After several recent incidents of trees removal or “tree pruning,” the City reminds residents that some tree work requires City approval.
Cory Brady, PLA, AICP, planning director, said tree removal permits are required for all trees 10” in diameter or greater.
“Our residents are being solicited by tree-cutting businesses and trees are being removed illegally,” said Mr. Brady.
“Illegal removals are in violation of our code and those violations result in monetary damages ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 per tree in some cases. “
The City contact for permits is Debra Murrell, community development specialist, 867-2716 or dmurrell@lakelandtn.org Mr. Brady authorizes or denies the request per the Tree Management Ordinance (TMO).
At the end of January, a non-disturb common open space along Seed Tick Road was cleared of all trees and not authorized by the City.
In February, mature trees at the Mobil gas station, 3665 Canada Road, were aggressively pruned to the point they had to be removed.
Both incidents happened on weekends when City staff was not on duty. To date, the Lakeland Board of Commissioners has granted some leniency to both parties pending cleanup and mitigation, said Mr. Brady.
Just this month, trees were removed on a lot in the Cool Springs neighborhood using Seed Tick Road, a Scenic Corridor, to access the lot.
Mr. Brady said the Cool Springs removal was permitted in accordance with the TMO. “I was reluctant to authorize the removal of so many trees,” said Mr. Brady. “To help make the determination, I required the arborist and property owner to prepare a tree survey for the individual lot. That cost to the owner was an additional $1,000. The survey quantified the existing trees and identified those planned for removal. That information was used to determine if the density factors were being met. The resulting density factors exceed the provisions of the Tree Management Ordinance by over four times.
“However, the arborist was NOT authorized to disturb the Scenic Corridor. I personally told him not to disturb the Scenic Corridor when we granted the permit. He took that to mean no cutting. Per his explanation, he was trying to minimize impact to the Cool Springs neighborhood. He thought he was doing a good thing. The access point was residual from the original home construction and no trees were removed for access.
“I had our code enforcement officer, John Highsmith, stop them and inform them of their error. I personally spoke with the arborist. They have since stopped using the access to Seed Tick.”
