Waverley Council votes to cut down tuckeroo trees on multimillion-dollar street blocking Sydney Opera House views

Residents of one of Sydney’s poshest streets have banded together to cut down a row of trees blocking views of the Harbor and Opera House.

In their petition to Waverley Council, which covers Sydney’s iconic seaside suburbs such as Bondi and Bronte, homeowners along Myuna Rd in Dover Heights said a row of tuckeroo trees planted on their street had grown to block their “iconic views”.

“Before the tuckeroos were planted, existing street trees were 10 feet or less in height and did not obstruct iconic views from 1 to 23 Myuna Road,” the petition states.

“The council planted new tuckeroo trees over 10 years ago and these trees have reached heights ranging from 4-8 meters and the foliage has completely blocked out the pre-existing iconic views at 1-23 Myuna Road.

“Residents have photographic evidence of their views that existed before the tuckeroo trees were planted.

“Under the current Waverley Council tree policy tuckeroo trees will not be permitted to be planted at this location.

“The council felled the tuckeroo trees to remedy the situation, but the pruning was to the sides rather than to the height and the pruning did nothing to restore pre-existing iconic views.”

The petition garnered 21 signatories, demanding that the municipality “correct the situation” by removing the trees and replacing them with native gezillea trees that will not exceed 3 meters in height.

Last month councilors supported the petition in a near-unanimous decision and voted to cut down the trees.

“Council decided almost unanimously to remove the tuckeroo trees and replace them with suitable vegetation not exceeding 2.5 meters in height,” a council spokesperson told NewsWire.

“This work will be carried out over the coming months. Striking the right balance between ecological protection and preserving the visual and natural qualities of the area remains an important and ongoing objective of the council.”

Green councilor Ludovico Fabiano, who represents the council’s Waverley Ward, voted against the cull decision.

“Look at today, today is going to be a very hot day,” he told NewsWire on Wednesday.

“We need trees to create and protect shade to prevent heat from building up on the cement road.

“By removing the trees, we have fulfilled our duty to protect the local fauna, namely the birds.

“People seem to be more interested in views. On public streets people are surrounded by views on all sides, so why would you want to cut down trees?”

But Mr. Fabiano acknowledged that his view was not based on “numbers.”

“People are choosing views over protecting the environment,” he said.

“But there is democracy involved… We didn’t have enough people on the council to have a different point of view.”

The vote was taken on a motion by Liberal councilor Dov Frazer.

Dover Heights is a prime beachside suburb in Sydney’s east, with homes regularly fetching multimillion-dollar price tags.

According to Domain, the four-bedroom 6 Myuna Rd property sold on 4 September 2023 for $7.525 million, while the four-bedroom 14 Myuna Rd house sold on 23 November 2024 for an estimated $6.6 million.