NASHVILLE, Tenn. — West Meade neighbors are working together to address concerns about tree loss as development transforms their Nashville neighborhood.
Paul Garland with the West Meade Neighborhood Association says a developer was working without proper permits when trees were clear-cut from a lot, resulting in a stop-work order being posted on the property.
"It kind of hurts when you can count the lines on the tree, and that's not a young tree," Garland said. "Some of these big trees they store stormwater up to 100 gallons a day."
The damage was already done before the stop work order was issued, with trees estimated to be decades old removed from the property.
"More like 80-90 years old, maybe 100. That's a shame," Garland said.
The neighborhood association has prepared a memorandum of understanding that they hope developers will sign. It would provide arborists to consult on projects before clear-cutting occurs, and in return, developers would receive positive neighborhood endorsement.
"We wanna work with the developers. We don't want to stop them from working. We couldn't do that anyway, anyway if we tried," Garland said.
Neighbor Tandy Wilson says he witnessed the rapid destruction of the trees.
"A crew came in and just shredded trees probably older than we are and did it in a real destructive way, real dangerous," Wilson said. "It's a decision that happened in one day that would take 80 years to replace."
Wilson emphasized that he supports property rights but believes consideration for the neighborhood's tree canopy is important.
"I think people should be able to do what they want to their land, but regard with the trees in our city is important right now," Wilson said. "Now, realizing how many trees were cut down in this process. It's way heavier."
Wilson added that successful development requires community consideration.
"Oh, and someone comes in and says I've got this. This is my idea. I know how to do this. I've seen that fail over my time," Wilson said. "Gotta be a good neighbor first if you wanna make it in Nashville."
The district's council member says they are working to strengthen city ordinances to help preserve trees through stormwater protection measures.
The developer couldn't be reached for comment.
This story was reported on-air by Amanda Roberts and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Have you experienced similar tree loss in your neighborhood? Email me at Amanda.Roberts@NewsChannel5.com with your story and photos to help us track development impacts across Nashville.
