Cutting down trees can be costly

Town goes for green when tree-cutting invades open space

Cutting down the wrong five trees could cost a Ridgefielder as much as $75,000 in fines.

The town Conservation Commission is seeking the sizable penalty — the trees were on town open space — and has asked First Selectman Rudy Marconi to collect it.

“Fortunately or unfortunately, I guess it’s my responsibility now to negotiate this settlement,” Marconi said.

The Conservation Commission voted in late 2015 to seek the $75,000 in fines, and there are other instances of tough-to-resolve open space violations that have the commission pushing for a town ordinance that would give it clear authority to enforce fines against open space violators.

“We have three issues that are stickier,” Conservation Commission member Jack Kace told last week’s Jan. 20 selectmen’s meeting. “Two involve tree cutting, and one involves a large shed on town land.”

Marconi told the Jan. 20 selectmen’s meeting that he’d been involved in negotiations to get the shed matter settled — and the shed removed — but hadn’t met with success, as yet.

“We went down and made an offer. He said, ‘That certainly sounds reasonable to me.’ We never heard another word. And the shed’s still there.”

So the Conservation Commission asked to have some teeth put into its enforcement powers.

“If someone places a shed on town property and you want to get it removed — a fine, we think, would be fine inducement,” Kace told the selectmen.

The commission has suggested the creation of an ordinance modeled on the town’s blight ordinance, with numerous opportunities for people charged with offenses to defend themselves and appeal charges against them.

There’s a lot of open space in town, and a considerable history of open space violations. For years the town haggled with homeowners in the Turner Ridge development in Ridgebury over things such as lawns and swing sets that crossed into open space.

Still, to give the town Conservation Commission authority to levy and enforce fines on its own seems a big step, and selectmen aren’t rushing into it.

“We’ll be addressing this again,” Marconi told the Conservation Commission members, closing the Jan. 20 discussion.

But the tree cutting, particularly, isn’t just a random problem, according to Marconi.

“It seems that with the maturity of the trees for many homes that once had a view, a vista, some property owners have begun cutting trees down to regain the view they once had,” Marconi said.

“Unfortunately, in some situations where the homeowner’s property abuts conservation land, the cutting has extended into town open space.

“There’s no question that to cut mature trees, especially trees that aren’t even on your property — if it’s your property that’s one thing, it’s your right to do — but when you go on someone else’s property, in this case in Ridgefield open space, and cut down very mature trees, there’s a penalty associated with it,” Marconi said.

Marconi has met with the property owner over the five trees on open space, but “there was no agreement reached” on restitution.

He was reluctant to disclose the name of the individual, but said the violation he was involved in negotiating occurred in an area off North Salem Road.

Case law

The problem has had Marconi in consultations with not only the Conservation Commission but also Town Attorney David Grogins and Tree Warden John Pinchbeck. The tree warden helped put a value on the cut trees.

“The Conservation Commission is very, very concerned about the situation, and wants to be sure that action is taken to discourage anyone else in the future that may think, For a small fine, I can improve my view, cut all these trees down and increase the value of my home substantially,” Marconi said.

“People need to realize that there’s a value to each and every tree. And in this case, based on the diameter, the height, and the type of wood, Mr. Pinchbeck has appraised a value of $15,000 per tree.”

Connecticut case law provides a sound basis for such fines, according to Marconi.

“The courts have supported this type of action,” he said.

There’s a lesson, and town officials want to make a point of it.

“The fact that this individual could be looking at a $75,000 problem should be notice to those who may be considering cutting trees on their property to be sure you know where your property line is and not to cut trees on someone else’s property,” Marconi said.

“Because what we don’t want is people to think it’s OK to cut trees that aren’t on their property — especially on land that was designated open space, which means we wanted to preserve it in its natural state in perpetuity. So this is a very serious violation, with considerable financial consequences that will have to be dealt with.”

Beth Peyser, the town’s conservation inspector, said that in late 2015 she and the commission were concerned about violations involving about 50 trees of varying size cut down at three sites, dating back to the summer.

“We’ve had some very old trees that were cut down. I’d say large, old trees,” said Peyser. “I would say a total of 50, large and small.”

“We’re taking it quite seriously,” said Kace.

Neighborhood problems

The tree-cutting off North Salem Road that the Conservation Commission has asked Marconi to deal with is complicated by a neighborhood situation.

“What makes this case a little different is that a neighbor has called and said if we do not levy an appropriate fine, he will cut trees as well, to improve his view,” Marconi said.

“That’s where most of these situations develop. People feel that they’re at a point of selling their home, that if they cut trees to improve the quality of the view, that it may add additional money to the selling price.”

The Conservation Commission has for some time been trying to get clarified authority to pursue open space violations and levy fines — something it currently doesn’t do on its own.

Marconi has been doing research, and talking to the town attorney, working toward having a proposed ordinance to bring to the Board of Selectmen — which would discuss the concept, review any proposed ordinance, and possibly set up a public hearing and town meeting that would be required to adopt an ordinance.

“We’re looking at it,” Marconi said. “We’re looking at other municipalities to see what they do.”

The current process is cumbersome.

“There’s a statutory provision, but you have to go through the attorney general’s office,” Marconi said, “and the Conservation Commission is looking for some more local control.”

Maroni said he’s aware there are some further tree-cutting incidents the Conservation Commission has been working on that may eventually land on his desk.

“We’ve had two or three at this point,” he said. “What is interesting is people are doing this to increase the value of their home, before an imminent sale,” he said.

Potential violations may be reported to the town by people with a variety of interests in the situation.

“A neighbor, someone in the area, or someone that uses the open space,” said Peyser, the conservation officer. “… They’ve noticed the tree cutting, and as the conservation inspector I go out and document the existing situation and relay that information back to the Conservation Commission to make a determination,” she said.

What line?

Often the problem is that people don’t do the needed research and get a good sense of the land before heading out with a chain saw.

“Generally, it’s a lack of knowing where the property boundary is — that’s generally the statement given by the homeowner,” she said.

“The common theme seems to be that the tree cutting occurs when the property has recently changed hands so there’s a new homeowner on a property, or a homeowner is considering selling their home in the near future, and they’re looking to do a number of things like expand their lawn size, create a better view, do what they consider cleaning up of fallen trees and debris and understory.”

Are people contrite when their errors are pointed out?

“I get a number of different reactions,” Peyser said. “Sometimes homeowners are completely unaware of where the property boundary lies. There’s a lot of people that live in the town of Ridgefield that have never seen a map of their property. Generally the reaction of the homeowner that cut down trees is, ‘I wasn’t aware. I had a lawn service doing work that went over my property boundary.’ Or, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t know, I’d be willing to work with you to come up with a mitigation plan.’

“I have yet to encounter a homeowner who’s cut down trees, and stated that they knowingly cut down trees on open space,” she said.

Marconi pointed to a case two or three years ago that resulted in a Ridgefield homeowner paying a $23,000 fine for tree cutting on open space. Folks can save themselves a lot of trouble — and money — by just making sure they know what they’re doing when they start cutting trees.

“People should be cautious,” Marconi said.

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