City trees and the mess/cost

[gsc]

why dont you just do what a couple other people in town did with nuisance trees the city owns...just cut it down.
doesn't seem to be any consequences for that action.

I would do that but I live in a fairly busy part of town and this tree is hugging phone and cable lines. I am going to tell them the company I work for though is fully licensed and insured and that I can do this service free of charge all at my expense if they can't or wont

[dirtybiker]

And through your expertise deem them a hazard to the communications and power lines
with potential disruption, and potential fire hazard.
Also mention the age and core rot leaving it's structure weakened and a falling, blow down hazard.

Skip the part about your personal property woes.

Keep it potential future damages and/or injury to person and property.

Dangerous tree, not pain in the a$$ tree.

[Bpeep]

What kind of tree is it?

[Bpeep]

I would do that but I live in a fairly busy part of town and this tree is hugging phone and cable lines. I am going to tell them the company I work for though is fully licensed and insured and that I can do this service free of charge all at my expense if they can't or wont

Never tell the city you'll do it for free. They'll always refuse.
If they agree then it's a liability issue for them.
Give them legitimate cause to remove the offending tree.
Call them again and again, once a week.remind them every time you call them that this is the 2nd, 7th, 12th, 18th time you've called about it. When winters close to over, tell them they've had their chance. If they don't take it down you will and you'll bill them for it.
They'll get a crew out quick.

[Queen K]

City took a dangerous Chinese Elm out of the back alley and charged me half because it was half on my easement. But it was gone! We dug out huge tree roots after that, months later, and they still had a lot of moisture in them.

[gsc]

What kind of tree is it?

This is a pic of it from a couple years ago.

[TreeGuy]

Residents complaining about city trees is nothing new. Don't take to trying to kill it even from your side of the property, you could be found liable. The City won't let anyone touch their trees, as a Certified Arborist I offered to prune City trees that were on my clients property and they said no.

https://www.castanet.net/news//news/Kelowna/203784/tree-illegally-cut-down

From the article: "Penalties and fines could be levied by the city based on the tree's location, age and condition."

Cutting down a tree that does not belong to you can be very costly. Let's say you cut down a 30 year old tree. Like I quoted above, the fines can be calculated based on age, condition, location and I will add species. You could be on the hook for planting a new tree and the cost of caring for it to the age/size that it was when it was cut down. There are actual calculations for this.

Unless you have your TRAQ (Tree Risk Assessment Qualification ) the City wont take your assessment of the tree seriously.

Good Luck with this! Harry Burgraaf is the guy you want to talk to, but you didn't get that from me.

[Ken7]

City took a dangerous Chinese Elm out of the back alley and charged me half because it was half on my easement. But it was gone! We dug out huge tree roots after that, months later, and they still had a lot of moisture in them.

Elm will grow even if you cut it at the surface of the ground. Terrible to get rid of.

[Ken7]

Residents complaining about city trees is nothing new. Don't take to trying to kill it even from your side of the property, you could be found liable. The City won't let anyone touch their trees, as a Certified Arborist I offered to prune City trees that were on my clients property and they said no.

I've trimmed my own City tree several times. One time to balance the tree I took off a 8 inch branch. They never came knocking. I do think they would be a little upset if you cut it off at the ground, although others have as recently in the paper for blocking a view of the lake.

[TreeGuy]

I've trimmed my own City tree several times. One time to balance the tree I took off a 8 inch branch. They never came knocking. I do think they would be a little upset if you cut it off at the ground, although others have as recently in the paper for blocking a view of the lake.

People certainly get away with pruning their trees, a branch or two they won't notice. Top it or remove it and they will have something to say. In Old Glenmore I saw a City's Honey Locust tree totally topped back to the trunk, I emailed the City's Arborist and he let me know they were already "dealing with it" but appreciated me keeping my eye out.

[Queen K]

City took a dangerous Chinese Elm out of the back alley and charged me half because it was half on my easement. But it was gone! We dug out huge tree roots after that, months later, and they still had a lot of moisture in them.

Elm will grow even if you cut it at the surface of the ground. Terrible to get rid of.

Agreed. I have hand dug down to the roots of an Elm and found that they are multi-layered down, like a ladder. They also go for many meters. I have dug out and documented the pulling out of what looks like huge branches which are actually tree roots. We kept on in the front and I never tire of showing it to people as an example of what their Elm roots will look like some day.

Evil plant. One bit of root just keeps trying to grow up. I battled an entire hedge of them. We kept finding huge chunks of roots as we dug our garden up.

[gsc]

Well I'll see what I can have done. There has to be something they can do .

*removed*

[Queen K]

Good luck dealing with the city. Dirty is right to advise to use the dangerous tree angle. All the best, let us know how it went. You can't be the only one.

[Bpeep]

*removed*

[Glacier]

Salt kills trees too. If you drive out highway 6, you can see cedar hedge after cedar hedge is half dead or completely dead because of the road salt used last winter. This up coming winter is not going to be good for homeowners in Lavington because they no longer have the cedars to block the snow and salt from shooting into their yards.