When a majestic black walnut tree graced the median island on Black Walnut Court in east Napa, neighbors were happy.

Three years ago, determining the tree to be terminally ill, the city cut it down. For neighbors, things haven't been right since.

Unshaded for the first time, the island erupted with weeds. When the city's Community Resources Department planted a replacement tree, they put in a spindly live oak.

Neighbors never accepted the oak. Not on Black Walnut Court. "The oak tree was almost a joke," neighbor Joe Piccolo said.

Two weeks ago Piccolo stood before the City Council to complain about inadequate city maintenance of the median. "It's been a weed patch," he said.

It particularly annoyed neighbors that they were each paying a special $50-a-year assessment to cover city maintenance costs. Residents weren't getting their money's worth, Piccolo said.

Neighbors were taking turns watering and weeding the median, which left little for city maintenance workers to do, he said.

Napa City Councilwoman Juliana Inman said it was unfortunate that the landmark black walnut no longer existed. When the city approved the 11-home subdivision a decade ago, the tree was its intended centerpiece, she said.

Councilman Peter Mott remembered campaigning on Black Walnut Court last year and getting an earful from residents about their tiny new oak.

"It grows six inches a year. These residents will be long gone" before it achieves a commanding height, Mott said.

The council asked staff to work with neighbors on finding a maintenance solution. Maybe the city should stop collecting the $50 a year and let residents take charge of the median, Councilman Mark van Gorder said.

Since then, a city parks crew has visited Black Walnut Court and trimmed up the dying California poppies that now dominate the median. When the poppies are completely dead, the city will do some more cleanup, Piccolo said.

After talks with city workers, Piccolo said he now agreed that it made sense for the city to remain in charge of the median. If the median belonged to residents, it would create a "legal nightmare," he said.

In an interview, Larry Mazzuca, director of the city's Community Resources Department, said the city had been more involved in the median's upkeep than was understood at the council meeting.

Responding to neighbor complaints, a city crew completely re-landscaped the median earlier this spring, installing nearly $1,000 worth of new plantings, he said.

Most significantly, the oak sapling was removed and replaced with a 9-foot-tall black walnut. The median and the street name are again in sync.

The median, some 60 feet in diameter, presents landscaping challenges, Mazzuca said. First off, it isn't irrigated, which means any planting has to be able to survive with minimal watering, he said.

The department apparently planted an oak instead of a black walnut three years ago because oaks are drought tolerant, he said.

The city investigated the cost of running water to the median. The price tag, $8,500, was prohibitive given that the landscaping assessment only brings in $550 a year, he said.

When the city put in the black walnut sapling this spring, it also installed a circle of shrubs and grassy plants that have low water needs, Mazzuca said. Four neighbors agreed to share watering responsibilities the first year until the plants get established, he said.

Neighbors are happy to help out, Piccolo said. "I guess you write it off as being a good citizen," he said.

Of the $550 collected each year from the street's 11 residents, his department receives only $300 to cover its expenses, Mazzuca said. "We're definitely providing more service than we're receiving fees for," he said.

As the city tries to do a better job of having revenues balance expenses, maybe the fees charged to residents on Black Walnut Court need to be looked at, he said.