For homeowner Rob Wythe, preserving the historic character of downtown McKinney includes protecting the mature cedar and walnut trees that surround his home. “The charm is taking these homes and bringing them back to life, and that’s what makes people come to downtown McKinney,” Wythe said. Wythe said he regularly hires arborists to maintain his trees and keep them clear of power lines. “We also take care of the trees too by hiring arborists to cut back from those lines, so we are watching out for it too,” Wythe said. But when contractors working for Oncor arrived to trim his walnut tree, Wythe said he was told the tree would have to be cut back to the trunk. “The first group was telling me I was going to have to cut it at the trunk,” Wythe said. Wythe said he refused because he believed the planned trimming would kill the tree. “I said you’re not going to come down as much as you’re planning to because you’re going to kill my trees,” Wythe said. He said the disagreement escalated. “We’re going to be back tomorrow and if you step in our way we’ll come with police to take you away,” Wythe said. Wythe enlisted ISA-certified arborist Julie Odum to evaluate the trees. “The problem is when you cut away 50% of the canopy of any tree you have increased the likelihood of tree failure exponentially,” Odum said. Odum helped present crews with a cease-and-desist request while neighbors gathered to voice their concerns. “Again, we understand powerlines need to be cleared, but can you do it with a little more ease or working with the owners? Most of us didn’t get notifications they were going to this even until someone knocked on our door saying we’re doing this today,” Wythe said. One homeowner on Hill Street showed NBC 5 a front yard that had been reduced to a single hanging branch after four mature trees were cut down to their stumps. The homeowner told NBC 5 the options presented were either to allow the trees to be cut back, leaving them to die while remaining the homeowner’s responsibility, or to have them cut down entirely. The homeowner said they are now responsible for removing the stumps. Oncor confirmed its safety and reliability project includes replacing power poles. In a statement provided to NBC 5, the company acknowledged residents’ concerns while emphasizing that the work is necessary. “This work is being done to prepare for future reliability upgrades, and maintaining safe clearance around power lines is critical to preventing outages and protecting the safety of our customers and workers.” Odum argued the work has left historic properties with diminished value while creating additional risks. “The first load event that occurs it’s going to push the tree into the house,” Odum said. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication. ...read more read less