Protecting the Tree Canopy Or Punishment?
In our post on June 9th, we discussed the fines some homeowners could face for failing to care for trees located in the public right-of-way. Now the Denver City Council, at a meeting on Tuesday, has cautioned a representative from the Parks and Recreation Department to “take it easy with the fines.” According to an article in the Rocky Mountain News, city officials are worried the fines will be burdensome to some homeowners and actually have the opposite effect – discourage people from planting new trees. On the flipside, it’s a law that has been on the books for 50 years and the Parks and Recreation Department wants the authority to move forward with enforcing it to protect the tree canopy as well as pedestrians and traffic from falling trees. The majority of the citations are given for unhealthy, dead or dangerous trees. So, is it punitive? Or can it help to educate homeowners of their responsibilities in maintaining their communities?
This law serves a valid purpose, so long as it is consistently and uniformly enforced. It's not much different than the sidewalk-maintenance law. Officials need to provide warning and ample time to comply, and may need to adopt some measures to help those with special needs or extenuating circumstances.