VILLA PARK

An 80-year-old eucalyptus tree that the City Council recently voted to chop down to keep it from uprooting a street may get a reprieve. Councilman Robert E. McGowan said Thursday that it may be possible to save the tree. More than half a dozen residents have petitioned to keep it. The city engineer has told McGowan that the center divider on Mesa Drive could be redrawn away from the tree so that the tree poses less of a safety and liability problem. The trade-off is that residents across the road from the tree will lose parking.

McGowan, who voted to cut down the tree, has placed the item back on the council’s agenda. The staff recommended cutting down the tree after a hired arborist said its roots extend a third of the way under the road and could disrupt the surface. In the event of an accident because of the tree, the city would be held liable, City Manager Fred Maley said. Nearby homeowners hired their own arborist, who said the city could devise a way to keep the roots from disrupting the roadway while still keeping the tree stable.