County Board members are promising a detailed written response after Lyon Park residents accused the local government of cutting down and carting off a “gateway” tree without cause.
The removal came despite efforts of the Lyon Park Citizens Association to preserve the tree, which had been located for the past 40 years on an island in the middle of N. Fillmore Street near 3rd Street N.
“The lack of response and consideration shown to our neighborhood was appalling,” said Natalie Roy, who heads the civic organization. “It will take a long time to regain the trust that has been lost.”
Roy spoke at the Dec. 13 County Board public-comment period. Her remarks came just days after the tree was removed by a contractor.
“On Thursday, the county dismembered the tree so it had no chance of survival,” Roy told Board members. “On Friday, you finished it off.”
The tree was placed in the median in the 1980s, Roy said. The civic association contends it was in no peril, and offered to fund an evaluation of its condition by an independent arborist.
“The trunk, every single limb, all of it, was healthy. There was no evidence of any disease or rot,” said Roy, a veteran civic activist who twice has run for County Board.
Because of the rules for public comment, no other speakers on the topic were allowed. Several Lyon Park residents joined Roy at the podium as she demanded answers.
Those answers would be forthcoming, a number of Board members promised.
“I take all of your testimony very seriously,” Board Chair Takis Karantonis said. “You will have a detailed response.”
Karantonis cited his own recent, unsuccessful effort to preserve a tree near his home near Columbia Pike. Board members Julius “JD” Spain, Sr., and Matt de Ferranti also promised county staff would follow up.
“Let’s continue to have some level of conversation,” Spain said.
Roy said that conversation should have occurred before chainsaws were wielded.
“You know how sensitive the situation was. We asked the county’s urban forester to work with us on a solution,” she said. “We invited all of you and the county manager to an emergency treeside chat — none of you attended.”
County Manager Mark Schwartz was away from the county Saturday for a family event, leaving Deputy County Manager Shannon Flanagan-Watson to run the staff side of the meeting. Board members opted not to inquire publicly of county staff, as they sometimes do, to provide a verbal response to the concerns raised.
At another point during the lengthy Dec. 13 meeting, a number of Board members touted the prospect of Virginia localities gaining more tree-preservation authority from the General Assembly in the coming legislative session.
Board member Susan Cunningham said she hoped 2026 would prove “the year of the tree” in the Commonwealth.
Image of location via Google Maps
