"mm" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 13 Jun 2006 02:57:59 GMT, CJT wrote:

CJT wrote:

miamicuse wrote:

I just bought a house that was vacant for months, after hurrican Wilma
came
through three large black olive trees in front of the house were
damaged.

I called the tree company out and they said two of them need heavy
pruning,
and because it was never properly pruned there are some rot and
termite
infestation as well. But they cannot trim it because it's the
County's
trees. The third one is completely unbalanced and is a hazard waiting
to
happen, it's leaning and the root is coming up a bit on the other
side,
bulging the concrete sidewalk.

All three trees are on the side of the County's street and outside of
my
property line. I was told I am responsible to maintain these trees
even
though they are not mine technically.

The County told me to trim and prune trees I need a file a permit.
Over
$100 per tree. Now the tree guy will prune it for $300 a tree, and an
additional $600 to haul away the branches. If the unbalanced tree
need
removal, I have to pay much more...for removal, for stump grinding and
for
hauling away, and County require a 100% canopy replacement and higher
permit
fee. This will result in thousands!!!

This is not even on my property! I thought I pay property taxes for
things
like this!

MC


I'd call my homeowner's insurance carrier -- he has an interest in not
having the thing crash through the roof, and might be able to get
something done.

Having read the horror story from the other poster, I should add that
insurance companies aren't always the best to deal with, either, so be
sure to think it through first.

One thing that comes to mind: If you explain the problem to the
insurance company, it's an admission that you know about the problem,
and if you don't get this solved before it does fall down, they may
blame you and not want to pay.

Ordinarily, I wouldn't counsel people to avoid admitting the truth,
but you have been diligent here and are trying to do the right thing.
Yet, if you get sick or distracted, or have to work overtime, or get
temporarily sent to another city, etc. there are a lot of things that
could cause you not to make it through the next stage in a timely
manner.

Of course, you've already admitted that you know about this to a bunch
of people, but I don't think it is the same as telling the insurance
company directly. GEICO seems to have records of every time I asked
them a question and what I asked (damn computers).

I would also suggest you ask your neighbors, especially those with
nicely trimmed trees in front, how things work.

Is the city saying that because so many trees were damaged they can't
keep up with the trimming they normally do themselves? If so, I think
they should waive the 100 dollar charge. If so, when do they expect to
catch up?


No, this is not that they cannot keep up with maintaining their grass and
trees. I was told as a home owner I am responsible to maintain the area
between my property line and the edge of street pavement. That means I need
to mow the grass there and trim back trees there. It does not sound logical
but that's what the county told me.

MC