Significant landscape tree

lenrok

Hi all

I am the owner of a property with a large scribbly gum tree in the southern suburbs of brisbane, the tree is protected by a SLT VPO. I've been reaseaching this for a while now and seek you opnions.

The first attached photos show the tree back around Dec 2007. (Ekka-I note that you posted these photo's in this site back in Jan 2008)


Since this time I took the advice of an qualified arborist and installed a drip line waterering system and large amounts of mulch around the base of the tree. The tree had been thriving up to about 8 months ago.

In the past 8-6months a house has been constructed next door with a large cut of about 1m deep back towards the back of the block. This cut exposed the root system and cut numerous large roots some 4-5" thick.

On my house plan I cleary have a retricted construction area under the canpony of the tree. I would have presumed that the lot next door would have the same. The house next door is constructed well under the canopy, just under 2.5m from trunk.

Since this time the tree seem to have lost large amounts of leaves and siginificant amount of dead wood but none thicker tha 1-1.5" thick? Also the canpony looks alot more bare than in the earlier photo's

If the contstruction next door has resulted in damage to my tree what are my options?

I have enagaged the service of an arborist to give me a report but seek some additional opinions.

I will post some recent photos to explain the above in more detail.





Thanks

Attached Thumbnails

   

Eric Frei

Here's the post and thread.

Tree Protection on Development Sites, are there any Australian Standards?

There are standards now, AS4970 Draft| Australian Development Tree Protection

Recent case won.

Landmark Tree Felled| Brisbane Council Blunder

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Jeff Darby

As we have already helped with this matter in the past, I feel that it would only be fair of you in posting your arborists report for us to have a look at.

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lenrok

Sorry I wasn't clear in my earlier post, we didn't go down the path of a formal report. I asked to arborist to come out and assess the options we had with regard to this tree. All advice was verbal at that time.

Ekka, a very interesting case you've posted. I have just been speaking to the DA section of the BCCC in respect of the construction next door. I questioned the customer service officer if they had granted a relaxtion of the excluison zone/ building evelope (what ever you call it) under the tree in the approval of the building next door.


She confirmed that in order for this to happen an arborist report and the appropriate application needed to have been lodged with council, this has not been done!

I'm yet to actaully take measurements from the trunk to the house, but based on what I have read on this site regarding TPZ's, a DBH of 800mm the TPZ should be around 9.6m? Am I correct? If so the building is well within the zone with no arborist report and application made?

The customer service office has indicated that I make a formal complaint to council to investigate this further. Is this my best option? Or would a formal report be a better plan of attack.

I'd previsouly requested a copy of the enviromental management plan for my site and the block next door clearly has a reduced building envelope which in my opinion has been breached.

I will try and post some photo's later tonight to better illustrate the siutation.

Eric Frei

Yes and cheapest, not your job to enforce their law at your cost.

Best thing you can do for all here is to keep us informed of what happened, how and in what sequence. Lets see what the council can do off it's own bat.

By the way, we have this.

Online Calculator for TPZs and SRZs as per AS4970-2009

Also your back fence has a retaining wall, block was cut and house built behind you .... you need to deduct all that from the root surface area. I would estimate that your yard has only perhaps 1/4 of the tree roots .... you side has small retaining wall to.

Was there ever a TPZ or Covenant area? Doesn't appear so to me.

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lenrok

Ekka - thanks for the reply. I will keep this post updated as much as possible.

Cheers

lenrok

I've attached some pic's on the house and proximity to the tree. The photo's don't do justice to highlight hw much of the roof line is under the canopy. My guess would be about 6-7m.

Also the picture of the cut right near the fence again just doesn't highlight the size of the roots that had been cut.


Pic 3 shows some bark deformity which I have only just noticed.

Site map is my estimate of where the house is located on the allotted building evelope.

I would be interested to hear your opinions.

Thanks

Attached Files

	Tree 1.pdf (2.68 MB, 51 views)
	Tree 2.pdf (2.42 MB, 27 views)
	Tree 3.pdf (2.50 MB, 28 views)
	Site Map.pdf (918.3 KB, 26 views)

lenrok

Some more pic's

Again would be interested to hear you comments on the siutation.

Thanks

Attached Files

	Tree 4.pdf (3.45 MB, 27 views)
	Tree 5.pdf (2.72 MB, 35 views)

Eric Frei

Sorry to tell you .... you are going to have to resize those pictures to no more than 900px wide, and get them under say 200kb then add them again as jpg's etc.

No-ones real interested in large pics embedded in PDF's.

But I can see by Tree2 picture and say, the trees on it's way to firewood and woodchip. The lowering of that water table and the severed roots, she's all over.

Your neighbour should foot the bill for it, blatantly obvious, make sure you ramp it up with council but ask them who will pay for the removal .... it should not be you.

This is how I see it going down.

Council can only fine people for interfering with a protected tree, so they can fine your neighbour but they cannot make your neighbour pay for the removal or compensate you for the tree.

That's a civil dispute, but it rides on the back of the council busting that neighbour. If you play this right council will provide you the reason for removal, and that reason will be like an arborist report to pursue the neighbour for costs.

Keep it under $7500 and it can go to small claims court, you'll win easy and have little costs if council do their job right.

Of course, the neighbour might be a nice guy and just settle with you, or he may try to worm out of it ... he could blame the builder or say he bought the house and knows nothing of it. Who-ever was the owner of the land when the damage was done is the owner of the problem. If the builder did it, or the site levelling contractor etc it's irrelevant. Mind you the builder etc would have liability insurance.

What seems a simple black and white case will get messy.

For now play the council card perfectly, try to get them to do as much as they can.

I have no doubt the tree will have to come out, tick tick tick tick goes the fuse!

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lenrok

Thanks for the reply Ekka. Sorry about the file size....thought that might be a problem I'll give it another go at a later date.

Greatly appreciate your time and comments. As i said I will keep the post active with developments.

Thanks again

lenrok

A "please explain" letter has been sent to council. Questioning how the approval was give, what council will do and who is liable. Lets see what comes back.

Interesting enough the hosue next door has been at lock up stage for about 6 weeks now....with no activity what so ever. Weeds are growing around the house some are 4ft high.

Sorry naive question... I presume council do a final inspection of a newly constructed propery before the ownwer can move in? If so, one would surely think that the inspector would have notice that the building has been built outside the evelope?

Time will tell!

Brodie

That would be a councils favorite money making trick they make you pay for both per and post inspections for footings and what not but what I have found is that in most cases an inspector never comes out but you still get a singed document saying they did. Don't know if that happens elsewhere but its happened to me once or twice. Usually depends how high profile the building is.

lenrok

Hi All

Can anyone give me rough figure to remove the tree? I know access is agoing to be a mojor issue. I've been looking around the web and I guess this sort of removal is going to need a crane etc.

Thanks

Brodie

Its hard to judge without being on site but form the pictures you have posted I wouldn't be going straight to a crane for this job looks to me like overkill.
The quickest way would be to get someone with a cherry picker/EWP to do the job looks like the quickest option for that tree without having to re-mortgage the house.
Ekka would be the best one to talk to about EWP work in your area.

Good luck with it all

Eric Frei

Well depending on access and equipment used, I'd say it would run between say $1500 and $2500 to remove it.

Cant fell it, have houses side and back.

Have driveway, garden and retaining wall your side.

There's a ball park figure anyway.

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Garry Brockley

I would agree with Ekka on that price. its all in the access from the front to the back of the house ie distance, slope, width of gate ect.

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Eric Frei

Would have been piss easy before your neighbour built.

Remove section of fence, fell into vacant paddock.

But you know, now the obsticle to that easier solution is also the cause of the problem. Had you have know up frotn of the situation next door you could have felled it in anticipation of what is happening now.

That's what happened here.... tree was felled in anticipation of what would happen down the track.

Landmark Tree Felled| Brisbane Council Blunder

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lenrok

Just thought I'd keep this thread updated.

Since my last post the following has occurred:

Council lost my original letter dated 31/3/2010, resent it on 28 April 2010 after about a dozen different phone calls to work out what had happened.

Finally got a response from council on 13/5/2010, council went onsite with a horticulturalist and inspected the tree.

Rang me to advise that a stop work order is going to be placed on the house next door and that council will request that the neighbour get a report to determine the impact on the tree.

Also the council officer will be requesting a copy the BA file to review how the approval was given. The office wasn't exactly forthcoming is giving anything away, but he did confirm that one department doesn't necessarily to the other.

Report is to be provided to council within 14 days...so I'm keen to see what comes of it!

Cheers...I'll post more as it happens.

Eric Frei

And soon the BCC will be like the Kremlin of 1950's era.

Brisbane City Council bids for right to secrecy

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