Woman braves weather in tree sit

"Warning: Watch For Falling Objects From Tree" is written on a sign tied around a Red Oak tree in Brown's Woods. Passersby who look up can see a wood flat covered with a blue tarp at the top of the 50-foot tree.\nIt was windy and cold early Monday afternoon as 19-year-old Tracy McNeely looked down from the platform and saw two men examining the area below her.\n"I live in solitude with the trees!" she shouted to the men. "Any development here will endanger my life!"\nMcNeely climbed up to the platform early Thursday morning and doesn't plan to come down until developers freeze their plans for the 54-acre woodland area on the west side of town.\nShe took a sleeping bag, five layers of clothes, non-perishable food items, a cell phone and a small stove. But McNeely has only had to cook twice because friends and community members have brought her warm food on a daily basis. \nSince age 10, McNeely has been traveling around the country attending environmental conferences with her mother. For five months, she participated in a tree sit in Oregon, which is still in progress and will celebrate its three-year anniversary this May. \nDevelopers have not been able to build in that Oregon forest, but in Bloomington developers plan to begin construction of new apartment buildings in Brown's Woods this summer.\nBill Brown, the owner of the woodland adjacent to Basswood Apartments, has contracted Indianapolis-based developer Herman and Associates to build 17 two-story apartments for moderate-income families.\nMcNeely said she doesn't think the woods are the best property for this project.\n"The city says they chose this area because of its location, but it's hard to be low-income here," McNeely said. "The stores are far away, and the bus only runs twice a day."\nDonna McNeely, who has been camping out in Brown's Woods, said that she supports her daughter's efforts and that she believes low-income housing is an important issue the city needs to address.\n"They can renovate existing homes and buildings instead of paving new ones," Donna McNeely said. "This is an urban sprawl issue, and we need to protect Mother Earth."\nBrown's Woods has been zoned a multi-family residential area since 1973, and Tom Micuda, the city's director of planning, said the zoning was ratified in 1995 without a protest. \n"After walking through the property I fully understand the site is sensitive for development," Micuda said. "In order to build, precautions must be taken."\nMicuda said 15 of the 54 acres have sinkholes and steep slopes and will be set aside from development.\nJeff Kittle, vice president of Herman and Associates, said that the group is excited about the project and that its organization has met all applicable environmental regulations. He said the firm would deal with McNeely's tree sit professionally when construction starts.\n"We have been working on this project for over a year," Kittle said. "Last fall was to look at the issue (of protesting), and we are past that. We have financing and the mayor's full support."\nNo legal action has been taken against McNeely so far. Monroe County Sheriff Steve Sharp said McNeely was advised with a warning for trespassing Monday morning. He said it is up to Brown to press charges.