The red oak tree in the backyard of 76 Coral Gable Drive in Emery Village has been there since long before there was a Coral Gable Drive, or an Emery Village. Before there was a country called Canada, before there was a city called Toronto, before the province of Upper Canada was established, this tree was here.

For somewhere between 250 years and 350 years, the red oak has grown taller and wider in that spot. It is said to be the oldest and largest red oak in the city, and possibly in the province. And the history of this week’s city-council item considering the status of the tree’s protection is only somewhat shorter.

The motion was originally put forward in May of this year, when debate was postponed until June, and then July, and then deferred again at the September and October meetings. Once again at the meeting starting Nov. 3, it is before council for debate, this time with a report from Toronto’s director of urban forestry.

But first, the tree itself: it is magnificent to see, with a footprint approximately the size of a cargo van’s (at a circumference of more than 16 feet) and an autumn rust-coloured canopy that spreads out 30 or 40 feet in each direction, swallowing up the split-level bungalow which stands less that three feet from its base and shading the entire suburban property.

If these branches could talk, oh the stories they would tell about this place’s history.

The red oak is a marker on the Toronto Carrying Place Trail, the historic First Nations trading route that connected spots all across North America, according to a history written by local tree enthusiast Edith George for the North York Mirror this year. The property it now sits on was owned at times by a man who fought on the loyalist side of the Mackenzie Rebellion of 1837, and by a descendant of a rebel fighter in the same battle. It was owned for a long time by the Gardiner family — the one whose name is on the Gardiner Museum.

When the property went up for sale earlier this year, community members became worried that a potential new or future owner of the property may not act as a proper custodian of the tree. And so the matter of its protection was brought before city council.

Who is the modern-day Lorax, who speaks for this tree? Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, strangely enough. “Edith George and I are on opposite ends of the political spectrum, we don’t see eye to eye on very much. But on this one issue, she is my champion. I will do what it takes to save this tree,” he says. “It’s 350 years old. If there’s a reason to have a policy to protect the tree canopy, this is it.”

Of course, it is protected by the current law, according to a report by the director of the city’s director of urban forestry. Since it is listed as a “heritage tree,” the report says, any application to remove or injure it will be automatically rejected, and any appeal would come to city council.

But Mammoliti doesn’t think that goes far enough — pointing to massive branches that overhang the house within a few inches of the roof (and sometimes in contact with it), he asks about safety of residents under it in case of an ice storm. He suggests the proximity of the root system to the house’s foundation may be a recipe for further trouble.

Mammoliti suggests the city should buy the property, demolish the house, and establish it as a parkette dedicated to the preservation and admiration of the tree. The local Emery Village Business Improvement Area association, he says, has offered to pay the maintenance costs on such a park, and Mammoliti estimates the property’s market value at between $550,000 and $650,000 — modest by city real-estate acquisition standards.

Ali Simaga, who bought the house in June this year for $520,000 and is currently doing a major renovation on it while living in the house with his family, says he’d be willing to sell if the city wants to buy at a decent price. He says he likes the tree and wants it protected. But he notes there are places where he’s concerned about the limbs over his children’s bedrooms and may want to prune them if he does continue living there. “I want some sort of insurance,” he says.

A spokeswoman for Mayor John Tory says he has concerns about spending city money to buy and demolish a house, given that the report suggests the tree is in no imminent danger. She says the mayor has had some tentative discussions to see if private donors are interested in making a donation for that purpose.

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Meanwhile, Councillor Sarah Doucette, who serves as the city’s official tree advocate and who seconded Mammoliti’s initial motion, says, “I don’t feel the tree is at risk at this point.” She suggests rather than buying the property the city could arrange a private sponsor to help the current owner with pruning and caring for the tree, as a gesture of respect and protection.

But Mammoliti says to protect both the family in the house and the tree itself, he’ll continue his version of the fight. “I’m prepared to move my motion to buy the property and turn it into a parkette,” he says. “Whether the money comes from donations, from help from conservation authorities, or from the city budget. We should buy it outright and tear down the house so every tree lover in the city can come here and admire this tree for another hundred years or more.”

Giorgio Mammoliti, tree champion: yet another astounding turn in the city’s history to which this tree has stood witness.