NORFOLK, Va. — Hundreds of trees are on the chopping block in neighborhoods near the Naval Station Norfolk Chambers Field.
Navy officials said they are too tall for some of their planes to take off and land safely.
On Monday, they had a meeting with residents regarding cutting down trees on their personal property.
A Naval Station Norfolk spokesperson said about 400 trees need to be cut down. Some homeowners at the meeting said they want to keep them, while others hope they get can get rid of them soon.
“The soonest impact will be that all my shade will be gone once all those trees are chopped down," said Theresa Fontenot, a resident of the Granby Shores neighborhood.
Fontenot said she has eight trees that may need to come down.
“It is what it is and it’s for safety. It’s hard to argue against that," said Fontenot.
The Navy has reached out to residents living in the Granby Shores, Commodore Park and Merrimack Landing neighborhoods. Commanding Officer David Dees said the tall trees are posing a flight risk when they fly out of their runway and land.
“We don’t have adequate safety margins to where that plane should be and where that tree is," said Dees.
One resident said he wants his trees to come down.
“If they want to cut the trees, by all means, it’s four pine trees. I know it’s going to help some of the areas, like the planes. As long as I don’t have to pay for it, I’m okay with it," said Commodore Park resident Alex Renard.
The proposed timeline is to start cutting in the fall, but Dees said it may not happen that fast.
“That next step would be for us to work with the city to get a real estate license to allow us, then to cut the trees. But again, this is really step one as part of a conversation," Dees said.
Navy officials said they plan to provide free tree replanting too. They also said if they start to cut trees down in the fall, the first ones will be on city property.
Members of the Norfolk Tree Commission also went to the meeting. It’s a group that helps guide city policies to protect trees in the city. The organization plans to send a letter with their concerns about the removal of the hundreds of trees.
“It just represents a really big loss for our city. Norfolk is an urban area, so we have the green space we have like we’re not making more. We’re basically redeveloping," said Alissa Bunner with Norfolk Tree Commission.