ROCKLEDGE, Fla. — Controversy has flared back up over plans to trim oak trees on a scenic stretch of roadway along the Indian River in Rockledge.

A petition is circulating with more than 9,000 signatures, from residents demanding that officials leave them alone. The list includes many of the more than 100 residents living along the two-mile stretch of Rockledge Drive that runs along the water.

They say they are against any county plans to cut or trim back the trees that people come from all over the world to see.

The trees are the reason Michelle Maricic said she moved to Rockledge Drive more than 30 years ago.

“These trees, this road, are designated as a scenic drive, federally designated in 1965, and it’s been preserved since we moved here,” she said.

On any given day, bicyclists and cars take in the shade of the shadowy canopy the trees provide.

Many local groups come to enjoy the scenery and peaceful spot.

“What we’ve come to realize, it’s not ours, it’s the community’s,” Maricic said.

Five years ago, after an RV struck one of the branches over the road, Brevard County began the initiative to remove many of the trees.

They argued some of them would also be pruned to follow DOT regulations requiring enough clearance for large trucks and emergency vehicles to get through.

The plans never came to fruition.

Since then, residents have put up their own safety signs to warn drivers of the roadway's limited clearance.

And other signs urging the county not to cut on any of the trees.

Some neighbors are actively trimming back their trees to provide more clearance up to 14 feet.

But now county commissioners are asking public works about doing their own work to ensure that Rockledge Drive, being a public road, is safe for larger vehicular traffic as mandated by county code to comply with FDOT regulations.

“County staff continues to believe the appropriate standards require that the road be capable of serving emergency vehicles, recreational vehicles, trash collection vehicles, school buses, moving vans, box trucks, delivery vehicles, etc,” Public Works Director Marc Bernath explained to commissioners at an April 9 meeting.

But residents like Maricic don’t want any changes, because she believes trimming the trees could lead to some being cut down next.

“We are fully prepared to make sure that doesn’t happen,” she said.

She adds they’ve met with the school district, fire marshal and waste management, and they were told vehicles have never had issues getting down the road, and neighbors know to always give them the right of way.