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Next step in tree issue could come in a week
By Chris Roark, croark@starlocalnews.com
Flower Mound officials expect that representatives from the town and Atmos Pipeline-Texas will further discuss the tree removal issue sometime during the week of Jan. 14.
Atmos officials approached the town in October about removing trees within 25 feet on either side of its pipelines throughout a 12-mile stretch of town, including the Wellington subdivision, to provide better access to its pipelines.
Atmos spokeswoman Jennifer Ryan said Atmos has completed its survey, and the town is wrapping up its portion.
“We are wrapping up the public/private portion of the tree survey and will process the data,” Fox said. “Then they will decide what the next step will be.”
Ryan said once the data is processed, both sides can decide what alternatives are available.
“We don’t take joy in removing trees from the right-of-way,” Ryan said. “But we also have an obligation to keep the residents safe.”
Charles Yarborough, vice president of rates and regulatory affairs for Atmos Pipeline-Texas, said it's necessary to remove the trees because they often get in the way of repair, maintenance and aerial surveying of pipeline leakage by the use of a laser.
Yarborough said surveying can be done on foot, though it's more difficult and costly. He said a ground survey can cost about $176 per mile with obstacles, or $101 per mile with a clear path, though he added Flower Mound has a lot of trees in the way.
By contrast, he said an aerial survey costs about $109 per mile.
He also said according to record plats and the town's tree ordinance, Atmos has the authority to clear its right-of-way areas.
Town council members did not support the tree removal without at least working together first to see how many trees need to be removed and how many can be saved.
"It's hard to imagine Flower Mound with 50-foot bald spots," Mayor Pro Tem Kendra Stephenson said at the October meeting. "This would reduce property values throughout the town. Trees are what make Flower Mound a desirable location."
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