NORFOLK, Va. — The Navy is continuing an effort to try to take down trees on private property outside Naval Station Norfolk that are interfering with flight paths at the base's airfield.
A community meeting is being held to discuss the issue with impacted residents.
“We certainly aren’t going to go in and willingly let them have trees," said Norfolk resident Ray Buen.
Watch: Navy plans to remove 400 trees in Norfolk, citing safety concerns
Buen and his wife, Gisela, can see the base's airfield from their backyard. They say they’ve been told the trees in their backyard are ones the Navy wants to take down.
“How are they going to get equipment back here?" Gisela wondered.
News 3 first interviewed the Buens back in 2023 about the issue.
Watch: Navy moves forward with clearing hundreds of trees near Naval Station Norfolk
Since then the couple was hopeful the issue might have been put on the back burner. That is, until they were told about a meeting happening Tuesday night with Navy leaders to discuss the removal plan.
“They’re going to tear up our property," Gisela said.
Monday afternoon, Naval Station Norfolk’s commanding officer, Capt. Matt Schlarman, talked with reporters to preview the meeting.
Watch: How removing trees on Oceana Blvd. relates to Dominion Energy's offshore wind farm
“We’ll have multiple naval real estate and environmental specialists there to answer the local population’s questions," Schlarman said about the meeting.
Schlarman said the Navy has identified 400 trees on city of Norfolk and private property that need to come down. He says the trees are too tall and pose a danger to planes landing at the airfield.
As of Monday, about 150 trees on city property had come down. The were still some on city property that needed to come down, but the majority of the remaining problem trees were on private property.
Watch: Tree removal accidentally unearths centuries-old artifacts at Elizabeth City church
“The timeline is really dependent upon when the homeowner, or the tree owner, is going to sign an agreement with us," Schlarman explained.
The Navy says it will pay for a third-party contractor to evaluate how much each tree is worth and then the Navy will pay property owners accordingly. The contractor will then remove the tree, grind down the stump, and re-plant something smaller in its place.
The doesn't ease the Buens' concern, though. Ray showed News 3 where a tree was cut down on the city side of the sidewalk in front of his house. He admits the tree needed to come down because it wasn't healthy, but he said a growing hole, which he says he's had to fill in, is now where the tree used to be.
Watch: Tree clearing makes way for widening of Virginia Beach's Elbow Road
His wife also worries about the pipes in the ground leading into the home. She says they're terracotta and fears any equipment brought in to remove the trees on her property will damage the pipes.
Schlarman is hopeful property owners will work with the Navy, but if they don’t, the Navy will eventually take them to court.
The Buens say that doesn’t scare them.
“That’s where it’s going to end up, for sure. Al of our neighbors say the same thing," Ray said.
Tuesday’s meeting was scheduled to run from 5 to 7 p.m. at Northside Middle School in Norfolk.
