The threatened jacaranda tree in Pillans Road gained a reprieve this week with city councillors recommending the council take no action.

Residents David and Helen Webster bought the property at 144 Pillans Road last year, and they wanted the city council to cut down the Jacaranda tree directly outside the house.

The mature jacaranda directly on the south side of the house is a remnant from the original farmhouse/orchard plantings on the street and pre-dates the area's urban development.

The decision to support the council staff recommendation and leave the tree as is was tied 3:3, with committee chairman Steve Morris used his casting vote to support the status quo – leaving the tree as is.

The decision came after the committee was told by former city councillor and Envirohub chair Mary Dillon they should not be deciding tree issues at a council level.

'I can't really understand why this is in front of the elected members, it's clearly an operational matter,” says Mary speaking in the open forum at the start of the meeting.

'None of these issues of tree removal should be going as far as the elected members. It should be dealt with by the arborist himself and they should make the decision and that should be what actually happens and that should be incorporated in policy.”

She is calling for a moratorium on tree decisions while the Environment Committee focuses on setting up the city environment strategy and reviewing its vegetation policy.

'You are doing the macro policy issues. You are looking at an environmental and sustainability strategy particularly an environment strategy. You already know what the big issues are, you are looking within the context of that and reviewing your vegetation strategy.

As the city intensifies every single street tree is going to be more important for the city's biodiversity, because Mary says more and more vegetation will be removed from private property.

'We have already lost miles of vegetation. The large trees on the street are extremely important but as a council most of all you have to be really educated about that value, what it is you are trying to put into the city long term and you don't go sacrificing large trees until the time when you have actually worked that through for yourself.

'When you give people information they start to care, they start to act as citizens, not individuals who want action for themselves. Citizens that will make the difference in this city.

'This tree should not be removed. At this point you should say to the whole city, ‘no more' until we have these larger strategies in place.”

Mary's claim the Websters were newcomers was denied by Helen Webster who said she also attended Pillans Point primary school. They had been living up the road for two years before buying the house on the corner.

In the debate later councillor Max Mason said the council has a reputation for flip-flopping over tree issues, which undermined their staff.