Who is responsible for tree trim and removal?

[miamicuse]

I just bought a house that was vacant for months, after hurrican Wilma came through three large black olive trees in front of the house were damaged.

I called the tree company out and they said two of them need heavy pruning, and because it was never properly pruned there are some rot and termite infestation as well. But they cannot trim it because it's the County's trees. The third one is completely unbalanced and is a hazard waiting to happen, it's leaning and the root is coming up a bit on the other side, bulging the concrete sidewalk.

All three trees are on the side of the County's street and outside of my property line. I was told I am responsible to maintain these trees even though they are not mine technically.

The County told me to trim and prune trees I need a file a permit. Over $100 per tree. Now the tree guy will prune it for $300 a tree, and an additional $600 to haul away the branches. If the unbalanced tree need removal, I have to pay much more...for removal, for stump grinding and for hauling away, and County require a 100% canopy replacement and higher permit fee. This will result in thousands!!!

This is not even on my property! I thought I pay property taxes for things like this!

MC

[James]

I would talk to my local councilman about this, it doesn't sound right to me.

I have known of many places where the county/city government takes full resp for trimming trees on their public lands. This could vary from place to place, but it simply doesn't sound right to me.

Try to contact your area's councilman, and also call your mayor's office. Some one may be giving you some bum info.

Good luck !!

--James--

[CJT]

I'd call my homeowner's insurance carrier -- he has an interest in not having the thing crash through the roof, and might be able to get something done.

[HeyBub]

Could be worse.

One chap noticed a dead tree on the highway right-of-way next to his property. Called the highway department and reported same. They said they'd take care of it.

Two days later, a tree-trimming crew came onto the reporting-person's property (while he's at work) and cut down (and hauled away) a 40-year old, healthy, pecan tree, over 100 feet inside the person's property line. Dead tree still standing.

Citizen goes ballistic. Calls the highway department, demands satisfaction. Threatens to sue everybody in the highway department, along with all their relatives and everybody they ever knew!

Highway department is apoplectic. Apologizes profusely and promises to make things right. Even mentions restitution.

Early the following week, a different tree-cutting crew cuts down

75-year-old healthy oak - over three feet in diameter at the base - also on citizen's property. This tree likewise 100 feet inside citizen's property line, and 150 feet from highway. Dead tree still untouched.

Citizen goes into nuclear meltdown -- we're talking pitchforks and torches. Having leared from hard experience, citizen doesn't mess with highway department again, as he still has several sturdy trees left. TV cameras appear, some national. Jay Leno reports on the screw-up. Governor's office picketed. Environmental Protection Agency wants a report. Little children weep on camera. Close-up of destroyed bird-nest (with eggs). Oh, the horror of it all !

Moral: Unless these trees will hit something if they fall over, DON'T INVOLVE THE GOVERNMENT. The county will burn down your house, kill your dog, molest your children, and deport you to Slovenia. The trees will remain untouched.

[CJT]

Having read the horror story from the other poster, I should add that insurance companies aren't always the best to deal with, either, so be sure to think it through first.

[mm]

One thing that comes to mind: If you explain the problem to the insurance company, it's an admission that you know about the problem, and if you don't get this solved before it does fall down, they may blame you and not want to pay.

Ordinarily, I wouldn't counsel people to avoid admitting the truth, but you have been diligent here and are trying to do the right thing. Yet, if you get sick or distracted, or have to work overtime, or get temporarily sent to another city, etc. there are a lot of things that could cause you not to make it through the next stage in a timely manner.

Of course, you've already admitted that you know about this to a bunch of people, but I don't think it is the same as telling the insurance company directly. GEICO seems to have records of every time I asked them a question and what I asked (damn computers).

I would also suggest you ask your neighbors, especially those with nicely trimmed trees in front, how things work.

Is the city saying that because so many trees were damaged they can't keep up with the trimming they normally do themselves? If so, I think they should waive the 100 dollar charge. If so, when do they expect to catch up?

[pipedown]

In my city and I think most, the city is responsible for city trees (on or abutting your property) and trims them once a year or so but you say there is still a lot of hurricane damage around indicating they may still be overwhelmed by other priorities. If you live in the county (unincorporated land), the services provided may be quite a bit less than those available in the city.

Also in my city a permit is not needed if less than X% of the canopy is pruned. You may get off cheaper by pruning two years in a row rather than all at once. As for the removal, they may waive the fee if you can show the tree is irrevocably damaged by the hurricane and that it is a city tree.

My horribly politically incorrect advice is to tie it to your bumper in the middle of the night and pull it down to the middle of the street then go to bed and wait for chainsaws to wake you in the morning.

[Rudy]

Have the County's ARBORIST come out and SEE the problem and talk it over with him. You can't do this over the phone.

[miamicuse]

No, this is not that they cannot keep up with maintaining their grass and trees. I was told as a home owner I am responsible to maintain the area between my property line and the edge of street pavement. That means I need to mow the grass there and trim back trees there. It does not sound logical but that's what the county told me.

MC

[Joshua Putnam]

Other Moral: That's why they *FLAG* the problem tree, so there's less ambiguity about it. If the homeowner had flagged the dead tree with fluorescent tape and specified that when reporting the problem the first time, there's a good chance even the dimmest of crew chiefs could have figured out which tree was the problem.

Private tree services can have the same problems, don't assume you're off the hook if you hire them yourself. Flag the tree, put a sign on it, and *be there when the work is done* even if it means unpaid time off work.

[Bob]

Sounds like an "urban legend" to me. Any documentation?

Bob

[rb608]

A couple of points. First, the responsibility *may* be yours. Is it really on the County property, or only in the right-of-way (which means it's really your property that the county gets to use for public thorofare)? In the case of public sidewalks, for example, many municipalities require the homeowner to maintain the public sidewalk in front of their residence. Your trees may be falling into that same situation.

Secondly, if the trees are a safety hazard, depending on whose responsibility they actually are, that can be good or bad for you. If they fall and cause damage or injury, now we're talking negligence because you (or they) are aware of the problem and failed to rectify it. If you determine that it's the county's problem, you might want to stress that point in your conversations with them. If they're your trees after all, I'd do one of two things. Either bite the bullet & take them down or two, wait for a good hurricane to knock them down. If the latter, the insurance company will pay for the removal.

JF

[Harry K]

Same here

Harry K

[zxcvbob]

They told you to cut the trees. That *is* your permit.

I like the idea of knocking it down in the middle of the night. You'll need a big truck for that.

Best regards, Bob

[John Hines]

Sounds like it is your problem to deal with. Welcome to the world of home ownership.

I spent about $1200 on my lot for tree trimming and care, after being here 10-12 years. I figure I'll have to spend/do that once a decade or so. (slow growing maple/oaks in zone 5)

-- If I had something witty to say, this is where I'd say it.

[zxcvbob]

This thread reminded me that I needed to call the city because one of the boulevard trees (that's what they called it; it's between the sidewalk and the street) has about a 6 inch limb that's dead and overhanging the sidewalk. Someday it will break suddenly and fall on the sidewalk. I asked them whether I was supposed to cut it or if it was their responsibility.

The lady at the Parks Department said they would get someone out right away to take care of it.

Best regards, Bob

[Tom G]

My insurance company (State Farm) will pay for repair to damage done by the falling tree but the cost of removal is mine, they say. This from when a tree fell on my garage. They did pay to get the tree off the garage but then it was mine to deal with.

[Oren]

The legal property description should reflect any "easement" that allows the county on the property to fix or install utilities. Do these trees have power lines along the easement? Florida Power and Light may be able to clarify questions if there are power lines involved. They contract to have trees trimmed away from power lines.

I grew up on a property that had a "high line" crossing our back lot. We could not put a house on the lot, because of this "easement" for FPL. We still had to mow that lot for many, many years.

It's your property and you are most likely are responsible for maintenance, but they have a legal authority to enter your property.

Oren

[mm]

Then requiring a 100 dollars per tree to trim what they have told you to trim sounds ridiculous. I guess if your house is a rattrap or downs't meet code they require you to repair it, and than might require you to get a building permit, for which they charge, but in that case I thought the charge was only the cost of processing the permit. And it was the same no matter how big the project was, right? But here they are charging per tree.

We lived in the suburbs and the county owned more land than they had used for the road. Maybe 15 feet was theirs. I don't know if we were required to mow the lawn, but I know they weren't going to do it.

[ameijers]

(snip)

Are you absolutely sure about the property line? It's been my experience (in several states) that except for numbered state highways, the property actually runs into the road, and the road is on an easement. Do you have a plat for your land, and at least one surviving corner marker to work backward from?

aem sends....