Winway Fells What Some Believe was Gulfport’s Oldest Tree via The Gabber
Buzzing chainsaws sent clouds of sawdust into the air near the crossroads of 52nd Street and 29th Avenue South in Gulfport last Wednesday (Nov. 6).
It’s a familiar sight locally these days, with seemingly hundreds of trees down after two hurricanes. But these workers weren’t cutting a fallen tree: Developer Winway Homes cut the tree to make room for a new build. Toffer Ross, Gulfport’s horticulturist, estimates the tree was between 200-300 years old.
This move by Winway doesn’t sit well with the neighbors who live all around the majestic tree.
Words From Neighbors
DeLaran, a resident of the area, drank morning coffee and meditated under the tree every day.
Periodically crying while limbs were falling from the tree, she said the Gulfport tree lived through multiple hurricanes and survived through everything except “craven greed.”
She said part of her frustration is that with all of the destruction and loss in Gulfport that Winway doesn’t invest in rebuilding the community.
Marlene Shaw also thought the timing of taking down the tree amid the devastation is insensitive.
DeLaran concurred, saying the situation is “emblematic of who Winway is.”
Brandie Adams supported her friends and heckled the tree crew with, “greedy, greedy, go home” and “you’re not wanted here.”
Winway Calls Gulfport Police About Tree Protestors
A pair of Gulfport police were on the scene as neighbors protested the tree’s removal. There were many more there earlier, Gulfport resident Amy Oatley said. Others who came to support the protest had their cars towed by Winway Homes owner Matt Carr.
Oatley said cars lined up along a private road adjacent to the property, blocking the crane’s access to the tree. Eventually, an official from the fire department arrived and told them that they had to move some of the cars in the event that a fire truck needed to get through.
Oatley believed the fire official told the police and Carr that the cars were allowed to be there. Despite this, a truck towed two cars, and booted another.
Carr, who was at the scene, said that he had the cars towed with permission from the police because he said they were blocking construction and that it’s “against the law to block the ingress and egress.”
He owns a home on the same block and told The Gabber Newspaper he has no feelings about the tree, but that there will be a “beautiful Winway home there.”
This Gulfport tree, Winway, and the developer’s plan for the tree have been fodder for letters to the editor since March 2023. In the past, Carr responded to this paper’s questions about the tree and property it sat upon by thanking The Gabber Newspaper for the “free press.”
Towing Problems
This wasn’t the first time the police had been called to the site. On Nov. 1, police responded to a call from the general contractor about protests from neighbors. The incident detail report states that the contractor and the crew leader “acknowledged that the neighbors were sitting on their own property, however were concerned that the neighbors may be too close to falling tree limbs.”
The report was changed from “Trespass” to “Information/Other” as the problem. It concluded with the officer saying he offered to talk to the neighbors but that the contractor didn’t think it was necessary and would call back if there was another problem.
On Nov. 6, Oatley said Police Chief Rob Vincent told her that she had the right to be on the property but if she put herself deliberately in the way of danger, they could Baker Act her. According to neighbors, GPD told Oatley’s partner, Lynn DiVenuti, the same thing the previous Friday as she watched the tree being cut down from a chair on her property, away from the falling limbs.
Mayor Sam Speaks Out
Gulfport Mayor Sam Henderson, answering calls from Oatley, arrived at the scene.
“When she said the tow trucks were showing up and our police were there, I wanted to go down and see exactly what they were doing,” Henderson said.
While Winway had the legal right to remove the tree, Henderson still has questions about the legality of Carr towing two cars and booting another.
When he arrived, the mayor found Carr, along with a small crowd of friends and employees, taunting the neighbors. They were, Henderson said, “acting like a bunch of frat guys and their girlfriends, making fun of the locals.”
“The jackass who runs the company was standing bravely behind two of his employees telling me ‘he’s got something for me’,” Henderson said. “There’s nothing more frightening than someone standing behind two of his friends threatening to kick your ass.”
City Hall’s Concerns with Winway
Henderson first made his concerns about Winway public at an August 2022 City Council meeting. While he didn’t elaborate at the time, earlier this week, he explained his concerns.
Because of several Gulfportians complaining to city hall about Winway, Henderson and the staff from community developments met with Carr. In that meeting, Carr told the City Winway didn’t buy property outright, instead building on lots someone already owned.
This, Henderson pointed out, is untrue. And, he added, while Carr’s comments that the company doesn’t apply for variances is technically true, the City caught them trying to do things outside of the code.
“Plenty of times, they try to sneak stuff through in the end, like adding a second kitchen. They certainly push [what is allowed],” Henderson said.
But the way Carr and friends treated the neighbors, Henderson said, was “the last straw for me. It was probably the maddest I’ve been in a long, long time.”
He said he felt helpless, watching Carr and his entourage treat the neighbors with obvious disrespect.
“I don’t think they [Winway] have any interest in any kind of a positive relationship with Gulfport or its residents. They’re dishonest, they’re juvenile, and I think they don’t give a damn about anyone except themselves,” he said. “At a minimum, they’re incredibly unprofessional. I’m embarrassed that we have to let them be here at all. After this, I don’t see how anybody in Gulfport can do business with them.”
By noon, most of the tree’s branches had been amputated, leaving the main stump. Neighbors remarked on how much life had been lost in the ecosystem of the Gulfport tree. They talked about trees being sentient beings and how they communicate with one another through their complex root systems. They must be screaming, Shaw said.
Just before the crew packed up for the day, the final piece they chainsawed off landed on the ground with a booming thud.
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