A towering Mt Lawley tree described as a 'church steeple' in the landscape got the chop on Wednesday after its trunk grew slightly over the council boundary and encroached a private development site.
The 30-year-old publicly owned ghost gum on Cadney Lane behind a Central Avenue property was felled to make way for a nine-unit development.
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The City of Stirling could not prevent the felling despite it flying in the face of the council's recent landmark efforts to pass policies protecting mature trees.
Locals erecting signs on the trunk pleading for its retention were equally powerless.
Mt Lawley Society president Paul Collins said the tree was in the Mt Lawley/Inglewood/Menora heritage protection zone and likened it to a church steeple in the landscape.
"It's visible from Coode Street, Fourth Avenue, Fifth Avenue, Railway Parade; even the other side of the railway line," he said.
"What is very disappointing is that the development came first and the tree came last – that the owner and the council couldn't get together to come up with a design to accommodate the tree."
Mr Collins said the Society this year lodged two submissions with the City of Stirling requesting a significant tree register, most urgently in the heritage protection zone.
![Before and after: The 'church steeple' tree.](/web/20160922223320im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/l/9/d/3/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grl7po.png/1474446632742.jpg)
The 'church steeple' tree would have been on that register.
Local Anthony Ridolfo, who lives near the tree and had made inquiries about it with the council, said the developer removed the tree because it interfered with a driveway access point.
![A local's attempt to win a last-minute reprieve for the tree.](/web/20160922223320im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/l/7/h/c/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grl7po.png/1474446632742.jpg)
"They are trying to increase tree coverage in the City of Stirling - I cannot see how this got through," he said.
"So many places have trees interwoven with development and, while it may not be the most efficient use of the block, these big empty sandy blocks are unsustainable.
![A plea gathering momentum around Perth.](/web/20160922223320im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/l/7/h/9/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grl7po.png/1474446632742.jpg)
"Gone are the leafy suburbs."
Stirling's recent attempts to create more comprehensive tree policies have stemmed from its research revealing no matter how many trees it plants, if it cannot retain mature trees on private land its residential area will lose 50 per cent of canopy cover within 15 years, with the result that less than five per cent of its urban area will be shaded.
Mt Lawley character retention guidelines state key objectives to "maintain and improve existing street trees, grass verges and front gardens", and "retain mature trees wherever possible".
City of Stirling approvals manager Greg Bowering said he had received 15 emails from different people about the tree.
The developer had made modifications on request to meet the city's character retention guidelines, but city officers had not asked the developer to revisit the design to see if the tree could be accommodated.
The developer would not have to pay any cash in lieu or do any offset planting, he confirmed.
"The City is currently developing a planning policy requested by council to address planting of new trees on development sites. The amended street tree policy would not have changed the outcome in this regard as the tree is partially on private property," he said.
Perth's increasing desire for tree canopy retention is evident in the recent formation of Urban Tree Network community groups in suburbs including Bayswater, Stirling, Wanneroo, Victoria Park and Rockingham.