Toledo man wants branches cut back before they fall on his roof

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Reginald Mcclellan always has his eyes on the sky.

But, he’s not star gazing or watching the clouds go by. He’s worried about the neighboring trees.

“They’ve really always been a problem,” Reginald, or Reggie, said.

His house on Norwood Avenue in Toledo sits next to an empty lot. According to the Lucas County Auditor, it’s owned by the city.

The lot has giant, old trees with branches that hover over Reggie’s roof.

Reggie doesn’t want history to repeat itself.

He has a picture showing what the house looked like several years ago. It shows a small hole in the roof at the front of the house. Reggie said that was caused by a tree branch.

“The city had got on me about the roof and the painting so, I did all that,” Reggie said. “So, now I’m trying to get the city out here to take care of the trees so it don’t mess up my new roof.”

13 Action News visited the area on Tuesday and observed what looks like Reggie’s worst fear come true.

A shed behind a house two doors down from Reggie was crushed by a tree branch. 13 Action News spoke to the homeowner who said it happened the same day.

“The trees are so old, they’re eventually going to just fall,” Reggie said.

We messaged the City of Toledo to get answers.

A spokesperson said they’ve submitted a request for Forestry to inspect the trees on the city-owned property. Once that assessment is done, they’ll have more information.

The spokesperson added that the issue hadn’t been reported to Engage Toledo, a customer service and call center for residents, yet.

But, Reggie showed our crews his recent calls and we saw he made two calls to the city in recent days. Not including the numerous other calls he said he’s made over the years.

“So, now I need them to do what they need to do to save the roof and to save the house,” Reggie said.

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