Colony HOA wants to remove the trees along Edgewater Drive between Colonist Park and Waters Way in First Colony. But they're one of the reasons neighbors Patty Newton and Vickie Bolen moved near Edgewater Drive 25 years ago.
"The birds can't say anything about it so somebody has to be here to fight," Newton said.
There's no grass underneath those trees. Plus, the trees in the median are planted so close together, the roots are intersecting; and, soil runoff is flowing into the storm drains.
Now, First Colony Community Association announced it's going to remove 29 trees to solve the problem. But not everyone agrees.
"Well, I was just outraged," Bolen said.
"Certainly there's a way to save these trees, save the blue heron that have come nesting here for the past four years and resolve the problem," Newton said.
Sugar Land city officials say they've talked to First Colony about finding a way to stop the soil runoff from ultimately getting into Oyster Creek.
"When too much dirt enters waterways like Oyster Creek, it contributes to negative impact on the environmental health of that waterway. Bottom line, aquatic life suffer and often times die," said Doug Adolph with the city of Sugar Land.
There are other ways to fix this problem, Sugar Land officials suggest First Colony could use alternative grass to grow in low-light conditions.
"So much of Sugar Land is developed now, that's a good thing. But we can't destroy that part of nature that's still with us," Newton said.
This project is supposed to begin this August. There's a big meeting Tuesday night in First Colony to discuss the homeowner association's plans for the trees.
