Residents of a condominium community in Amherstburg are crying foul after five mature trees lining Victoria St. S were chopped down, leaving behind stumps and growing frustration. On Friday, residents of the Victoria Gardens mixed-tenure community made their displeasure clear to CTV News, arguing the trees were still healthy and were removed without proper notice. “They’re supposed to give us 35 days warning over anything over a thousand dollars according to the Condominium Authority,” Peter Miles said in an interview. “They gave us less than a week.” Residents received notice on June 14 that tree work would be taking place. By Wednesday, residents say several 60-year-old trees had been removed. One of them stood just outside Jessica Cockram’s backyard. She says it provided shade, flowers, and a daily gathering place for birds her young son loved to feed. “My son, he had his bird feeders up there. He would go out there and feed the birds every day. And then when they cut it down, he was devastated,” said Cockram, who now hopes the stumps are removed and new trees are planted in their place. A representative of the Huron Shores Property Management group, which manages the property, told CTV News they follow a process used at all their sites. The company says recommendations from arborists, engineers, and residents are considered before the property board makes a final decision. No board members were available for comment today. Residents say they already miss the shade cover the old trees provided and worry their front rooms will feel hotter leading to higher energy costs to cool their homes. They are also concerned about other costs associated with the tree cuttings. “We’re trying to stop the pattern of being overcharged and hopefully get reimbursed for some of the things that we did not want,” said Miles, who blames more than $4-thousand in bills on improvements to the building’s siding and parking lot in recent years. “They’re not doing basic maintenance and they’re doing huge projects like this at our expense.” Miles has launched a petition and says he plan to bring the concerns of residents to the corporation’s annual meeting scheduled for July 29th. “I think with this petition we’re going to have a higher turnout than in previous years, but I think some things are going to be changed and some answers demanded.”
