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| My husband and I received a certified letter from the city today telling us that their arborist inspected the tree in front of our house(on the parkway)was a hazard and would need to be removed at our expense. In addition to removing the tree we have to buy two tree�s (evergreen pear) one to replace the one we remove and one goes to the cities nursery.
The reason the city is making us do this is because about 2 years ago a section of sidewalk in front of our house was being lifted by the trees roots a good foot making it hazardous to walk on let alone wheelchair friendly. So we tried calling the city numerous times and writing letters to no avail. So not wanting our homeowner's insurance to get cancelled or worse someone to get hurt and sue us we fixed it ourselves (we did beautiful job).In the process we cut part of the tree. Plus we didn't know we had to file for a permit to fix the sidewalk and another one to cut the tree. My question is, would it be worth it to get an evaluation done on the stability of the tree and if not when we remove it does anybody want it in the Los Angeles area? Here's a picture of it. One more thing is we noticed the tree looked like it was being eaten or perhaps just rotting inside so im wondering if that was the real cause of it being deemed hazardous by the city arborist. Thanks to all who read this and all input is welcome. [IMG]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g84/robo21/pic004.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g84/robo21/pic003.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g84/robo21/pic002.jpg[/IMG]
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Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by molossermom (My Page) on Wed, Sep 28, 11 at 23:27
| I'm still new at this so i don't think i put the links to my pics in the right spot .Trying once more. |
Here is a link that might be useful: photo bucket
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| Very interesting from a number of perspectives! If I found myself in your position (which I wouldn't), I think I would ask someone in the city government (may take a few calls) whether they would accept proof that the tree was a hazard in lieu of you having to pay. You may have to show that you plan on being the "squeaky gear" to get far with that. Then, if that turns out to be an option, consult an ISA certified arborist (possibly with a municipal specialist rating) and see if they could write you up a supporting document claiming the tree, due to the rot visible at the base, was unsound and presented a hazard to property and life even before you massacred it. It's a shame that this whole situation occurred because I bet a single registered letter, to the right place, could have saved you all this trouble. |
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- Posted by dan_staley 5b/SS 2b AHS 6-7 (My Page) on Thu, Sep 29, 11 at 9:51
| Agree with Brandon. It was almost certainly their sidewalk hazard to mitigate and correct. No good deed goes unpunished! Dan |
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- Posted by rlv4 7 (rlv4@yahoo.com) on Thu, Sep 29, 11 at 10:01
| I would send the city a bill for the cost of repairing the sidewalk, with a percentage mark-up for project supervision and coordination. Make sure it equals or exceeds the cost of the trees they are requesting. Then write a little note at the bottom, "let's call it even". |
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| I hope you kept copies of the letters. Yes the people who already answered are right I would complain them and let them know that you are willing to litigate. If you just did this I would say buck it up and pay, but you say you contacted them several times. Chances are very good that they would also have also hurt the tree if they had fixed the side walk. There is almost no way to cut the roots of a tree in this location without hurting it whoever does it. Poor choice of tree for the location contributed to the scenario where roots were elevating the sidewalk. |
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- Posted by molossermom none (My Page) on Thu, Sep 29, 11 at 14:04
| Thank you for all the replies. My husband managed to get a good deal on the labor and trees. And after he spoke to the city official we have to get 15inch instead of 24 inch tree's and tried to make us feel better by letting us know he could of made us get a tree the same size as the 27 foot one we're removing and replace the sidewalk but he wasn't going to. Ha, like you said Dan, "no good deed goes unpunished", especially by the city of LA. We have chalked it up to a live and learn experience, and after our wallets heal we can admit it's for the better. And while I love the thought of sending them a bill, we did the work 2years ago and the law just isn't on our side this time. It would be a losing battle no matter how squeaky a wheel we became. Thanks for listening and responding. I 'm off to make sure no birds get hurt. |
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- Posted by molossermom none (My Page) on Thu, Sep 29, 11 at 16:15
| . I forgot to mention that we did keep the letters and gave the litigation option some serious thought. Then we realized that given the state of the surrounding sidewalks; the city doesn�t care that we fixed the sidewalk for them, (doing a much better job than they would have) they only care that we didn�t get a permit to do so. Yup it is a shame. That tree has been there longer, possibly twice as long as I�ve been alive. Last thing; were any of you able to see my Pics? |
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- Posted by dan_staley 5b/SS 2b AHS 6-7 (My Page) on Thu, Sep 29, 11 at 16:53
| Its their own fault for allowing large trees in a narrow treelawn. Few things would be more likely than pavement damage here:
Dan |
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| The pics you posted didn't come through in the post, but we were able to go find them. When using photobucket, use the HTML Code line to paste here instead. That's what Dan did above. Sorry it worked out that way. There is no way that tree should have been there. |
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| Sounds like a job for the media. Our local ABC station here LOVES to take on local governments over things like this. |
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- Posted by molossermom none (My Page) on Sat, Oct 1, 11 at 2:31
| It was very nice of you to post my pic Dan. And thanks for the how-to post in the future. Funny I can build a computer but have trouble posting a pic. Denninmi, you might be right about the Media. While it�s too late for us I'm sure there's allot of people who have no idea how stiff the codes, rules, & regulation's are regarding city trees. I kid you not the "book" they sent us (via pdf) telling what was desirable and not desirable in the replacement tree was a good 15 pages. At least they seem to know what they�re doing now. The evergreen pear sounds like it will actually do well in that spot without causing any headaches and it's even pretty when it blooms (for $300.00 dollars it ought to be). Thanks again for commiserating with me. |
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| Say, what are they calling "evergreen pear"? Do they give the scientific name? I realize that in LA things might be evergreen for you and not for me, but I'm just curious. |
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- Posted by molossermom none (My Page) on Sat, Oct 1, 11 at 15:19
| Pyrus Kawakami is the sientific name. And heres a link to the Urban Forestry Division of CA. It's kinda neat that theyre protecting the trees but a little overboard . http://www.ci.la.ca.us/boss/UrbanForestryDivision/index_structure.htm |
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- Posted by dan_staley 5b/SS 2b AHS 6-7 (My Page) on Sat, Oct 1, 11 at 16:56
| BTW, that treelawn is too narrow for anything other than a small-statured tree. Just asking for almost guaranteed pavement breakage.
One of the things I do is teach others to create policy for green infrastructure, and the first thing we do is make the treelawns minimum 6 feet. 8 is better. 4 ft treelawns means restrictions to small trees only. Dan |
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- Posted by molossermom none (My Page) on Sat, Oct 8, 11 at 0:54
| Sorry it has taken so long to respond to this last post and thanks Dan for the diagrams. Not entirely sure how to read them but I get the basic message that is; just grass would be best here. But my husband and I have little extra time and have to pick and choose our battles wisely. The new tree is going in tomorrow. I did go and download the pdf on how to plant a tree that harvest man posted a link to. Here�s the link http://cmg.colostate.edu/gardennotes/633.pdf I'll post a pic of the new tree tomorrow to finalize this thread. And hey thanks for all the input from everyone here. I know a great deal more now than when I started this thread |
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| Very interesting story. I don't know how high the roots were but what the city does here is wiggle the sidewalk around the trees. That might have worked, but on the whole that tree is flat out too big. I too immediately thought of the media when I read your predicament, and in fact this is also an opportunity to mention my other policy for circumventing bureaucracies: complain to the top, and let the top delegate down. It's way easier, and causes far fewer bad feelings, than starting at the bottom and working your way up. The bureaucracy is motivated to please the top, but not to please the client, so you have to make pleasing the top dovetail with helping you. If you start at the bottom and work up, you come to each successive level as a problem with negative connotations. If you start at the top, you come to the level that can help you as an opportunity to impress the boss. For instance, I had a problem with stupid parking regulations on a local university campus, so I wrote to the university president. Problem solved, with good feelings all around. In your place I would have used the media in the first place when the bureaucrats did not come through for you. Now, you embody the "if you can't be a shining example, be a sobering lesson" type of story, but it will still motivate the political structure to respond better to the next bumpy sidewalk call. And I'm sure a lot of people in wheelchairs, or with strollers and walkers, will chime in once your voice is heard. So absolutely, call a reporter. What's more heartwarming than a tree-planting story?? Karin L |
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- Posted by molossermom 10 (My Page) on Sat, Oct 8, 11 at 23:52
| Thanks for your input Karin. I think I will call and direct them to this post. I mean I wonder how many people in LA even know that there�s a board called "the urban forestry division" or that you have to get permission to cut any oak tree even if it's on your property, or that the sidewalks in the low income areas get priority. I mean I like that they're trying to preserve the tree's and help people and plants get along but part of that should include informing the public before slapping them with a "order to comply or else". Sure they have a website with all the info but I didn't know I needed to know, ya know. So definitely I'll do my part (especially after my little rant just now) and call channel 2 and 4. Maybe they will spread the word. Now I know I promised a pic of our new tree (its lovely!)But it was dark by the time we were done so that will have to wait till tomorrow. We ordered it from Armstrong nursery and the inspector was impressed by the quality. Now he still has to come and inspect our plant job. And Tuesday we have to deliver the 15" inch box evergreen pear tree to them because they have a policy where if you take one tree you have to replace it by planting two. Oh well, it's supposed to smell nice come March. |
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- Posted by molossermom 10 (My Page) on Sun, Oct 9, 11 at 15:38
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| Wow, there were wires in that tree too?? It is really not looking too good on your city to have left that tree there for that long, especially in the face of complaints. What kind of tree was it, by the way? Here in Vancouver we aren't too good at tree renewal either, but it's the people's fault more often than not. Recently the city wanted to replace a street of trees and the residents protested. Karin L |
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- Posted by molossermom 10 (My Page) on Tue, Oct 11, 11 at 13:06
The previous parkway tree was a variety of Melaleuca tree. And yes, there are wires in this older neighborhood � electric, phone, cable TV, all come from the poles. The local power company would have to trim that tree at least every year or two to protect the lines. I am certain that most of the people in this neighborhood would be on the side of keeping the existing trees as well. Our case of �too big a tree for the space available� is not the worst. Here�s a shot of a huge southern Magnolia tree up the street:  |
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