Church member Eddie Sells stands under one of the trimmed crape myrtles at Albemarle Road Presbyterian Church. The church's fine has drawn comments from across the nation
Posted on 06/02/2011 9:34:45 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Every two to three years, Eddie Sales trims and prunes the crape myrtles at his church, Albemarle Road Presbyterian Church.
But this year, the city of Charlotte cited the church for improperly pruning its trees.
"We always keep our trees trimmed back because you don't want to worry about them hanging down in the way," said Sales, a church member.
The church was fined $100 per branch cut for excessive pruning, bringing the violation to $4,000.
"I just couldn't believe it when I heard about it," Sales said. "We trim our trees back every three years all over our property, and this is the first time we have been fined."
The fine will be dropped if the church replaces each of the improperly pruned trees, said Tom Johnson, senior urban forester for city of Charlotte Land Development Division.
"When they are nonrepairable, when they have been pruned beyond repair, we will ask them to be replaced," Johnson said. "We do that for a number of reasons but mainly because they are going to come back unhealthy and create a dangerous situation down the road."
Charlotte has had a tree ordinance since 1978, and when trees are incorrectly pruned or topped, people can be subject to fines, Johnson said.
Trees planted as a result of the ordinance are subject to the fines if they are excessively trimmed or pruned. These include trees on commercial property or street trees. They do not include a private residence.
"The purpose of the tree ordinance is to protect trees," Johnson said. "Charlotte has always been known as the city of trees. When we take down trees, we need to replace these trees."
Individuals who would like to trim their trees should call the city foresters to receive a free permit to conduct the landscape work.
Foresters will then meet with the person receiving the permit and give instructions on how to properly trim their trees, Johnson said.
The state Division of Forestry recommends that anyone trimming trees should be certified by the National Horticulture Board, but certification is not required to receive a permit.
On private property, fine amounts are based on the size of the tree improperly pruned. For small trees such as cherry trees or crape myrtles, the fine is $75 per tree. Excessive cutting can increase that fine to $100 per branch.
For large trees such as oaks or maples, the fine is $150 per tree.
Because there is a widespread lack of understanding on how to prune crape myrtles in the Charlotte area, Johnson said, residents found in violation regarding these trees are asked to simply replace them, and the fine will be lifted.
Sales said trees found in violation at the church must be cut down and replaced with new trees by October, but the church plans to appeal. Sales doesn't know how much it would cost to replace the trees.
"We trimmed back these trees in the interest of the church," Sales said. "If we were in violation, we certainly did not know we were."
Typically during the course of a year, Johnson said, about six private residents are found in violation of improper topping or pruning.
"We are trying to be pro-active and not trying to fine people excessively," Johnson said.
-- Brittany Penland is a freelance writer for the Observer's University City News.
—Atlas Shrugged
Sounds like the simple solution would be to just remove the trees altogether and let Charlotte be known as the city too stupid to have trees.
Sounds like the simple solution would be to just remove the trees altogether and let Charlotte be known as the city too stupid to have trees.
Yep, we’re living a tyranny.
And for the record, a crape myrtle is not a “tree,” its a weed that blooms.
I’d tell the career dictator wanna-bees that the church is going to replace the overly-pruned branches in 6 to 8 months. They just need to be patient.
How does one improperly prune a crepe myrtle, a tree that grows faster than many weeds?
There must obviously be something going on that’s not mentioned here. I’m guessing a feud between the city and the church. Maybe some animosity between a city council memeber and someon on the church board.
Or maybe the city just has a severe case of HUA.
LOL!
I dunno. This law sounds awfully subjective.
“When they are nonrepairable, when they have been pruned beyond repair, we will ask them to be replaced,” Johnson said. “We do that for a number of reasons but mainly because they are going to come back unhealthy and create a dangerous situation down the road.”
This is the kind of thinking that allows governments to control everything from skydiving to collecting rainwater, to personal hygiene.
Church member Eddie Sells stands under one of the trimmed crape myrtles at Albemarle Road Presbyterian Church. The church's fine has drawn comments from across the nation
Tom Johnson, JAAWSP*
... Just Another A**hole With Some Power
Our church is in an area with a good number of restrictions; it's in an upscale planned development area of our city. Ordinances require we maintain our landscaping at a high level, which was a good size cost for the church since we own a lot of land but are only growing the buildings in phases as the church grows.
We brought landscaping back in house, buying our own equipment and forming volunteer teams to do the work. We have saved a good deal of money, but we had to learn some ordnance lessons along the way.
Our city has a sound ordnance that restricts when lawn equipment can be operated. We got turned in for starting too early and got fined. They also have restrictions around bed areas vs grass areas, etc.
Every two or three years I trim my Crape Myrtle’s back to the sticks. They always come back and need it again 3 years later.
This is BS. Theft is what this is.
Once again proving that resident’s do not own property, they are merely leasing it from the Government.
And it’s the Bureaucrats that come up with this baloney, not necessarily the elected officials. The Leftie/Environmentalists know where the real power is and that is where they are making it up as they go along. I thought Gainesville, FL had a bunch of lame wackos telling businesses what color azaleas to plant, but this takes the cake.
Sounds like a challenge is due here. I mean, who decides what overpruning is? How many branches per age and type of tree is lawful? Who and how was the fine per branch determined? Who goes around counting these branches? Is the person who does, knowledgeable about the “proper” number of branches a tree might have? Can you remove diseased branches and fall within the proper number of branches?
How can anything look more stupid!
No one in my town can tell me what to plant, harvest or trim if it is not on city property.
I guess the lefty statist control freaks havent gotten around to us yet!
Trim them into the shape of a cross. Dare the bureaucrat to cut it down.
When a government has a “senior urban forester” it’s not the trees that need pruning.
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