LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- A neighborhood is looking for answers after a significant portion of their tree canopy was cut down.
Residents in the Steeplechase Neighborhood in Lawrenceville are reeling after the electric company cut down roughly 300 trees on a road that boarders their community.
Jackson EMC cut down hundreds of trees along Sever and Dean Roads, an area inside their right of way. Neighbors reached to 11Alive and asked us to hold the powerful accountable to find out who is responsible for rebuilding the look of their community.
In one message to the newsroom, a viewer wrote "they should at least repair the deteriorated fences and replant shrubs that will not grow into their wires. So far they have refused to help us. 300 trees = a virtual forest! They have left our subdivision in shambles which will hurt our resale value of our homes and has created an impoverished looking eyesore on the main road by our homes."
Here's what a stretch of Sever Road looks like, before and after the work:
11Alive's Kaitlyn Ross went to the Lawrenceville neighborhood where she spoke with Lori Silver. She said that her neighborhood's home owner association was aware the power company would have to clear some of the foliage away from the power lines, but Silver said they went too far.
"I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe that they weren't just topping them, but cutting them down to stubs," Silver said.
Photos: Neighbors upset after hundreds of trees cut down by power company
11Alive reached out to Jackson EMC who said the trees had to be cut down for safety reasons. A spokeswoman said the trees were in the right-of-way of the power lines, and it could have been dangerous, possibly deadly, to leave them up. She went on to say that the company tried just topping the trees a few years ago, but it wasn't a permanent solution.
This isn't the first time a community has taken on power companies because of the trees. Last February, a woman climbed a tree that she said was at least 100-years-old to prevent Georgia Power crews from cutting it and others down in her neighborhood. The tree is at the Cross Creek Condos in Buckhead where the home owners association was at odds with Georgia Power over an easement.
Jennifer Firestone spent several hours in the tree, refusing to leave, even when Atlanta Police arrived to talk her down. To this day, those trees still stand, according to Firestone who appeared on WABE's 'A Closer Look' this year to talk about life after the protest.
So who's responsible for the trees?
Tree ordinances vary in different cities and counties. In some areas, homeowners even have to seek permission to cut down trees on their own properties. In most cases, though, power companies have the right to take down any tree that infringes on the power lines' right-of-way.
Moving forward in Lawrenceville, though, Silver said she hopes Jackson EMC will work with neighbors to find a permanent solution, though the power company said its not their responsibility.
"What we need for Jackson EMC to do is put in uniform fencing, so it looks good, and then replant shrubbery with us. Because they destroyed it," she said. "They destroyed our environment here."
The neighborhood now has a campaign to raise money to replace the trees with shrubs.
