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Dallas Neighborhood Questions Tree Trimming Tactics

Oncor tree trimming has Oak Cliff homeowners throwing shade

Some Oak Cliff homeowners say the character of their neighborhood is being damaged by overly aggressive tree trimming.

"One of the great things about our neighborhood is we have beautiful old trees that go with our beautiful old houses," Dottie Brashear, who lives in Winnetka Heights, said. 

Brashear moderates the North Oak Cliff Neighbors Facebook page, which was recently flooded with complaints about Oncor tree trimming. "It was a problem for multiple homes," Brashear explained.

One of those was Dallas City Councilman Scott Griggs, who in a Facebook post, questioned Oncor's tactics and notifications.

"Some of us got notices in January. Some people got no notice," Vivan Yates Skinner, who also lives in Winnetka Heights, said. "There was no date given. They show up four months later."

NBC 5 asked arborist, Burton Knight, to walk a Winnetka Heights alley to assess whether the trees were trimmed properly. 

"It's kind of a thankless job," Knight said. "Sometimes the trees have just gotten so big that it's gotta be drastic and that's unfortunate."

In a statement to NBC 5, Oncor said, "Trees are important and we work hard to balance the health of trees with delivering safe, reliable electricity in a way that our customers expect. Due to heavy storms earlier this year, we did not adequately re-notify some customers in Oak Cliff about some planned vegetation management. We apologize and are taking steps to improve our process. We are also careful to respect private property and to only enter a property if it is completely necessary to help maintain the safety and reliability of the electric grid."

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