By Will Pafford, Staff Writer

A West Lake Hills resident wants to remove 214 trees in poor health from her property and replace them with less caliper inches than the city requires, but a councilwoman wants to see a plan first. 

Vicki Roberts-Howard asked for a variance to reduce the amount of replacement inches after the tree removal to 419 inches, instead of the ordinance-required 1,579 inches, on her property at 3312 Bee Cave Road during the West Lake Hills City Council meeting on June 10. 

Councilwoman Cindy Probst, however, said she wanted to see a plan for the tree replacement before she could approve the variance. 

Nicholas Crowther, with Bartlett Tree Experts, represented Roberts-Howard at the meeting. 

Crowther said Roberts-Howard is removing the trees as part of property maintenance, not to develop. 

He presented pictures of some of the trees to the Council to show their poor or declining health. 

He said removing these trees would enhance the health of the remaining trees, and the amount of tree replacement required in the city’s ordinance would not allow for proper spacing. 

The new landscape would also preserve the current vegetation screening along the perimeter of the property, he said. 

The plan was to remove 214 trees and replace them with about 104 4-inch trees. 

Roberts-Howard said the city’s tree-removal ordinance was designed for development, but she is seeking to remove the trees to clean up and restore her property. 

“It’s completely voluntary,” she said. 

Probst said she did not want to discourage property maintenance, but the Council needs assurance the tree removal would not adversely affect Roberts-Howard’s neighbors. 

“We just can’t take a leap of faith,” she       said.