Look what Mt Magnet Shire Council have done to my tree

Bobbie · 16th July 2007, 09:21 PM

I live in Mt Magnet, Western Australia and have a 100+ year old Morton Bay Fig tree growing at the side of my house. As you can imagine it is a very large, really beautiful tree. Our whole outdoor entertaining area was built and planned around this tree, and it has brought us and our large family much joy.

Last week the Shire of Mt Magnet contracted out a tree lopper to trim it back to the fence boundary. I was not advised of this by the Shire or the tree lopping company (they obviously trespassed to enter my property to cut the limb), and when I saw what they had done to this tree I was heartbroken. It has been chopped off far inside the fence line and has completely ruined the tree. The property the tree is on is Municipal Inventory Heritage Listed and it goes without saying that the tree and the house are both tourist drawcards (even mentioned on Tourist Brochures printed out by the Shire). The tree did not pose a problem regarding power lines nor does it have an invading root system, as you can see by the photos. I would not have had any problems if it was pruned the same as it was four or five years ago. I am disgusted by the botched pruning job done on this tree by supposed professionals and the apparent disregard the Shire have for history. The tree will never grow back to its former glory. Do you agree with me that this was not a professional job? Do you think I have cause for complaint and compensation? Thank you for your time.

Doc1.doc

Doc2.doc

Doc3.doc

Doc4.doc

As you can see, there is a very large distance between where they have chopped the tree and the fenceline.

Please ignore the dates on the photos

Sean Freeman · 16th July 2007, 11:58 PM

Bobbie, I am amazed and saddened that you were not contacted by either the Council or the subcontractor working for the Council to gain permission to enter your property. In this as a bare minimum they have failed to meet their own standards of customer service laid out in their Customer Service Charter;

Quote:

Promoting the Shire of Mt Magnet

Inform customers of programs, priorities and service standards implemented by the Shire of Mt Magnet.

Implement processes that provide regular identification of the needs and expectations of the customer.

Develop and use performance measures and benchmark on a regular basis that indicates the extent to which the Shire of Mt Magnet meets the needs of the customer.

A total commitment from all Council employees to deliver best practice customer service.

(Taken from Shire of Mt Magnet Policy Page 39 of 39 (M:/Personal Data/Ceo/My Documents/Policy Document/Policy Manual 17th June, 2005))

By entering your property without permission the subcontractor has trespassed, no grey area there if there has been no contact between yourself and Council with regards the tree works.

We have undertaken a large number of Council tree jobs up here in NQ and there is always interaction with the property owner, never have we gone onto someones property without their permission, its common sense to get that permission I repeat am amazed and saddened that the subcontractor has not behaved properly in this regard.

The pruning wound indicates that a very large primary scaffold limb has been removed, despite the very resiliant and tolerant nature of all Ficus (probably more resiliant than any other tree species) that will have a major impact on the long term health and of course growth of your tree.

I have to tell you Bobbie that the final cut that has been made, ignoring all the (very important) issues of trespass and non communication, is in fact about as close to the proper target pruning cut as could be made. Now before you stop reading in a rage.....I'm not saying that the limb removal was justified or defendable, I don't know what the reasons for that cut were, just that the cut itself suggests that the person making it had some awareness of natural target pruning.

What should have happened was that the Council should have sent out an officer to discuss with you their desire to reduce the tree on the fence side, then the two of you could have reached some agreement on how much you would permit to be pruned off and the Council could put forward their arguement as to why they wished to reduce the tree further. Since you indicate there are no power lines, and its not clear what is on the other side of the fence I really have no clue as to why any pruning was necessary at all.

The accepted international standard is no more than 25% of the live canopy cna be removed from a mature tree, and for qualified experienced Arborists this % is only a guide, removing even 20% of the live canopy from a mature tree is very very severe! and requires a good deal of justification.

The Dividing Fences Act, upon which the common law principals relating to vegetation growing over the property line derive from permits the removal of vegetation up to the property line, not beyond. Any cutting to be done beyond the property boundary requires permission to be gained from the property owner...there are exceptions made in the case of a court order etc...

Can't help but feel this is a case of total communication breakdown on the part of the Council, given the events you describe. My advice would be to contact the Council and try to get some kind of satisfactory explaination as to what has happened and why. Legally there are a number of avenues you could pursue but I would try the direct approach first. BTW letters and emails are the way to go..paper trails for use in any possible court action.

Ekka · 17th July 2007, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobbie

I would not have had any problems if it was pruned the same as it was four or five years ago. I am disgusted by the botched pruning job done on this tree by supposed professionals and the apparent disregard the Shire have for history. The tree will never grow back to its former glory. Do you agree with me that this was not a professional job? Do you think I have cause for complaint and compensation? Thank you for your time.

Bobbie, how was it pruned 4 or 5 years ago?

Was it cut at the fenceline which resulted in new growth coming from the branch stub?

Also, why did it have to be cut, what is on the other side of the fence?

treestyle · 17th July 2007, 01:58 AM

in the first photo, it looks like a lopped brach above the new cut. Yeah, if they did not have permission to enter then i'd be after them!

mdvaden · 17th July 2007, 08:32 AM

Wow.

Hope there was a good reason to take the entire limb off.

The photo implies that it was nicely attached to the tree.

If the fence is at the property line, it would be impossible to make that cut without coming over the property line. At least in our area in the USA, property lines continue upward for a reasonable distance.

JayD · 17th July 2007, 03:16 PM

Hi,
If it was me I would be very annoyed,basic decencey would be to seek permission to enter your property,was the limb removed damaged in any way? or some sort of defect?, from the left over stub it looks like it was in good nick??if there were targets on your fence line,eg: bus stop,high pedestrian traffic..etc..etc.. I could understand them removeing to fence line if this was the case,but you would have thought they would only cut it to the fence line and seeked your permission to enter to properly cut the stub,they didn't,so I think I would push this further..the very least an appoligy.

treestyle · 19th July 2007, 01:39 AM

Bobbie. i'd love to hear how the council has reacted and what sort of compensation they are offering you.

Thanks

16th July 2007, 09:21 PM	#1 (permalink)
Bobbie I'm new here so be nice Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1	Look what Mt Magnet Shire Council have done to my tree I live in Mt Magnet, Western Australia and have a 100+ year old Morton Bay Fig tree growing at the side of my house. As you can imagine it is a very large, really beautiful tree. Our whole outdoor entertaining area was built and planned around this tree, and it has brought us and our large family much joy. Last week the Shire of Mt Magnet contracted out a tree lopper to trim it back to the fence boundary. I was not advised of this by the Shire or the tree lopping company (they obviously trespassed to enter my property to cut the limb), and when I saw what they had done to this tree I was heartbroken. It has been chopped off far inside the fence line and has completely ruined the tree. The property the tree is on is Municipal Inventory Heritage Listed and it goes without saying that the tree and the house are both tourist drawcards (even mentioned on Tourist Brochures printed out by the Shire). The tree did not pose a problem regarding power lines nor does it have an invading root system, as you can see by the photos. I would not have had any problems if it was pruned the same as it was four or five years ago. I am disgusted by the botched pruning job done on this tree by supposed professionals and the apparent disregard the Shire have for history. The tree will never grow back to its former glory. Do you agree with me that this was not a professional job? Do you think I have cause for complaint and compensation? Thank you for your time. Doc1.doc Doc2.doc Doc3.doc Doc4.doc As you can see, there is a very large distance between where they have chopped the tree and the fenceline. Please ignore the dates on the photos Last edited by Bobbie : 16th July 2007 at 09:33 PM. Reason: Look what Mt Magnet Shire Council have done to my tree

17th July 2007, 08:32 AM	#5 (permalink)
mdvaden Over mature heritage tree Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Oregon Posts: 543	Wow. Hope there was a good reason to take the entire limb off. The photo implies that it was nicely attached to the tree. If the fence is at the property line, it would be impossible to make that cut without coming over the property line. At least in our area in the USA, property lines continue upward for a reasonable distance. __________________ ____________________________________ Grove of Redwood TITANS Oregon BIGOOT trap

17th July 2007, 03:16 PM	#6 (permalink)
JayD Over mature heritage tree Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Sydney Posts: 941	Hi, If it was me I would be very annoyed,basic decencey would be to seek permission to enter your property,was the limb removed damaged in any way? or some sort of defect?, from the left over stub it looks like it was in good nick??if there were targets on your fence line,eg: bus stop,high pedestrian traffic..etc..etc.. I could understand them removeing to fence line if this was the case,but you would have thought they would only cut it to the fence line and seeked your permission to enter to properly cut the stub,they didn't,so I think I would push this further..the very least an appoligy. __________________ Free Tree and Green Industry Link Directory

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17th July 2007, 01:58 AM	#4 (permalink)
treestyle Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: North Brisbane Posts: 128	in the first photo, it looks like a lopped brach above the new cut. Yeah, if they did not have permission to enter then i'd be after them!

19th July 2007, 01:39 AM	#7 (permalink)
treestyle Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: North Brisbane Posts: 128	Bobbie. i'd love to hear how the council has reacted and what sort of compensation they are offering you. Thanks