BIXBY, Okla. — Cash Stevenson has lived in his Bixby home for over 20 years.
"It's been nothing but, you know, a soybean field, a maize field back behind our property for that entire 20 years," Stevenson said.
WATCH: 'It's sentimental': Bixby man fights to keep tree on property
That's changed, much like the rest of Bixby, as new developments come in. Still, Stevenson's family stayed put in their neighborhood near 171st and Memorial.
"We always loved the property because it had pecan trees on it, and they were large and mature," Stevenson said. "You just don't get that with any kind of development these days."
One of those pecan trees stands right on the back of his property. Over a century old, it packs more than just branches and leaves.
"We use it for shade. We use it for the pecans that it gives off. My daughter swung from it. So it's got sentimental value," Stevenson said.
But that new development did some damage to the 100-plus-year-old tree. Stevenson says on the 4th of July, developers did some detrimental work.
"They've dug a ditch 10 feet down that's going to erode all the soil on top of the root ball away," Stevenson said.
Tim Widney with Rickert Tree Service tells 2 News Oklahoma that the ditch could cause permanent damage to the tree.
"It's not going to show up right away, but in the next 2 to 3 years, this tree could show a real decline in health," Widney said.
According to Rickert, the root system of a tree typically extends as far out as the canopy of the tree. Stevenson was told the company would dig around the canopy so as not to damage the root system, but they didn't do that.
Stevenson says he got nowhere with the city or the developers, so he reached out to Problem Solvers.
"I would have thought that if they were serious about my concerns, they would have followed Rickert's advice, but that has not been followed," Stevenson said.
All in an effort to save the tree, not stop what's coming behind his property.
"I'm actually all for development," Stevenson said. "I think the more development around the better, but do it in a way that doesn't affect the neighbors."
Stevenson says he's looking into civil litigation. We reached out to the company doing the development and got told a representative would get back with us. We haven't heard back yet, but we'll let you know when we do.
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