EDITOR’S NOTE: Councilor Alan Taylor was mistakenly attributed to a statement made during Thursday’s Council workshop by Councilor Jef Freeman. The Tribune regrets the error and is pleased to set the record straight.
By David L. Lazenby
Editor
Trussville — City Councilor Jef Freeman on Thursday described his frustration with a neighbor who suddenly cut down all of the trees on his property.
“It literally looks like the scalded earth,” Freeman said during a discussion on a suggested tree ordinance discussed during this week’s Council workshop.
Freeman said some of the city’s most historic trees are resources benefiting the entire community.
“That hundred year old oak that I saw cut down in that guy’s yard last week is an asset that we can’t replace,” said Freeman , a longtime proponent of a city tree ordinance. “It’s like using non-renewable energy.”
City Clerk Lynn B. Porter said she can relate to property owners’ inclination to cut down trees, which she said causes added yard work and has the potential to create a host of problems.
“Trying to keep up with all that mess is a pain,” she said. “Even though I love my trees, I can kind of understand why someone would want to cut down every tree on their lot.”
During further discussion, councilors said they didn’t know how much control the city could exert over trees on private property. However, they concurred that trees located on the city’s right-of-way could be protected.
Freeman said in the Cahaba neighborhood, tree protection is a “hyper-sensitive issue.”
Council President Brian Plant said “When you go across the river, with that landscaping plan, you can’t touch anything without getting prior approval.”
In regard to commercial property, Freeman said there are areas in Atlanta in which “if you cut down X inches in diameters of trees, you have to put back up X number of inches times a multiple.”
The high amount of recent rain may be making tree removal from private property more tempting because of the increased risk of trees falling because of ground saturation.
Southeastern Tree and Debris, a Trussville tree removal business, has experienced a boon recently because of fallen trees, according to a recent article by reporter Melanie Yuill.
Arborist say trees are especially at risk during periods of high rainfall that follow a drought like the one experienced through a wide swath of Alabama last summer. These tree experts say soil erosion coupled with increased stress on the trees themselves can result in more trees falling.
The Trussville City Council will hold its first regularly scheduled meeting of the month at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Trussville City Hall, which is located at 131 Main Street.
11 Comments
Jason Guthrie
Almost sounding like Freeman is wanting to enact a form of eminent domain on the trees. Don’t get me wrong I know the trees, they are huge and beautiful and you can’t regrow them over night and if those trees could talk the stories they could tell. However government telling us what we can and can’t do has to have some limitations.
Stanley Mcguire
I agree withFreeman if it an’t wrote don’t fix it. Leave our trees alone
Chris Clark
Good friend of mine sold a home in Calumet a few months ago. And the first thing the new owners did was cut down the beautiful living oak in the front yard. Not saying we should legislate what you can do with “your” land but dang. You can’t just snap your fingers and grow something like that. Heck that tree made the lot. You could set on the front porch in the shade.
Kirk Cornelius
Why not require property owners to notify city of intent to cut down large trees, then the city could just buy the property and save the trees then sell it to someone that promises not to cut them down. It would be at a much lower price but it only
David Nichols
Trussville has a traffic problem….the trees on the right of way are the reason…cut them down…widen the roads…take down the red lights and let the traffic go..if the people want to shop in Trussville they will stop and shop…The city of Trussville don’t have to slow them down
Steve Turner
That’s just what we need, more governmental regulations on private property.
Donnie McCoy
Center Point mayor just cut down at least. 100 yr old oak tree at the freakin tea house. So pissed.
Joe Domnanovich
It’s called PRIVATE Property for a reason.
Sharon Blackwood Wilbourn
The Mayor and Council President Barlow want to cut the trees going on the front of Parkway Estates. 😡. They don’t care what the people in the neighborhood thinks either.
Rik Collier-BridgesTiate
Love it! I’m a tree hugger!.
Ryan Floyd
Great news that we are doing something proactively to protect one of the things which makes Trussville unique. I see the point about private property but when you live in neighborhoods you agree to covenants. This is the same thing in my opinion.