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Untimely Death Of Park Street Shade Tree May Lead To Better Brandon Tree Program

photo provided Gone but not forgotten: this stump is all that remains of a tree comparable to the next one in line down Park Street.

Tuesday August 29, 2006

   Suppose that on the south side of your house, you had a huge maple tree, old enough so it was already big on an 1892 picture map of your town.

It's old enough to start showing its age, with some of the branches at the top clearly dying. So you call an office of the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, and they send someone who knows about trees to take a look.

No, it doesn't have to come down, the woman says. The bark shows it isn't diseased. Have the crown and dead branches removed, water it heavily, maybe give it some fertilizer, and it should be all right.

So you go to the town office and ask if they could be any help. An official there says the tree is going on a list for pruning. They don't just take down trees, they want to preserve them, he says.

You go away on vacation, and return to discover to your horror that the tree has been “pruned” down to a stubby stump. You don't even get the firewood.

Looking into the state laws regarding shade trees, you find in Title 24, Chapter 67, Section 2502, that “Shade and ornamental trees within the limits of public ways and places shall be under the control of the tree warden”--an office your town did fill after the last town meeting.

Section 2508 says, “Unless otherwise provided, a public shade tree shall not be cut or removed, in whole or in part, except by a tree warden or his deputy or by a person having written permission of a tree warden.” As far as you know, this never happened. (The tree warden could not be reached for comment.)

Section 2509 says such a tree “shall not be felled without a public hearing by the tree warden, except that when it is infested with or infected by a recognized tree pest, or when it constitutes a hazard to public safety, no hearing shall be required.” Hearing? You didn't even get a letter or phone call. As for safety, you could have told them that in two fierce wind storms this year, the tree didn't drop any limbs.

“I'm still in shock,” said Helyn Anderson, who lives at 42 Park Street in Brandon, more than a week after discovering the loss. “I'm in mourning.”

Knowing she could never restrain her feelings about the situation, she did not attend the next Selectboard meeting to tell what happened. Instead, she sent a letter “to express my great outrage and feeling of personal violation at the removal of a majestic and historic shade tree that lived in front of my home,” and to point out the provisions of state law cited above.

The letter to Town Manager Keith Arlund said in part, “I am experiencing a tremendous impact on my home and my quality of life. The live tree blocked traffic lights and noise, acted as a shade from the summer sun to the front rooms of my home (and to the many people who come to sit under it to view our grand 4th of July parade) and blocked the winter wind...The tree was a physical and psychological barrier to the considerable traffic and the poor condition of the roadway.” 

The Select Board told Public Works Director Tom Schmelzenbach, who had contracted with Trees, Inc. to take down
the tree, that he really should have communicated better with Anderson, and should discuss tree policy with town's volunteer Tree Committee. “I will meet with the Tree Committee,” he said, and “I will make an effort to meet with Ms. Anderson and discuss this.”

Most of the discussion concerned tree replacement--one reason for activating the Tree Committee. Board member Richard Baker, who has been a Park Street property owner, estimated that many of the maples there are 150 years old, based on having to cut one down then counting its growth rings--not counting the six inch core, where they

As far as legalities, Arlund said that deeds research has shown clearly that the town right-of-way extends from the middle of Park Street through the sidewalk, so the tree was actually the town's. Select Board member Stephen Carr said even if that was so, there had been a tremendous impact on someone's house, and it was important to recognize that, “even though we have every righthave a nice sidewalk on Park Street and no trees to shade it.”

Anderson said she didn't plan to sue, but would like restitution, in the form of a new maple tree. “What I really would like to see,” she said, “is a log 20 feet long and 38 inches in diameter. But I don't know where they could find one, legally.” 

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