South Tampa couple fights to save beloved palm trees from TECO removal

TAMPA, Fla. - A disagreement over three palm trees in South Tampa turned into a larger fight between homeowners and Tampa Electric.

Alex and Donna Gem say the queen palms in front of their West Rogers Avenue home are more than landscaping; they represent more than 40 years of memories. 

But Tampa Electric says the trees pose a risk to power reliability and neighborhood safety and need to come down.

The backstory:

The Gems say two of the three queen palms have been standing in front of their home for more than four decades.

Donna Gem says the third, a smaller palm, was a gift she received when her daughter was born in 1991. She planted it in the yard, where it has continued to grow alongside her daughter.

The couple says TECO informed them a few weeks ago that all three trees would need to be removed because of nearby power lines running through some of the branches.

Alex Gem, a retired TECO employee of 38 years, argues the line near the trees is a low-voltage secondary wire and believes replacing the insulated wire would be a better solution than cutting down the trees.

"They don’t want to replace the wire up there, the insulated wire," Alex said. "They just want to cut my trees down."

What they're saying:

On Wednesday, TECO crews arrived at the home prepared to remove the trees, according to the couple.

Neighbors joined the Gem family and sat in the driveway for hours in protest. Tampa police were also called to the scene.

The couple says officers told them the city may need to conduct a survey to determine whether the trees are located in the city’s right of way.

Crews eventually left without removing the trees.

"I think you need to talk to us and come to us, and maybe there’s a solution without cutting down our trees," Donna said.

The other side:

In a statement, TECO spokesperson Cherie Jacobs said the company understands how much people value their trees, but safety and reliability come first.

"Trees are a leading cause of power outages on Tampa Electric’s system, especially after severe weather," Jacobs said.

Jacobs added that because of safety and reliability concerns, the queen palms on West Rogers Avenue must be removed.

What's next:

The couple is now waiting to hear whether the city of Tampa will conduct an easement survey to determine if the trees are located in the public right of way.

That could help decide whether TECO has the authority to remove them.

As of Wednesday night, a city spokesperson had not provided an immediate response.