Posted on 08/12/2012 7:29:41 PM PDT by smokingfrog
Caltrans has filed a lawsuit over people who cut down trees, shrubs and other plants along state highways, including a Wheatland business owner who cut trees near his business last year.
According to the suit, filed in June in Yuba County Superior Court, business owner had a crew damage, trim or destroy 16 trees along Highway 65 at Evergreen Drive, near where Sharma had an encroachment permit to allow a left-turn lane on and off his commercial property.
"The defendants, and each of them, intentionally or recklessly trespassed on State owned property and injured and destroyed State owned tress, in order to further their individual and collective gain," the suit states.
Sharma's permit allowed him to remove eight trees there, but the work done far exceeded the scope of the permit, the suit states.
But Sharma said the suit is a misunderstanding that he will work out.
"We had all the permits to do that work, and it's just a matter of interpretation," Sharma said.
The trees were leftovers from an almond orchard that once stood in the area, he said. Because the trees hadn't been maintained and became sickly, he worried one might topple over and injure an employee or customer at his nearby business.
(Excerpt) Read more at appeal-democrat.com ...
BFD. Why doesn’t the state work on the financial mess we’re in instead of hyperventilating about a few trees?
Regulatory over-reach is a way to raise funds. It's not much different philosophically from speed traps placed right behind change of speed signs.
He could go out and argue with one of the stumps and make more sense and progress. He might as well just pay his dues to the several state agencies, bribe a couple of the inspectors to take a re-look at his paperwork, and make a very public donation to Moonbeam and his mob or he could just fire everyone and fold the operation up and move to NYC where they are understanding and reasonable (per a commercial I saw recently ... if you saw it on TV it must be true).
It’s all about the money to be made and its only going to get worse. As more budgets go into the red every agency of government, from the most lofty to the smallest municipality and the most obscure board, will use every means available to extract money from citizens.
His mistake was getting the permit. He should have just “taken care” of the trees on a Sunday and been done with it.
We had this problem when we lived in Connecticut. We had a few too many trees along the edge of our property, but were unable to cut any of them down. Eventually a large pine tree broke off in a storm and took down the power lines. The power company cleared it away, but not before we had lost power for three days in near freezing weather.
These nuts think that ALL trees are sacred, and can’t distinguish between a sick tree or a healthy one, or a tree that is crowded in too close and just waiting for trouble.
Where did the state get the money to be able to own the property?
Where did the state get the money to be able to own the property?
It's always better to beg forgiveness, that to ask for bureaucratic permission!!!
“It’s always better to beg forgiveness, that to ask for bureaucratic permission!!! “
...and generally an operation like Caltrans has a lot more to do than count trees. If they don’t expect an ‘extraction’, and if it’s done when they’re not on duty (say, on a Sunday morning), they probably will never pick up on it being done, particularly if it’s done clean and the stumps are immediately pulled and then filled in.
Our little town of 25,000 in the San Fran Bay Area just instituted a requirement that EVERY subcontractor to a general take out a business license in the city. I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay the $400 for a business license for a sub who doesn’t have one. So our list of subs has shrunken enormously. Blast every government busybody from here to Kingdom Come.
CalTrans has cut down bazillions of legacy trees. Highway 99 comes to mind, but there are so many more examples.
The upside of all this is that ordinary men and women will become energized by this soft oppression and take action to rid themselves of the power seeking, money grubbing robbers.
The upside of all this is that ordinary men and women will become energized by this soft oppression and take action to rid themselves of the power seeking, money grubbing robbers.
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