SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) -
This week, 30 to 40 trees were cut down near Bonaventure Cemetery. The controversy has been brewing since December.
The tree-cutting is part of Forest Lawn Cemetery's multimillion-dollar plans to add a new mausoleum to their grounds. However, the owners say critics have twisted the facts about the project.
Forest Lawn owner Kyle Nikola said his family owns the land across the street from Bonaventure Cemetery, which is part of the Forest Lawn Cemetery. He said the plan has nothing to do with Bonaventure, which is untouched. He added that the land isn't even in the city of Savannah, rather it's in unincorporated Chatham County.
Beyond the entrance to the cemeteries, with giant Live Oaks and Spanish moss forming a canopy over the road, is a cleared out piece of land, with trees removed.
"I think people think we are doing it for money purposes to make money," Nikola said.
Nikola's family owns Forest Lawn Cemetery and has had the public breathing down his neck over his family's plan - and more specifically - the removal of trees. He said the plan has been plagued by untruths, including attempts to create a perception that the trees at historic Bonaventure Cemetery are being ravaged by machines.
"The building was designed to take down as few trees as possible," Nikola said.
Since Monday, construction crews have cleared out the land in question, which Nikola said his family privately owns. A 3,500-square foot mausoleum will eventually call it home.
Nikola said that despite petitions against the project, no Live Oak trees were removed, only six Gums, six Water Oaks, two Pines, one Magnolia and about 15 to 20 smaller trees. He added that only five or six of the trees are considered mature trees.
"In reality, we are doing it to save the cemetery in longterm to allow it to be beautiful today and long into the future," said Nikola, of adding a mausoleum with more than 500 spaces.
After public outcry, enter the city of Savannah.
"You always have something to gain when you can resolve a conflict," said Joe Shearouse, of the city of Savannah.
After the plans for the mausoleum went public in December - and nearly a year after they were first brought to Chatham County - a petition was started asking for the trees to be saved and the mausoleum to be relocated. Shearouse said the city tried to come up with a last-minute solution.
"There were three options discussed with Mr. Nikola, but only one presented," Shearouse said.
Shearouse admits that, with limited dealings with cemetery property issues, coming up with a viable alternative for Forest Lawn's project was a challenge.
"I think so. Maybe if we got in earlier we could have done something," he said.
"They were trying to work with us, but I made it very clear what our time frame was," Nikola told WTOC.
Two alternatives were immediately shot down, Shearouse said. A third option, a location on President Street, was presented with more information, but Nikola said the location presented several issues, including an odor from a nearby water treatment facility.
After no further return calls from the city, Nikola said he moved ahead with the project.
The trees set to be removed are now gone and Forest Lawn's mausoleum is expected to be finished in a year. "It's going to be a beautiful building in a nice natural wooded setting," he said.
A little damage control is under way, too. "Bonaventure Cemetery has not been touched in any way," Shearouse told WTOC.
Nikola hopes the public gives his plan a chance. But he said that it's his customers he is most concerned about pleasing.
"My goal is to protect the cemetery and my obligation is to those buried here and who will be buried here," he said.
Nikola said new trees will be planted, along with landscaping.
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