It's David versus Goliath in fight to save Road 7 trees

By Mark Ribble

LEAMINGTON — Almost a year after a Southpoint Sun story about losing their trees prompted a visit from Hydro One, residents along a heavily-populated section of Road 7 are still fighting the battle.

At issue are the new hydro lines and poles being installed along Road 7 from Highway 77 in a westerly direction and the effect that installation will have on many heritage trees along the way.

The new hydro poles are visible on the eastern end of Road 7, starting at Highway 77, to about a mile up the road, where Hydro One’s installation stalled a couple of years ago.

Last January, residents were notified that work would resume in the spring and any trees deemed ‘in the way’ would be marked for removal.

That’s when Linda and Brent Metz contacted the municipality and the local media.

The home they live in is on the Hanzman farm, where Linda’s parents settled after they came to Canada following the Second World War. The large American Sycamore trees have been there for as long as she can remember.

“These trees must be close to 100 years old,” said Linda last January. “It’ll be awful if they cut them down.”

After the story ran, the Metz family had a visit from Hydro One officials, but Linda said nothing was really resolved.

Now, Hydro One has appeared in the neighbourhood once again, marking the property lines and doing locates for gas and water.

The marking of the property lines has prompted action from more neighbours, all who want the power giant to leave them alone.

According to Dave Chevalier, who owns property along Road 7, the poles could be installed along the other side of the road, which would impact a minimal amount of trees and homes.

Chevalier’s wife Janette (Roadhouse) grew up on the farm and the entire section was once owned by the Roadhouse family.

Their neighbours, Frank and Hanne Hotz, have been there about 45 years and remember a quieter time.

“When we moved here, there weren’t a lot of trees,” said Hanne. “We planted most of these and would hate to see them cut down.”

Hanne Hotz believes that the hydro lines are unnecessary because the greenhouse industry doesn’t currently extend past the Greenway near the east end of the road.

“Why do they need to come down here?” she asked. “They’ve already got power to the greenhouses.”

The neighbours got together last Wednesday to talk about the situation and put up some ‘Save Our Trees’ signs along the roadway. The same group was instrumental in getting the speed limit on Road 7 reduced from 80 to 60 recently.

“We’re happy with that,” said Frank Hotz. “Now we just want them to leave our trees alone.”

Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald told the Sun that she has been made aware of the situation and is awaiting a report from Hydro One, but says the municipality doesn’t want to be in the business of cutting down heritage trees.

The Sun reached out to Hydro One and got the following response.

“We are committed to operating in an environmentally and socially responsible manner, and to partnering with customers and community partners to build a brighter future for all,” said the response. “To improve service for our customers, we will be making upgrades to our electricity equipment in Leamington, including installing new distribution lines and poles to increase the amount of power available and enhance power reliability.”

Road 7 neighbours gathered together to fight Hydro One’s plan to cut down their trees. From left are Dave Chevalier, Janette Chevalier, Linda Metz, Frank Hotz and Hanne Hotz.

SUN photo.

Hydro One says they understand how important the local environment is to the community.

“While planning is still underway, we will notify affected residents if work is required on or adjacent to their property and will partner with the Essex

Region Conservation Authority to support the local ecosystem,” they said.

The old (current) hydro lines run along both sides of the road for much of that section, prompting the Chevaliers to wonder out loud if that could be replicated.

“Just cross the road along the existing lines and continue on down the south side,” said Dave Chevalier. “It would be far less intrusive.”

Frank Hotz said he spoke to an official from Hydro One recently and was told that they can’t cross the road but didn’t say why.

“It’s probably more expensive,” he said. “They don’t want to spend the money.”

With Hydro One being a giant corporation, the residents know it’s a David versus Goliath fight, but they know that they just can’t sit back and let it happen.

“We have to make some noise,” said Linda Metz.