Posted on 02/04/2007 6:54:18 AM PST by AmericanMade1776
A Worcester property owner is facing a stiff fine after confusion over a city order to clean up a vacant lot brought about the sad end of a 200-year-old silver maple tree.
NewsCenter 5's Jim Boyd reported that an elegant shade tree once stood at the corner of Carver and Belmont streets in Worcester, at the edge of a vacant lot belonging to businessman Anthony Mallozzi.
In September 2005, Worcester officials denied Mallozzi's request to remove tree, insisting city workers would instead prune it. The city did no work on the tree. Last month, Mallozzi paid to have the tree pruned.
That tree was healthy, vigorous and did not need the level of pruning that Mr. Mallozzi undertook," Worcester City Manager Michael O'Brien said.
Mallozzi argued the tree was dying from termite infestation. He took pictures of rotted limbs, and he said the city's Department of Health and Human Services sent him a letter, which he interpreted to mean that he should trim the tree.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
So, he's going to mow my yard every two weeks?
Big government is injurious to private property. More so in the people's republic of massachusets.
If you cut back a maple like that, you will kill it.
Not a silver maple. It will sprout suckers all over. The only way to kill a silver maple is to rip the stump out with a bulldozer, dynamite a crater at least twice the diameter of the stump and salt the earth.
The biggest problem with neighbors is tree and plant and sprinker encroachment.
The basic principle is you can trim whatever overhangs your yard.
The problem is what do you do when you exercise your legal rights and the the remaining parts of the tree are going to fall over?
The answer unfortunatly is to pay a professional to have your ENTIRE neighbors tree trimmed for him. If they refuse you have to take them to court.
My point is that if there is an arborist on staff you should be able to obtain an advisory opinion ala an attorney general opinion which can be used in court as a presumption of correct trimming.
Of course this is akin to having a permit to trim a tree but you can't get a permit to trim your neighbor's tree.
Another poster said it right: it's called pollarding. It's a long-accepted practice. However, none of the articles I found on it mention pollarding of silver maples and the person who correctly named it pollarding my be correct that it wasn't done "correctly".
tHAT'S NOT CLEAR. The story stated that the tree was on public property and on the edge of his property. I saw the video and the City Manager said it was on public property. The video shows the vacant lot and a sidewalk. The yree is across the sidewalk from the vacant lot. Looks to me like the guy just hacked at the tree to kill it. He says he paid $1500 for the job...if so he was robbed.
Fire O'Brien for not being responsible.
the tree is not destroyed.
i got carried away once with a tree and shrub. thought they were gonners, but come spring they came back leaves and all.
a few years later they were looking very nice and not hogging all the sun from the flowers.
it looks bad, but the tree is probally just FINE!
God only knows.
Come again!!??
Do folks in Santa Clarita Valley ever pine for the days when they had property rights?
Is the tree rooted on his property or not?
If the tree was not on his property, it did not belong to him and he had no right to touch it.
Probably not...most of 'em live in HOA's.
I can tell you...that tree is deader than a doornail now. I would eat my hat if it came back after that "pruning".
youd be suprised at how much pruning a bush or tree can take.
we had one that shadowed all the plants. it started out a branch here, a branch there and before we new it, it was nothing but a foot tall, but it came back and is quite a happy tree now:)
LOL...were they maple trees that old and that big?
The first private should have gone public before the show ended.
THAT'S pruning, alright. Wow...
An American cannot go through the day without violating some law. Forget it.
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