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Sun City pickleball courts canceled after residents protest proposed tree removal

The pickleball courts were set to be built at Legacy Hills Park.

GEORGETOWN, Texas — A Central Texas community's fight to save the trees paid off. A developer is no longer planning to cut down a grove of oak trees to replace it with pickleball courts at Legacy Hills Park.

Developers with the Sun City Retirement Community had been looking to cut down the trees to build the new pickleball courts, but some residents weren't happy with the plan.

They said the beauty of the park is why many people move to the neighborhood.

RELATED: Are you cutting down a protected tree illegally?

"We want to save this beautiful little spot here, and these trees are so important. This project would be [a problem] – particularly to the local neighbors that butt up against it because of the noise and the disruption," Martin Byhower said. 

Residents also said they were protesting because they didn't receive any notice about the plan.

"This is a time when we should be planting trees, not tearing down forests. So, we really hope that our neighbors find a place to have their amenities. But it's not right here," Byhower said.

The protestors started a petition to stop the trees from being cut down, which got at least 1,600 signatures.

According to our partners at the Austin American-Statesman, the developer canceled the plan to build the courts on Friday. Spokespeople with the Sun City Retirement Community said they decided not to move forward because of the residents' feedback and apologized for the unhappiness and stress the plan caused.

WATCH: City working to preserve Austin's trees

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