An old oak tree has been cut down by developers in Vilnius, eliciting condemnation from the public and the country’s political leaders. The president himself called the act “barbaric” and a “spit in the face” of the city’s residents.
The tree was cut down on a plot of land on Rinktinės Street which is in the process of redevelopment.
Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas immediately commented that the city had not issued any permit to cut down the oak tree and that that the matter would be referred to the prosecutors.
“It is outrageous and regrettable that the developers in the centre of Vilnius have cut down a century-old oak tree today as if it were nothing. They did not have any permits, so this is nothing short of simple vandalism and a crime against the citizens of Vilnius,” Benkunskas posted on Facebook on Saturday.
“The capital city has sufficient means to curb such actors. One of them is stopping building permits for those who think that the rules and laws do not apply to them,” he added.
The developers of the project, Rinktinės NT, later issued a statement, saying the tree was damaging the plot’s water drainage. Moreover, they said that the tree’s removal was envisioned in the detailed plan of the plot and no permit was necessary, because the plant was growing on utility lines.
“Contrary to the municipality’s claim, the tree in question is, according to arborists’ assessment, immature, less than 100 years old, and its root area is overlapping with water drainage network, causing obvious damage to it. Moreover, the removal of this tree is foreseen in the current detailed plan of the plot. The company protects protected trees and has not felled any protected trees. There is a century-old oak tree on the site, which is protected under the detailed plan, and therefore it will certainly remain,” Rinktinės NT said in the statement.
One circumstance adding fuel to the fire is the fact that the architect of the redevelopment project, Gilma Teodora Gylytė, is the wife of former mayor Remigijus Šimašius.
Gylytė also posted a statement on Saturday, saying cutting down the oak tree was not part of the design.
“We have been designing on this site for almost seven years, and this oak was to be the centre and the axis of our proposed urban quarter. This is totally unacceptable in terms of our values. It is very unfortunate and very sad indeed,” she said.
On Monday, Gilytė’s firm, Do Architects, issued a statement, saying it was ending its contract with the developer, Rintinės NT.
The incident caused outrage on social media and even President Gitanas Nausėda weighed in.
“In our beloved city, a hundred-year-old, healthy, green oak tree was barbarically cut down today. This is not the first time that real estate developers have spat in the face of the people of Vilnius, stealing from us and our children,” he posted on Facebook on Saturday. “I call on the law enforcement authorities to take a principled approach to this case. I have so far sought, and will continue to seek, stricter legal regulation of crimes against nature. Let’s not be indifferent – let’s stand up to scoundrels with no conscience!”
Mindaugas Pakalnis, chief architect of Vilnius Municipality, has told LRT RADIO that the developer’s actions were cynical and deliberate, and the arguments about the alleged damage to the sewage network are merely an attempt to cover up the real reasons for cutting down the oak tree.
“In reality, the tree was cut down because the developer wanted 40 additional parking spaces. This was simply a way of cleaning up the yard,” Pakalnis said on Monday.
Meanwhile, the municipality had previously clearly agreed with the developers that the oak tree must be preserved, but the latter decided to do otherwise.
Estonian-owned company
Rinktinės NT is an Estonian-owned company that bought the 0.7-hectare plot between Rinktinės and Ceikinių Streets in 2016.
The company’s development project for the plot, designed by Go Architects, includes three office buildings and a hotel.
According to registry data, Rinktinės NT is indirectly owned by Kapitel, which is an Estonian company that operates in four countries: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic.
One of the shareholders of the company is the entrepreneur Toomas Annus, who is among the richest people in Estonia.
Kapitel’s assets in Lithuania total 187 million euros and include the Panorama shopping mall and Narbuto 5 office building, both in Vilnius.
In the wake of the news about the cut oak tree, the Lithuanian Real Estate Development Association (LNTPA) said it was suspending Kapitel’s membership.
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