by TRC_Admin | Jul 1, 2018 | Trees, Undergrounding
Photo: Sun Sentinel
“Toppled trees left many South Florida residents in the dark after Hurricane Irma…
Ninety percent of FPL’s customers, or 13 million people, lost power as a result of Irma.
One of those people without power for 10 days was Broward County Commissioner (and former Broward Mayor) Barbara Sharief, and she’s determined that’s not going to happen again — at least not because of overgrown trees.
Sharief is proposing an ordinance that would fine property owners who violate FPL’s ‘Right Tree, Right Place’ program.
Expected to be on the Broward commission’s agenda in April or early May, the ordinance would fine owners $500 if they fail to relocate, replace or remove trees that don’t meet the ‘Right Tree’ code, and $500 if a property owner fails to properly prune an existing tree that may violate the code, or fails to notify FPL of a tree that can’t be brought to code..
Parkland adopted a similar ordinance after 2005’s Hurricane Wilma…
In a letter by FPL attorney Kenneth Rubin to the Public Service Commission, FPL estimated it would cost $8 million to $9 million more to trim half the territory every two years, instead of a third every three years, which is currently the practice.
‘Legislation, particularly at the local level (e.g., municipal and county ordinances), could be enacted that restricts the type and location of vegetation that can be planted in the vicinity of power lines. Legislation could also provide electric utilities additional rights to address existing vegetation conditions on customers’ property that impede operation or maintenance of utility facilities,’ wrote Rubin in his response to state regulators’ questions regarding recent hurricane damage.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Steven Abrams said he would like to see the county and FPL work together on the issue.
‘We’re a heavily landscaped county. There are some old neighborhoods where the trees have been existing for ages,’ he said.
Norm Easey, CEO of the Florida Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture in Sarasota, said FPL does a good job of vegetation management in the state, but ‘we don’t help ourselves. There are many communities that are OK with planting huge trees underneath power lines.’
Still, the overgrowth is not completely the fault of cities or homeowners, Easey said, adding that FPL has been known to put in a power line ‘where maybe they shouldn’t. If you don’t have your ducks in a row, don’t put in the power line.’
…FPL and other electric utility customers can provide feedback online at Floridapsc.com. To leave a comment, click on ‘Consumer Comments on Hurricane Preparedness and Restoration’ in red letters…”
— Marcia Heroux Pounds,Sun Sentinel
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by TRC_Admin | Feb 28, 2018 | Billboards, Legal, Trees
Photo: Collins Langat, The Star, Kenya
“The county says it will pull down billboards owned by at least five advertising firms, which it says are notorious for illegally felling trees on major roads. It plans to start this week.
Some trees even have been poisoned by toxic chemicals poured on the soil, county officials said…
The county said it will start pulling down all board standing near felled trees to ‘discipline’ companies for the illegal act.
‘This can start anytime. We cannot tolerate this,’ Agriculture executive Danvas Makori said.
‘We are going to arrest anybody cutting down trees for billboards and bring down those billboards. We’re not going to permit billboards if it means a tree or even a branch has to be cut off to put up a billboard,” he said…
‘They are now pouring chemicals under trees and after a short time, trees start withering and die. This is a new trick’ he said.
Agriculture committee chairman John Mwangi called the tree felling regrettable and said he would demand a comprehensive report.
He said the Finance sector is auditing to establish the number of billboards that are not permitted and for which companies have not paid taxes.
Ex-Governor Evans Kidero issued a similar caution following rampant felling of trees. He ordered the removal of billboards interfering with trees.’
— Julius Otieno,The Star, Kenya
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by TRC_Admin | Feb 3, 2018 | Trees
Photo: The Florida Times Union
“The drive along Interstate 95 in Georgia gets uglier by the day as trees are taken down, but state transportation officials say the clear cutting will improve safety.
The ‘vegetative management projects’ along I-95 are aimed at reducing the number of traffic fatalities and serious injuries along the interstate corridors in the state’s coastal region, said Jill Nagel, spokeswoman for the DOT’s District 5 office in Jesup…
The projects consist of removing all the vegetation inside the right-of-way and anything that’s hanging over the fence. All the cut trees and brush is then mulched flush with the ground, Nagel said.
Actually, not all of it. One of the contract companies loaded a couple of trailers with saw timber pine logs Tuesday at the Woodbine exit.
No grubbing will be permitted so the soil surface won’t be disturbed to remove stumps or roots.
Photo: The Florida Times Union
The clearing of trees will benefit billboard companies who will no longer need to get permits to cut trees to ensure their signs can be seen.
Starting in 1963, the Garden Club of Georgia had lobbied for control of signs on Georgia roadways and was successful in getting hundreds removed. More than 15 years ago, the Georgia legislature adopted a statute to allow the clearing of trees from in front of billboards. The Garden Club sued saying the law violated the gratuities clause of the Georgia constitution but the courts ruled that billboards also benefited Georgians…
The DOT is monitoring the projects to ensure the work results in visual quality.”
— Terry Dickson, The Florida Times Union
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by TRC_Admin | Dec 28, 2017 | Legal, Trees
Image: Keep it Local Florida
— Keep it Local Florida
View video and other materials on the KeepItLocalFlorida.org website
by TRC_Admin | Dec 28, 2017 | Trees
Photo: Steve Bisson
“The Jacksonville City Council approved legislation this week that opposes a state bill (HB 521/SB 574) that would cut the heart out of the city’s tree canopy protections.
The state bill, filed by Republican Greg Steube in the Senate and Democrat Katie Edwards in the House, would prohibit cities such as Jacksonville from stopping landowners from removing trees located on their own private property.
The Jacksonville City Council bill (2017-822) contends that the legislation is ‘harmful to the environment and contrary to the overwhelming wishes of Jacksonville citizens,’ and the bills are an ‘ ‘assault on home rule.’
The city passed a referendum in 2000 to protect the city’s tree canopy, with an overwhelming majority (76 percent) voting for the measure.
‘The bill does what Tallahassee does best; preempt local government,” per John Crescimbeni, who introduced the Council bill, a salvo against Tallahassee’s ‘sledgehammer government.’
“I don’t know what happens to them when they get into the hall of government over there,” Crescimbeni said, “but they forget where they came from.”
The bill was moved as an emergency with multiple sponsors. The entire Council agreed to sponsor the bill, which passed unanimously.’ Here is a copy of the resolution.
–A.G. Gancarski, The Florida Times-Union
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by TRC_Admin | Nov 25, 2017 | Trees
Photo: Herald Tribune
The Bills in Senate and House:
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2018/00574
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2018/521
“City and county rules protecting trees are the next battleground in the rolling fight between local governments and the Florida Legislature over local regulations viewed by critics as too onerous.
The Legislature has tried to prevent cities and counties from adopting new regulations governing everything from lawn fertilizer to short-term vacation rentals in recent years. Now state Sen. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, is taking aim at tree ordinances, saying rules limiting the trimming and removal of trees infringe on property rights.
Steube’s bill would prohibit local governments from regulating the ‘trimming, removal, or harvesting of tree and timber on private property.’ That would nullify dozens of tree ordinances across the state. Only the state Legislature would be able to regulate trees.
‘I think you’ve seen a lot of instances where local governments are, in my opinion, going way above and beyond what they should be doing,’ said Steube, who also has been behind the push to limit local regulations of short-term vacation rentals.
The tree bill, SB 574, was inspired by complaints Steube heard from property owners and the building industry, along with his own personal experience.
Steube built a three-car garage with a mother-in-law suite on his 5.3-acre property east of Interstate 75 in unincorporated Sarasota County. The project, completed in May 2014, required clearing roughly an acre of land and cutting down a number of trees.
Steube was surprised to learn he needed a permit to cut down the trees.
‘The guy came out and said you have to get a tree permit,’ Steube said. ‘I’m like a tree what? You’ve got to be kidding me right?’
There was no difficulty in obtaining the permit, but Steube still found the county’s tree ordinance to be onerous. He was particularly annoyed that he had to pay thousands of dollars to haul the debris away because the county would not allow it be buried onsite. His bill allows onsite burial of such debris on properties that are 2.5 acres or larger.
After his garage project, Steube said he met with every member of the county commission – all of them Republicans – to complain about the ordinance. They listened sympathetically but did not take action, he said.
Steube has heard similar complaints about tree ordinances from other property owners in recent years and has been approached by people in the development community about tree regulations. One of them was Jon Mast, CEO of the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association.
The city of Sarasota’s tree ordinance, revised last year, has been a particular concern for Mast’s group.
‘I think it’s a good bill,’ Mast said of Steube’s legislation. ‘I know cities and counties are going to cry ‘home rule’ but there is a lot of overreach, especially in the city of Sarasota, about what you can or cannot do with your own trees on your own property.’
The city’s tree ordinance requires property owners to get a permit when removing or relocating most trees beyond a certain size. Property owners must meet certain criteria to cut down a tree. Some of the accepted reasons for removing a tree: It is dead, it is threatening a structure, it is preventing development of the property and there are no reasonable alternatives. Larger ‘grand’ trees have more protection. In many cases, when a tree is removed for development purposes there also is a requirement that mandates new trees to be planted or the property owner pay into a ‘replacement tree fund.’
Facing backlash from development interests, the city of Sarasota is taking a fresh look at the tree ordinance. A new committee has been created to revisit the regulations.
City Commissioner Hagen Brody said he wants an ordinance that ‘strikes a more appropriate balance that protects a homeowner’s property rights and also preserves our community’s unique natural environment.’
But the prospect of the Legislature nullifying local tree regulations and preempting tree oversight to the state is likely to provoke a strong response from local government leaders and environmental groups.
‘This is not a one-size-fits-all issue,’ said City Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch, who opposes Steube’s bill. ‘You have to get down to the granular little detail. It’s different in every community, every neighborhood, even every street and site.’
Ahearn-Koch has spent years working on the city’s tree rules. She said the ongoing debate over the regulations is a good thing.
‘It shows we’re passionate about it,’ she said. ‘If anything, it illustrates why it’s important these things be handled on the local level.’
The Florida Association of Counties and the Florida League of Cities are gearing up to try to defeat the legislation.
After sending out an alert about Steube’s bill to her membership, Craigin Mosteller with the Florida Association of Counties said she heard a strong response from county leaders about the benefits of tree protection, including preventing flooding on adjacent properties, protecting wildlife and making neighborhoods more attractive… ”
–Zac Anderson, Herald Tribune
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