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Fingers pointed after leaky drum found

A neighbor thinks the developer placed the drum at the base of an oak tree. The developer suspects it was neighbors.

By SHERRI DAY
Published April 29, 2005

PALMA CEIA - When Gregory Haney saw a 55-gallon kerosene drum laying near a large oak on his Palma Ceia block, he thought he might be witnessing the intentional killing of a tree.

The oak, in the middle of a vacant lot next to 3504 Barcelona St., could pose an obstacle for any builder.

Haney's suspicions were heightened when he and a neighbor discovered that the drum's stopper had a pin-sized hole in it and was leaking fuel. Haney took pictures, moved the drum and alerted neighborhood leaders, who called the Department of Environmental Protection.

"To see those trees coming down for the sake of profit and development is just not what this neighborhood is about," Haney said.

But that's not what's happening, said developer Jeff Oneal, who owns the lot in question and plans to build a two-story Mediterranean home on it. He plans to apply for a variance to build the home around the tree.

Oneal bought the lot last fall. The drum was likely a holdover from a demolished house next door, where the former owner used heating oil, Oneal said.

"I'm not a tree killer," Oneal said. "I've gone 100 percent out of my way to save trees. It's just bizarre that somebody would have that much time on their hands to be riding the builder like this."

Oneal said he has no plans to remove the tree. He said he suspects that nearby homeowners moved the drum to the base of the tree to stop development. He has asked environmental protection detectives to investigate.

It's a familiar story in Palma Ceia, where residents become riled when development threatens trees.

One tree's destruction in 2002 left the neighborhood especially bitter. In that instance, homeowners petitioned the city for permission to remove a grand oak that they said threatened their home's foundation. Once granted permission, the homeowners sold their house to a townhouse developer. Now, the neighborhood greets all would-be tree choppers with suspicion.

"We are overly zealous about tree protection in the neighborhood because we felt we were duped in that instance," said Lori Jennis, president of the Palma Ceia Neighborhood Association.

Residents have unfairly painted him as a villain, Oneal said, noting that he has built 11 homes in the area and has never violated a tree ordinance.

At 3113 Granada St., for example, he built a house around a grand oak.

The kerosene drum on the Barcelona property was left behind by the demolition crew and has since been removed, Oneal said.

Officials from the Department of Environmental Protection responded to residents' complaints about the drum last week.

Domenic LetoBarone, a DEP emergency response specialist, said the drum was about 5 feet from the base of the oak tree. Although the drum was tightly plugged, its stopper had a leak. The drum contained about a gallon of kerosene.

LetoBarone took soil samples around the tree and ordered Oneal to remove the drum and remove soil affected by kerosene. The liquid spread about a foot from the drum and appears to have left the tree unscathed, LetoBarone said.

"The tree looks good," LetoBarone said. "Based on what I saw, it didn't look like that much spilled out."

LetoBarone said Oneal satisfactorily cleaned the site. His office closed its case earlier this week.

Neighborhood leaders, now convinced of Oneal's sincerity, still have a mystery to solve.

"I'll extend myself personally and do whatever I can to find out who did this," Jennis said. "It's not only the health of the tree, it's criminal."

Sherri Day can be reached at 226-3405 or sday@sptimes.com

[Last modified April 28, 2005, 08:33:09]