Wednesday, March 21, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
23
Illegal tree-cutting garners fines
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
The homeowners on
South Pine Street and the
tree service they employed
to remove nine mature pon-
derosa pine trees from City
right-of-way in front of their
houses on January 2, 2018,
are being fined by the City —
but nowhere near the amount
they could have been.
In letters that were sent
out on March 12, 2018 by the
City attorney to three home-
owners and Adam Bright Tree
Service of Bend, demand is
made for payment of $4,500
for timber trespass to the City
within 30 days. This amount
represents only the code vio-
lation penalties.
Trees located in the City’s
right-of-way are City prop-
erty. Section 8.15.180(s) of
the Sisters Municipal Code
prohibits trimming or cutting
trees located in the right-of-
way without first obtain-
ing the City’s permission.
Violation of that code makes
a person subject to a fine not
to exceed $500 per violation.
Not only did the prop-
erty owners fail to obtain the
City’s permission to remove
the nine pine trees, the City
reports, but previous requests
to remove the same trees
had expressly been denied.
Additionally, the wood from
the felled trees was also
unlawfully appropriated.
The part of the law the City
is not enforcing in this case is
the Oregon Revised Statute
(ORS) 108.810, which states
that any person who unlaw-
fully removes trees from the
property of another, which
includes trees within public
right-of-way, is liable to the
tree owner for three times the
value of the removed tree.
According to that same stat-
ute, a timber trespasser may
also be liable for investiga-
tion costs, court costs, attor-
ney fees, and reforestation
expenses.
According to the appraisal
completed by City Forester
Sprindrift Forestry Consulting
LLC on January 4, the value
of the removed trees is
$31,185.80 (no value was
assigned to one dead tree).
The demand for $4,500 does
not include damages and
expenses incurred by the City
to investigate and prosecute
the matter to date.
The property owners at
325 S. Pine St., 349 S. Pine
St., and 361 S. Pine St. are
jointly liable with Bright for
the $4,500.
If payment is not made
within 30 days, the City will
pursue, allowable by law,
collection of treble damages
($97,557.40) and all applica-
ble fines, penalties, and costs,
which would significantly
exceed the original fine of
$4,500.
As the business conduct-
ing the tree removal, Bright
was doing so without a City
business license. For that,
the City is demanding he pay
$100, which represents the
maximum fine under City
code. Bright was instructed
to cease and desist from all
further business activities
within the city until the City
has been fully compensated
for his unlawful actions and
he obtains a city business
license.
The Urban Forestry Board,
in their meeting on March 12,
voiced their displeasure with
the amount of the fine, saying
it was “woefully inadequate.”
They planned to submit a let-
ter to the City Council regis-
tering their disagreement with
the fine amount. They serve
PHOTO PROVIDED
A number of trees were removed illegally along Pine Street.
in an advisory capacity, and
the setting of fines is in the
purview of the City Manager.
At that same meeting, the
UFB received a request from
a homeowner to remove 12
aspen trees from City right-of-
way. The request was denied.
This is the first time the
City has imposed fines for
illegal tree-cutting, and they
will be enforcing the code
from here forward.
With steady growth in
population and increased
building in the city, more trees
in town are facing removal
on building sites, which
must be approved when the
City reviews their site plans.
Property owners should be
aware that removal of any
tree on private property with
a diameter of eight inches or
greater at four feet from the
ground, requires a permit
from the City.
Sisters has received the
designation of Tree City USA
for 10 years. Mature ponder-
osa pines are considered an
integral part of the ambiance
of Sisters.
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