Property with 300-year-old tree may go up for sale, prompting fears about its fate
Defenders of the massive tree want the city to buy it
Fans of a roughly 300-year-old Toronto tree are worried what will happen if the property goes up for sale, despite years of city council discussion about protecting the massive red oak.
Towering above a bungalow in a backyard near Sheppard Avenue West and Weston Road, it's one of the most important heritage trees in Canada, said Edith George, an adviser to the Ontario Urban Forest Council.
"It takes my breath away," she said.
But George recently learned the property owner who bought the Coral Gable Drive home in 2015 may be putting it up for sale again, and could try to have the tree removed in the process.
A real estate agent also "knocked on doors," she added, asking for neighbours' input on the tree at an upcoming meeting.
CBC Toronto could not reach the homeowner for comment, but did speak to their realtor, Waleed Khaled Elsayed, by phone.
Elsayed confirmed a neighbourhood session had been in the works for this Thursday night but has since been cancelled, adding he and his client are "taking a step back." He would not comment further.
When, and if, the house goes on the market again — it's not listed just yet — George said the city needs to step up after years of discussions and take steps to buy the property to ensure the tree is protected for future generations.
City should be 'buying this site'
Back in 2015, city council voted to explore how to buy the tree and build a parkette around it, but George said since then, they "sat on it and sat on it."
Ward 7 Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti said the wait needs to end, given the looming possibility of the property going on the market and the hassles caused by the tree itself.
Right now, the home's entrance is blocked in the backyard, he said, and the massive tree is a "hazard" to anyone living there.
"There's nothing stopping the Committee of Adjustment from saying yes to an application to remove the tree ... There is risk here," he added.
The only real solution, Mammoliti said, is for the city to purchase the house and build the proposed parkette.
"We should be buying this site as quickly as possible in an effort to save this beautiful, enormous, historical tree," he said.
Mayor suggests crowd-funding campaign
On Wednesday, Mayor John Tory responded to concerns about the tree's fate by suggesting members of the public start a crowd-funding campaign.
Tory said securing private donations and eventually turning the space into a parkette are options he'll consider, but first, he wants to gauge the level of support.
"I would just like to see an indication of public interest in this first," he said.
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