Help help -- bigger than ben hur

STEVE-O

Can some one help me or even point me in the right direction. In the rear section of my yard I have "7" ,20, 25 & 30 meter high spotted gums,, "2" of them have "3" meter girths!! , I've now got developers on both sides of me(villa units). I've written & re-written to council since 2004 objecting to erecting units in the "natural fall path" of 30 meter high lumps of tall timber,,Danger,, accumlitave effects etc, etc,etc.. There are trees on both bounderys so I have ( or does council have ) "2" massive problems!!

#1- Eastern boundary (subject to westerly winds) , this 25 meter high tree "overhangs" the unfinished villa units,,should this tree come down there WILL be dammage , injury or death, The builder has drilled holes at the base of this one and CEMENTED fence posts in (I was told by a tree sergeon that CEMENT is a "poison" to trees ),, Is this true???

#2-Western boundery, "30" meters high "3" meter girth!!, arived home 8/5/09 to find the developer had excavated 400mm to the side ,,,to a depth of
800mm severing roots , one measured 400mm x 250mm,, this was cut with a chainsaw , the others had been smashed by the bulldozer,,all left untreated.
My council is "now" becoming aware of there stuff ups .. (I've just recently had a "parks & recreation" officer inspect the dammage to this root "Shocked" at the emencity of my stand of trees and adjasent the developments) *1st site visit in 5 years!!!!

Is there a "higher" authority than council ?? or should I approche the Land & Enviroment Court ??

Help ,, Is there a arborist/sergeon in the Cessnock, NSW ,AUST area that can inspect & report on the exesting damage / potential damage caused by these developers.

Everything written hear is honest and very accurate. I can't attach photos as my "files are too big"

Thanks STEVE

Eric Frei

Steve, resize your pics.

How to resize pictures, EASY! | Click here before posting a picture.

Also it is clear that the trees have been mistreated to the point that their structural integrity is compromised.

Who's liable?

Did council approve the DA without considering neighbouring trees?

If I were you I'd be either getting a lawyer or ringing the Land & Enviroment Court.

Here's a link for them.

Contact Us - Land & Environment Court : Lawlink NSW

Here's a link for matters the court considers.

NSW legislation website

You also will need an arborist report to assess the trees and make recommendations. Also if the trees have to be removed you may have the right to compensation for lost trees, however that may be a civil dispute outside Land & Environment Court's jurisdiction.

I wonder if the trees were protected by any local regulations?

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STEVE-O

Ekka I've tried & tried & tried but this link won't run on my PC , I've tried Picasa ,, but i'm not real good on computers . Bare with me , I'll get there somehow, should I get stuck,, can I e-mail some photos to you? I'm shure you will appreciate why I'm asking for help

Also, I've contacted my council (they don't contact me!!) they told me the developers are in the "s#*t" big time!!.. (yet council approved these plans!! x2 ) (bigger than Ben Hur!!)

Thanks for the other links , my case is already strong, PLEASE NOTE ,,I DO NOT & WILL NOT use "people" in this this forum as a weapon, but knowlage is strength
I'll certainly keep you informed

Again Thanks

STEVE

Eric Frei

Dang, we miss out on being weapons! WTF is wrong with you, we LOVE IT!

Mate, you'd have to be bloody hopeless if you cant use this online resizer.

760px is a good size.

Resize Images online

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STEVE-O

I think I've done it ,,, re-sized ,,,

#1 My Westeren boundery

#1 the overall size of my "saplings" Tree in foreground, has severed root

#2 smoke packet for scale ,, should have cleared more dirt from the bottom of the root,...

can only get "2"photos on ,, more to come !!

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STEVE-O

Root cut with chainsaw and roots smashed by bulldozer

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STEVE-O

This will do for now,, All these are on my western boundery So this is part #1 of my situation

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Eric Frei

Stevo, read on this page about TPZ, SRZ and RPZ

Brisbane-Gold Coast region arborist| developer| tree reports

On that 3rd pic they are very close to the trunk, and dont overlook the fact that the fine feeder roots are history too!

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STEVE-O

G-Day EKKA Today, after leaving a few mesages on "Mr councils" message bank i got a reply .. A very "Interlectual" and "Rational" responce indeed .I was pleased with the responce .. Mr council has been trying to contact Mr developer for days,,It seems the "Mr developer" is all of a sudden is uncontactable!!! yet construction continues!!.. (A BIG name developer)

Mr council assured me that Mr developer had BREACHED the "conditions" imposed and was in deep s#*t. (pooh) Mr developer was to supply a arborist report "prior" to excavation & an arborist was to be present during excavations.

I informed Mr council man how Mr developer had completed the retaining wall (as can be seen in photos), and is now "back filled" with soil!! Hiding the evedence,,, I asked that he notify Mr developer to remove the retaining wall so "My" own team of "Hortocoligest" , "legal" reprensantion & "media" could inspect this ireversable damage!! He was very understanding AND ALSO quitely quoted that if a "tree should fall" that "council" would most likley be held resposable!!!!!!

This is my main concern ,, "ALL acidents are preventable"
Acidents are a series of small events that multiply into a catasthrophy!!!!
The small events have taken place..

Hopefully tomorrow (Friday) there will be an assortment of councilers
"on site" to inspect this "Bigger Than Ben Hur" stuff up ....

4/5 years ago I forsaw , documented & reported this outcome to council !!!!


EKKA I to have "cert 4" Trainer / assesor (slightley outdated) and am right now doing "cert 3"

EKKA is CEMENT a POISON to trees??????? (eastern boundery) photo

More to come ,,,,, keep you informed

Again Thanks STEVE

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STEVE-O

LOOKERS ,, THE TREE IN CONCERN (part A) IS THE ONE BEHIND THE BRICKS!!just to the left

THE "TEMPORY FENCE" IS "20" METERS WIDE

THE YELLOW CAR IS IN MY YARD

CHECK OUT THE ALMOST COMPLETED UNITS IN THE BACKGROUND (part B) I haven't shown the tree that overhangs these units yet
Note ,, these "units" will be subject to westerly winds

STAY IN TUNE,, MORE TO COME

I LOVE THESE TREES

STEVE

Eric Frei

Is cement a poison to trees?

This is hard to answer because it depends on the state of the cement (wet or dry) and soil/environmental conditions.

Anything can become a poison, put enough of any nutrient down it becomes toxic.... hence the old myth of copper nails killing trees.

Cement tends to make soil alkaline, it has a high lime content. That in turn can make all sorts of problems. In direct contact with trees where there's a fresh wound I would say it's likely to kill the cells in contact with it. Over time trees suffer as the pH level turns too alkaline, this can also happen due to leaching over time and from surface water run off. Trees along the side of driveways where surface water runs across the driveway and drains around the trees ... the trees get sick, do a pH test and rectify with sulfur to get it back on track however it can be a losing battle as the soil biology is shot to bits.

It's highly toxic to humans, have a read.

The dermal toxicity of cement. [Toxicol Ind Health. 2002] - PubMed Result

http://www.cfmeu-construction-nsw.co...ementburns.pdf

Attached Files

cement-burns.pdf (143.5 KB, 248 views)

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STEVE-O

EKKA It gets bigger and it's all starting to come out (no not my "9" inches!)
Mr council man rang ME today and informed me ,,both developers were "self certifying", both had breached conditions #3 ;; arborist reports to be submitted prior to excavations. etc and a arborist to be present during excavations . Both most likley will be prosicuted in court by my council..

Mr council man , quite rational (I think he probely goes to church) has obviously been working overtime & doing his homework , He noted all my letters to council over the last five years contained substancial documentation for every forseeable & posible dangerous outcome ,,, He also openly admits that council is still liable as they had the final say (The concent Authotity) mmmmm

Keep you posted :

STEVE

Eric Frei

If the trees have to be removed get them to pay for it and have the trees appraised for a $ value compensation you both agree on, even if it is what they're worth in firewood and chip!

There should have been a mandated tree protection zone, even with an arborist present they should not have been allowed that close to the trunk.

An old and reliable method is this ....

It's tool #8 around page 10 in the PDF in this post.

Tree protection zones| Critical root zones| Critical Root Radius| AUSTRALIA

Without these root areas protected prior to works by council crap like this happens ... all the time! Here often on the DA trees on neighbouring properties within 10m of the fence line must be included in the VMP. No way is an arborist standing there watching an excavator digging out for a retaining wall 1m away from the trunk of a monster tree acceptable, regardless of him cutting them cleanly and treating them ... absolute folly.

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STEVE-O

Ekka ,, spoke to Mr developer this morning, (only about my fence that has subsided and blown over ,, all good ) He told me he had submitted a Arborist report to council ,, yesterday Friday..He said the Arborist was satisfied with the "chainsaw job" and "treatment" --"SEASOL",, that "MR DEVELOPER" had done. mmmmmm

Note Mr Developer cut the root and treated it with "SEASOL" the next day
(only because I made mention to the contractors!!)

EKKA Thank you for taking the time and effort ,not only for me ,but for this whole site

In the near future I will ask for your recomendations for someone in my area to make a honest , logical report

To be Continued !!!

STEVE

Eric Frei

See if you can get a copy of that report, as it's your trees you will be entitled to, also there's nothing to stop you getting another report. I assure you any arborist not mentioning the proximity and size of the roots removed is not acting ethically or professionally.

It's quite common for developers to seek out and pay for the opinion they desire. I have spoken about this before, the best practicing arborist may tell a developer to stay 6m away from a tree, along comes another who says 3m, so who does the developer like better? Of course the 3m arborist as they get more land to play with.

I have seen over mature to veteren trees on development sites with over 1m DBH be given only 4.8m TPZ, at which point the entire perimiter was excavated creating a raised island garden for the remnant tree. Chances of survival? NIL. Time till death? Maybe up to 10years. Likelihood of multiple failure etc? EXTREME SHEDDING DURING DEMISE OF TREE. Why does this happen? Because developers want the arborist who gives them the most land, useless arborists, useless assessment by council and often the report is read by an ecologist who knows bugger all about trees. I argue with ecologist and say whilst they may be the experts of the tenants residing in a tree they are not the building engineer qualified or experienced to comment about the integrity of the tree, we're the experts on the structure not them, and even dead trees offer habitat.

Get a copy of that report, it may be copyrighted so you cannot post it up here but you'll be able to discuss it. Closely examine the writers credentials, it's inadequate that he write what level he is etc without the units of competency. Want to see how I spell it out, visit this page. On all my reports there's a link to my certificates so people can check.

Ethical Unbiased Factual Advice

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STEVE-O

Hi EKKA ,, I finaly got a copy of the arboist report (HA HA ) Can I make contact with you in private to pass this report on and also seek more profesional advice
STEVE

Eric Frei

Check your PM's.

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STEVE-O

Ekka --e-mail sent ,,,thanks

Eric Frei

I got it.



That's a tree report?

That's not even toilet paper!

No dimensions, no specifics. What size root, how far away, what depth excavation? The soil hydraulics have changed due to that yet he says no change.

Yes, you need another report, from some-one who cares and gets all the facts to counter that toilet paper, with the retaining wall removed.

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STEVE-O

Ekka ,
can you recomend someone in my area who can write me a report?

Cessnock / Newcastle / Hunter valley ??? NSW

I've had a search through Tree World looking for someone local?

This might be a good thread Title "FIND AN ARBORIST HEAR" ,, Interested parties could leave contact / work scope details ....

Ill be sending "ANOTHER LETTER" of to council this morning requesting them to have the developer Remove that retaining wall

STEVE

Eric Frei

Check your PM's soon.

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STEVE-O

Looks good thanks

Sunraysia Tree Solutions

What was the result ?

Its been a few months now, I hope the developer and the orginal arborist, got their arses kicked !!!

stirmantrees

ya, what happened?

gawd

4 one steve o- in that situation u need an arborist-not a tree surgeon ( im a tree surgeon - in that situation i would refuse to even try to give advise - I would give u a number of an arborist ) HOWEVER ( I have always held ; regarded arborists to be UPSTANDING ? PROFESSIONALY BEYOND REPROACH - at least the ones I have met professionally ,unfortunately u have met the ????ers from the dark side-sorry mate- most tree professionals would state the truth-some of em only think $$$$$ ) HOW EVER THE GUYS -GIRLS on this site will only tell the truth- simply because it,s an open forum ! we can not talk shit -because there,s to many tree guys girls out there to bite ur arse