

Chris Fox, CP24.com





A homeowner is threatening to chop down a centuries-old Red Oak, believed to be Toronto’s oldest, unless the city steps in to buy the North York property that it stands on.

The 24-metre tall tree with a circumference of about five metres has stood on a plot of land on Coral Gable Drive for an estimated 350 years, according to a report in the Toronto Star.

The problem is that the roots of the tree have burrowed under the foundation of the home and are now threatening its structural integrity.

That has prompted a realtor for the homeowner to come forward. He told the Toronto Star that he plans to offer the city an opportunity to purchase the home for its estimated value of $750,000. The realtor, however, said that should the city not be interested, his client will consider chopping down the tree.

“My feeling is nobody wants to save it,” the realtor, Waleed Khaled Elsayed, told the Star. “And why should the seller suffer? They’re the one paying the bill.”

Tory floats crowdfunding campaign

It is unclear whether the homeowner would be allowed to chop down the tree, as they would first have to seek approval from community council where the age and significance of the oak would likely be considered.

Nonetheless, Mayor John Tory said he would be supportive of buying the property, knocking down the house and turning the lot into a parkette but only if part of the cost is borne by the private sector or individual donors.

“For the oldest tree and certainly one that is historic by any measure to just be torn down or to be left in jeopardy I don’t think is something that people will buy into,” Tory told reporters at an unrelated press conference on Wednesday morning. “I do hope they would buy into the notion of perhaps showing their interest in preserving this tree and that could be accompanied by some private donations and maybe some public contribution. I would just like to see an indication pf public interest in this first.”

Tory said that while he doesn't want to "succumb to some kind of scare message that says the tree will be cut down in the middle of the night," he said that he would like to see residents interested in preserving the tree start some sort of crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for the purchase of the property.

Assuming there is some interest and financial support, Tory said that council could then consider allotting some public funds to the project.

“I want to look first to see what the public interest in this is and a crowdfunding effort that somebody would initiate would go some distance,” he said.