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Commissioners order third-party arborist review of large oak near Dade City courthouse after safety concerns
Summary
Following repeated limb failures and a prior arborist's finding that a courthouse oak was near the end of its lifespan, the Pasco County Board directed staff to fund an independent third-party arborist report and to move quickly to determine next steps for the tree adjacent to the World War II memorial and courthouse campus.
The Pasco County Board of County Commissioners on July 15 directed staff to procure and fund an independent, third-party arborist report for a large live oak on the Dade City courthouse campus after concerns about the tree's condition and the risk it poses to the adjacent World War II memorial.
Commissioner Oakley renewed a years-long concern about the oak, which an earlier county-funded arborist report (done roughly seven to eight years prior) judged to be near the end of its life. Oakley said sizeable limbs have fallen during recent storms and that the tree threatens the World War II memorial, which bears local veterans' names. "We were lucky during these past storms," Oakley said, adding he did not want to wait until a catastrophic failure damaged the memorial.
County facilities staff (Andrew) told the board the county has maintained its trees within budget limits, that an arborist report had been prepared about eight years earlier and that staff had previously sought a permit to remove and re-landscape the campus. The city of Dade City later paused a county permit for tree removal; county staff said that pause prompted the request for an independent review paid for by Pasco County so the county and the city would have shared, objective information.
Staff described a draft replacement and landscape plan the county had prepared in consultation with commissioners. The plan would incorporate a mixture of species consistent with historic photos of the campus, including sable palms and magnolias, while considering the site's historic resources such as the bandstand and courthouse building. Commissioners said they prefer replacing the oak with trees appropriate to the campus's historic character but emphasized they want the safety question resolved quickly.
The board reached consensus to proceed with a county-funded third-party arborist assessment and to act on that report promptly once it is available. Staff committed to expedite the procurement and to return with the arborist's findings and recommended next steps; the county will continue to coordinate with Dade City on permitting and historic-resources concerns.
Background details presented to the board included the county's earlier arborist finding that the oak was approximately 200'250 years old and that one previously recommended removal due to disease; a separate large tree on campus had failed catastrophically in a storm in the recent past. Commissioners asked staff to ensure the preservation of the World War II memorial and other historic assets while proceeding transparently with the assessment and any subsequent landscape work.
