PORT ST. LUCIE — When Maria Trigueiro and her husband, Jose, bought a home in Lake Forest after living in New Hampshire, they did so under the impression that the vegetative buffer between the home and Florida’s Turnpike would remain untouched.

About six years later, Trigueiro is upset that St. Lucie West Services District officials are pulling up invasive, non-native Brazilian pepper trees in the surrounding community. The trees behind her house are still in the ground, but she is worried they will be coming down soon.

Under its development permit through the South Florida Water Management District, St. Lucie West Services District is required to check its property and destroy invasive plants such as the Brazilian pepper, which crowds out native vegetation and can damage the local environment.

“That’s our mandate,” St. Lucie West Services District Assistant Manager Bill Hayden said.

That does not appease Trigueiro, who made several calls to various local agencies to try to find out who was removing the trees. She had hoped to stop the tree removal but has not had much luck.

If the trees must go, Trigueiro, 61, said she wants someone to replace the buffer. She said the buffer helps keep the noise from the turnpike out of her backyard.

“I feel protected, even though I know the highway is on the other side,” she said. “It felt private.”

Hayden said the district is not responsible for, nor does it have the budget to replace non-native species. Hayden said individual residents who want to plant replacement vegetation are allowed as long as the resident gets permission from the district and as long as the residents do not use heavy machinery. Chain saws and wheel barrows would be allowed.

Hayden said it takes the St. Lucie West district about three years to go through their property and destroy invasive plants. The cost is about $250,000 a year, paid by taxpayers in the district through assessments and fees, he said.

The last time the checks were made, the trees were less pronounced and the original pass was probably just for wetlands, District Manager John Imperato said. Now the trees are bigger and must be taken down.

Still, Trigueiro is not looking forward to having the buffer gone.

“When the wind is blowing easterly, it’s like the highway is right outside your bedroom,” she said.

By Eric Pfahler

Tags: budget, communication, development, environment, fees, Florida, housing, lake, noise, property, saw, trees, Turnpike, water

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 at 10:33 am and is filed under Port St. Lucie, Traffic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.