After residents of a Murrayville development asked 91原创 Township to take over the care of their 114-year-old oak trees, the Township will look for ways to help out.
The residents of Reunion Townhomes in Murrayville came to council earlier this spring, asking for the Township to take over maintenance of the Belmont Oaks, a row of 10 trees that were planted around 1911 when what was then Belmont Superior School was built.
The school was later re-named Murrayville Elementary, and after the school was closed due to declining enrolment, the site was redeveloped into a strata complex. The original heritage school building was revamped into apartment units.
A report by Township staff noted that the Belmont Oaks are on Reunion Townhomes property, not on the road allowance owned by the Township.
The trees are also the subject of a restrictive covenant, which the developers of Reunion agreed to at the time of the project's approval back in 2018.
The oaks were included on the Township's Community Heritage Register as a "character defining element" of the school site, and their owners have to protect, maintain, and preserve them. There is also a replacement plan if the trees die.
Township council voted to bring the matter back at its June 23 meeting for more discussion.
Council also considered sending the matter to the Heritage Advisory Committee, and Councillor Margaret Kunst said there was some informal discussion of it at the most recent meeting.
Coun. Tim Baillie said that he foresees the trees being fairly expensive in the near future.
Taking a little time to discuss the matter would be a good thing, Mayor Eric Woodward said.
"They're over a hundred years old, so it can take a few more weeks to find a solution," he said.
