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Tree cutting upsets neighbors Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Surveyors John Starr, left, and Cale Neathamer survey the recently denuded area along Hamrick Road near the Central Point Cemetery where some 300 oak trees were torn out. Neighbors and a city planner say the developer promised to preserve the trees. 300 oaks lost to development By BUFFY POLLOCK CENTRAL POINT - It was an odd thing to see along Hamrick Road on Friday, Arbor Day, as about 300 oak trees that shaded a former 30-acre pear orchard were cut into fire logs to make way for a new subdivision. Across the street, third-generation Oregon farmer Ken Beebe worried about where the trees in his own orchard would get water after a dry winter. Beebe said the tree cutting, preceded by the removal of the property's orchard trees, was just another reminder to neighbors of the problems caused by development of the White Oak and Central Point East subdivisions. Neighbors and a city planner say the developer promised to preserve the trees. In fact, they were told the trees were why the property was desirable for new homes. Worse, Beebe claims residents in the area are suffering from sinking foundations and dried-out wells. Beebe says his well, in addition to those of a dozen neighbors along Beebe Road across the street from the development, went dry when a storm drain for the proposed development was installed 15 feet underground and hit the water table at around 12 to 14 feet. "Our well produced for us for 112 years. Now there's not a drop in it," Beebe said. "They're changing the topography of the surface of the earth. "(Jackson County) had no business warranting the pipeline being put in like that. They wrecked our water table." While Beebe said he was lucky enough to be able to tap into a neighbor's well 1,000 feet away, others weren't so lucky. "People down there," he said, gesturing from his porch, "can't close a bathroom door because the foundation shifted. The lady over there, her fireplace is split down the middle. And some of them have dug second and third wells and still don't have enough water for household use. "I don't know how they're even managing," he said, shaking his head. Beebe said the biggest loss, which had yet to take its toll on Beebe Road growers, will be losing the ability to supplement irrigation district water with local well water. "Last time we had a season like this, we had wells that were adequate enough to get us through," Beebe said. "We can't do that now. We're scared to death. We're not even planting all of our fields because of the shortage of water." A dozen residents on Beebe Road filed a "civil negligence" lawsuit last year against nine of the entities involved with developing the two subdivisions. According to court documents, defendants in the suit include Central Point Properties Inc., Michael P. and Janet E. Thornton and the Thornton Engineering firm, Jackson County, the city of Central Point, Partners Trust Co. Inc., Investment Marketing and Acquisition and Decarlow Homes Inc. Decarlow Homes is a cross-petitioner in the suit, suing Thornton Engineering, according to court records. Reached at his Medford home Saturday, Michael P. Thornton declined to comment on the lawsuit or alleged problems with the development. A representative of Decarlow Homes did not return phone messages Friday and Saturday left at a number that is his home and Decarlow's Medford office. Gerald Warren of Salem, representing the city of Central Point, said the lawsuit is still "in the deposition phase," though the city has little to do with it. "Tons of people have been sued, but the city didn't really have much to do with it," Warren said. "The county oversaw the project even though it was a city development. That portion of the storm drain was county property. "You always have things like this come up when a development's taking place. A lot of people have yet to get their say," Warren said. Beebe argues that the land never should have been developed as a subdivision. "The lady that owned it sold it and was told that it would stay an orchard. It's a real shame. I hate to see it happen. They lied to her," Beebe said. The property's previous owner, Helen Gebhard, declined an interview pending the outcome of the lawsuit. Central Point Planning Director Tom Humphrey said that the city "had it on good faith" when the site plan for Central Point East was approved in 1997, that the developers wanted the site because of the number of trees on it. "We relied on applicant statements about what was going to be done with the property," Humphrey said. "They were going to leave as many trees as they could and only remove them where streets would be. "There was a good-faith understanding they'd be maintained. It's very disappointing." A tree ordinance passed by the Central Point City Council on Thursday night to "establish and maintain the maximum amount of tree cover on public and private lands" could have limited removal of so many of the shade trees along Hamrick Road if it had been in place earlier, but Beebe says little can be done now to bring back the orchard property or to resolve the water issue. "The only way they're gonna solve our problem is bring water from the Central Point system," Beebe said. "I told the engineer if they dug that drainage out there they'd ruin the water table. His answer to me was 'they don't give a damn.' "We had free, better-quality water from our own wells and they've taken that away from us." Most of the oaks that were cut and turned into firewood were "between 80 to 150 years old," according to Eagle Point arborist Phil Frazee, of Arbor West Tree Experts. He said native oaks like the ones that used to grace Hamrick Road are "disappearing from the valley." "This is probably the single-largest taking out of trees in 20 years that I could ever remember," Frazee said. "Fast and unorganized development. I guess this is what we reap." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.