Rosemary Creighton’s application to have the pōhutukawa at the corner of Fifield and Tweed Sts removed has been publicly notified by the Dunedin City Council.
Her application has been supported by a building inspector and an arborist, but not all her neighbours agree.
In her application, Ms Creighton said it was a difficult decision, but the house — a Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga historic place category 2 home, known as "Mahara" — required a lot of maintenance, which was being stymied by the fast-growing tree.
The pōhutukawa was planted about 3m from the 1905 home.
It now had seven trunks, its roots were damaging the foundations, it was preventing scaffolding from being erected and it was obstructing views from the main bedroom.
"After much consultation over several months, I believe that the best outcome for the continued preservation of this landmark house, the tree does need to be removed," she said.
"The tree is so large with a massive canopy that reducing its size will not solve any of the problems listed above.
"This has been an extremely difficult decision to come to, but I now believe it is the best decision," she said.
The building inspector, from Betta Group, said Ms Creighton liked the tree, but it was becoming problematic and expensive to maintain.
The canopy was encroaching on power lines and had also caused the house to require recladding at significant cost.
The roots had caused cracks in the foundation wall, pathways and two retaining walls. The bank bordering the footpath had crumbled and would continue to do so with the roots penetrating it.
Due to the house’s heritage value, he believed it should take precedence over the tree.
The consulting arborist said although it was a healthy tree, it was posing risks to the property and its amenity.
It was obstructing views from the house and had matured past a height where it could be pruned back sufficiently to preserve views and not compromise the tree’s health.
Ms Creighton’s application drew support from the group Protect Private Ownership of Trees Society and a neighbour who shared her concerns.
Two neighbours, however, said the loss of the significant native tree would affect the beauty of the neighbourhood.
"The tree is of an appropriate scale for the house and no native tree planted now will achieve that complementary scale within a generation," Lorraine Cheyne said.
"The provisions of the district plan require the protection and enhancement of neighbourhood amenity and aesthetic coherence, not the protection of private views and vistas," she said.
Nicholas Bollen said "surely the inconveniences of the tree remaining are exaggerated, and approval for significant pruning is what’s required".
"The tree is scheduled for good reason. It’s most impressive when it flowers. Year round the tree enhances the house and — though quite large — is in scale with this large house.
On its website, Heritage New Zealand said Mahara was one of a pair of "elegant timber mansions" in the city designed by E.W. Walden in 1905 and built for businessman Andrew Lees’ daughters.
"Of enormous aesthetic appeal, architectural grandeur and historical associations, Mahara makes a significant contribution to our understanding of turn-of-the century residences and Dunedin’s elite."
