Battle is under way to save junipers

CEDAR HILLS — For some Highland residents, the $2.2 million view of a Cedar Hills grove of juniper trees is worth every penny Cedar Hills residents are paying for it.

That's why one citizen group, Keep Cedar Hills — consisting mostly of Highland residents with no monetary stake in the issue, has launched a full-scale campaign against Cedar Hills' proposed plan to develop the grove, which is near the city's golf course. Cedar Hills says the development is crucial to help pay off the city's $6.25 million golf course debt, but the group says there has to be a better way.

"There are a few reasons why I think it's the wrong thing to do," said Tyler Sheffield, a Highland resident who helped form the group. "It's probably the prettiest area in Cedar Hills and maybe Highland ... There are probably 500 juniper trees up there and they're all probably on average 500 years old. ... you just hate for that to be eliminated permanently. It will never go back once that is turned into housing."

Sheffield also says it's ethically wrong for Cedar Hills to try to develop on the land because there was an understanding between Cedar Hills and Highland, when the land was annexed into Cedar Hills, that the land would be protected as green space.

A conservation easement for the land was never officially recorded, but Sheffield says the city should honor its previous agreement.

Cedar Hills city officials say they don't want to develop the grove, but they have no choice if they want to repay their golf course debt. The city estimates it can generate $2.2 million by developing the juniper area.

City Councilman Jim Perry said he wanted to develop the driving range instead, but an objection by The Cedars Homeowners Association, which has legal jurisdiction over a portion of the golf course, discouraged the city from pursuing that option.

"(Developing the junipers) wasn't the city's first choice, by any means; it was what the HOA would potentially agree to," Perry said.

The city also has plans to develop land on the east side of the golf course that is not controlled by the HOA. That development is projected to yield $4.4 million.

The Cedars HOA will ultimately decide if Cedar Hills can develop the junipers area, since the trees lie within the association's boundaries.

That's one reason why Sheffield's organization has delivered fliers to every home in the HOA, seeking support for protecting the trees. Fliers have been sent on three separate occasions.