Council, VCAT bars Forest Hill homeowner from chopping down massive backyard tree

A Melbourne man has been stopped from chopping down a tree in his private backyard as it would “adversely affect the significance and character” of the neighbourhood.

Yi Tao is not allowed to cut down this tree in his backyard in Forest Hill. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

A Melbourne man has been stopped from chopping down a tree in his private backyard because it adds to the “leafy garden” of the neighbourhood.

Both Whitehorse City Council and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal knocked back Yi Tao’s bid to cut down the 15m-tall eucalyptus tree in his Forest Hill backyard.

VCAT found that as the one of the area’s only large trees, it made “an important contribution to the appearance of tree cover”.

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Yi Tao's property in Forest Hill has got big tree he is not allowed to cut, Picture Yuri Kouzmin

Mr Tao, who owns the home as an investment property, was stunned by the council’s, and later VCAT’s, rulings.

He said the massive tree dominated the backyard and posed a safety risk if its huge branches fell, particularly over the back deck.

“This is my tree and it is in a residential garden. It is not a forest,” Mr Tao said.

“If you want to protect the tree, you have to protect the people under the tree.

“As the property owner, I have to protect the people who live there. The tree is massive and destroys the backyard.”

Yi Tao says the tree poses a safety risk. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

Councils across Melbourne have ramped up controls on trees, with Boroondara, covering leafy Camberwell, Canterbury and Glen Iris, last year considering $20,000 fines for illegal removals.

Property owners in parts of Whitehorse municipality must have council approval to lop or remove trees with a trunk circumference of more than a metre.

VCAT member Sarah McDonald found that removing Mr Tao’s narrow-leaved black peppermint eucalyptus, which can be seen from surrounding properties and streets, would “adversely affect the significance and character of the area”.

An arborist’s report found it was likely to live for another decade.

“The tree’s removal will adversely erode the tree cover across this area of the (planning overlay) and the leafy garden and bushy character,” Ms McDonald said.

Whitehorse city development general manager Jeff Green said the council had a “significant landscape overlay” that encouraged “the retention of established and mature trees and to provide for the planting of new canopy trees.”

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