The Dunedin City Council has granted consent for property owner Rosemary Creighton to remove the tree, which had grown 3m from her Roslyn home.
At a hearing last month, Ms Creighton said it was a difficult decision, but the house — a Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga category 2 historic place, known as "Mahara" — required a lot of maintenance, which was being prevented by the fast-growing pōhutukawa.
The tree was in good health and protected by the council’s Second Generation District Plan.
However, it had seven trunks, its roots were damaging the foundations, it prevented scaffolding from being erected and obstructed views from the main bedroom, she said.
Ms Creighton asked to retain some of the wood from the tree on site.
Dunedin City Council planner Finn Campbell recommended consent be granted and the tree removed.
The council’s hearings committee, made up of independent chairwoman Megan Justice and councillors Sophie Barker and Kevin Gilbert, considered the application and staff reports.
They also visited the site and agreed there were no practical options which would allow the building and tree to "co-exist".
Pruning the tree away from the building would reduce the tree’s visual and aesthetic qualities so it would not qualify for protected status.
"The effects of removing the tree on streetscape amenity will be negligible," the committee said, in its written decision.
The committee was confident the approval would not set an "undesirable precedent" on the removal of protected trees.
Protect Private Ownership of Trees Society representative Jim Moffatt spoke in support of Ms Creighton, saying the tree was growing in the wrong location and should not be protected at all.
