news-record.com

GREENSBORO — The tree that once seemed as good as gone will continue to stand to the delight of Fisher Park residents and to the dismay of its owner, the First Presbyterian Church.

The tree wins now. Is it right? Join the discussion at the Debatables blog.

The Greensboro Board of Adjustment sided with the Fisher Park Neighborhood Association on Monday by ruling the church must keep a willow oak in a new church parking lot planned along North Elm Street.

The board's decision upheld a ruling in August by the Greensboro Historic Preservation Commission, which governs the city's three historic districts, of which Fisher Park is one. The commission said preserving trees is vital to Fisher Park's character.

The church's only recourse would be costly: Appeal to Guilford Superior Court.

Church spokeswoman Ann Alexander said the church has no plans for now to appeal. She said it will continue to look at design options, even though it has already gone through six plans.

The plan the Board of Adjustment rejected, while calling for the oak's removal, would have added Allee elms that can reach 60-feet tall and saved nine existing trees.

The church says leaving the willow oak would harm traffic flow and leave the tree choked by asphalt.

The church bought the property a few years ago, which included a house dating to 1930 and later used for private offices.

When the church said the house must go, the association protested, as it has done before when the church sought to remove houses for expansion.

The church said it would give the house to anyone who would move it. A Fisher Park resident obliged by moving it elsewhere in Fisher Park.

The matter seemed settled until the church unveiled its parking lot plan with the oak's removal.

Both sides agreed on some issues, including the destruction of an even larger willow oak in an adjoining church lot, next to a building with a fitness center and Fisher's Grille.

The city's urban forester, Mike Cusimano, and a private arborist said the diseased larger tree was beyond saving. Cusimano also endorsed the parking lot design. So did the staff that advises the Historic Preservation Commission.

The staff and Cusimano said the plan exceeds normal development guidelines for a historic district.

Dava Cox, chairwoman of the church's property committee, said the church's plan would have saved nine existing trees, with the willow oak the only healthy tree sacrificed.

Because the neighborhood is a historic district, the commission must approve tree removals and changes to exteriors of structures.

The church and association occasionally clash because their goals differ.

The growing church needs room to expand. The association seeks to protect Fisher Park's early 20th-century look, of which trees are a major feature.

Contact Jim Schlosser at 373-7081 or jschlosser@news-record.com