Phoenix neighborhood ready to fight removal of tree

PHOENIX -- A showdown is brewing in Sunnyslope community of Phoenix over a neighborhood landmark.

Jayden Bucoy, 11, lives at the Casa del Norte townhomes near 12th Street and Northern Avenue. There's a big tree there.

"I love it!" she said about the tree. "It's just really fun to play with, and we use the bark as little boats."

The eucalyptus tree towers over everything.

"It's a large tree. We don't know how long that it's been there, but it's approximately 50 years," said Mayme Wilhem, community manager for Associated Property Management, the company which has been hired by Casa del Norte's homeowners association to run the neighborhood.

In 2013, the tree started damaging the sidewalks around it, and APM got a warning from the city of Phoenix.

"If we did not make the repair, we would be charged $3,000 by the city of Phoenix," Wilhem said.

APM paid for the repairs and elected to keep the tree, she said. But now, Wilhem said that it's causing new problems.

"It is lifting the sidewalks," she said. "We don't know what it's doing to the plumbing, piping and fire hydrant. It could be damaging the roof of the building that it's adjacent to, as well as the structure."

Fearing another threat of fines, APM sent someone out to cut the tree down last week.

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Phoenix neighborhood ready to fight removal of tree