The huge tree sits near the golf course clubhouse (at left). John Pacenti/The Coastal Star
By John Pacenti
The giant banyan tree on the Delray Beach municipal golf course that has become a cause célèbre in recent months has weathered hurricanes and plenty of golf balls. But can it stand tall against bureaucracy?
Well, that answer remains to be seen after the Lake Worth Drainage District allowed the city to postpone its presentation on saving the tree for another month.
The city is seeking expert advice from arborists and engineers to obtain a variance from the district to allow the 50-foot tree — possibly the largest in the county — to survive.
The problem, as the district sees it, is that the tree impedes the E-4 canal and, if it falls in a major storm, would cause surrounding properties to flood. The tree stretches nearly across the canal.
The district has ordered Delray Beach to remove the 70-plus-year-old tree at its cost per an agreement the city signed in 1994.
State Rep. Rob Long, a former city commissioner, says after speaking to the district that there is simply no way that the decision it made in February gets reversed.
Long, though, has a radical idea: move the tree.
“While the tree may be ineligible for Champion Tree designation due to its non-native status, its size, age, and significance to the Delray Beach community and to the historic golf course itself warrant serious consideration of preservation,” Long wrote to the district.
Long says that the tree would have to be cut back before being relocated, but that the primary trunk and branches would remain.
Long, when asked, did not know how much such a relocation would cost.
The Lake Worth Drainage District Board will take up the issue on April 15 at a meeting where the city could learn the tree’s fate, said city spokeswoman Gina Carter.
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