Trump to Doral golf course neighbors: don’t touch my trees!

The Trump National Doral golf course and owner Donald Trump (Credit: Mike Licht)
The Trump National Doral golf course and owner Donald Trump (Credit: Mike Licht)

Donald Trump’s fight for the Republican presidential nomination is apparently not the only thing on his mind.

The presidential frontrunner just sued five neighbors of his Trump National Doral golf course for allegedly destroying its new trees.

Trump had planted a variety of landscaping along the borders of his golf course two years ago as part of a $200 million renovation plan, according to five complaints filed in Miami-Dade County by Trump’s lawyer. Buttonwood Trees, Fishtail Palms and Areca Palms — all of which boast voluminous and concealing foliage — were among the species planted.

That move drew the ire of neighboring homeowners, who complained the landscaping blocked their views of the golf course’s fairways.

“Look, I’m looking to build one of the great resorts of the world,” he told the Miami Herald about the dispute in 2014. “You can’t be standing on a hole and looking at someone else’s hanging laundry, barbeque pit, or garbage cans which are stored in the back of the houses. These are beautiful trees.”

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The conflict came to a head yet again this month when Trump’s lawyers filed suit against the owners of five residential properties bordering his golf course.

As GossipExtra first reported, the suits claim each resident had a hand in destroying some of Trump’s landscaping. Named in the complaints are Alejo C. Peyret, Francisco Rodriguez, James L. Almaraz, Nancy R. Dominguez and Juan M. Infante.

Each suit claims damages were valued at $15,000.

This isn’t the first time Trump has battled the residents of Doral, or even the city of Doral itself. He sued the city early last year after his golf course had accumulated more than 100 noise violations for maintenance work. The suit claimed Doral’s noise ordinance was too vague, and the city in turn voted on whether or not to revoke the key to the city they gave him that same year. They ultimately voted to let him keep it, according to the Herald. — Sean Stewart-Muniz