North Carolina Church Fined $4,000 For Improperly Pruning Trees at $100 a Branch.

"The fine will be dropped if the church replaces each of the improperly pruned trees, said Tom Johnson, senior urban forester for city of Charlotte Land Development Division."


Read more: www.charlotteobserver.com...

It's imperative that the fascists in power have fascistic laws all the way to the bottom of the food chain.Why? I don't know, but it's apparently very crucial to their plans....

Individuals who would like to trim their trees should call the city foresters to receive a free permit to conduct the landscape work.

Foresters will then meet with the person receiving the permit and give instructions on how to properly trim their trees, Johnson said.

The state Division of Forestry recommends that anyone trimming trees should be certified by the National Horticulture Board[]

everything these days has to be liscenced (for a fee) permitted (for a fee) and certified (for a fee).

I don't see what the church guy was doing wrong actually... there's more than one way to skin a cat and crepe myrtles are native to Asia, so its really an exotic species he's fining them for improperly pruning where its growth habit thrives.

and heres a little tid bit for you:

Severe pruning will not kill or injure a healthy crape myrtle.

Check the pic:



www.clemson.edu...

The practice of chopping off the tops of crape myrtle has become very commonplace. Many people believe that it is required to promote flowering; some prune because the plant is too large for the space provided; others see their neighbors doing it and feel the need to follow suit. There are some instances in which heavy pruning is necessary, but light pruning is usually all that is needed. The type and amount of pruning depends on the desired shape and size of the plant.

I've pruned crepe myrtles both ways myself, incrementally trimming vs bobbing the top each year back to nubs. Both methods create great blooms and maintain healthy trees.

This inspector doesn't know what he's talking about.

Unless he actually cut the nuckle heads off, the church man was using a long practice method of pruning called POLLARDING.

www.learn2grow.com...

If anything these laws were set up to protect "heritage" trees, 200+ year old trees on commercial land.

Overzealous use of power by the incompetent.

Sri Oracle

ps... this doesn't really belong in the religion forum

My thoughts posting here were of religious persecution.

reply to post by Hillbilly123069


Religious persecution? In the USA? I'm sorry, but that wasn't religious persecution at all. These people were fined in the same way that any other group would be fined for the same lack of following the exact same city ordinances.

Hell, it's not like they would have had to pay anything to get the permit and they would have had free instruction on how to prune!

And $4000...I'm sorry, but just a quick look at that Church's website makes it clear that they don't really have financial issues. Most churches can afford a hell of a lot more than a $4000 fine.

My thoughts posting here were of religious persecution.

Selective enforcement, almost surely.

I don't see any religious motive, though.

My thoughts reading what you posted are that many local governments in the United States are complaining about hard financial times. I'll bet the city can get along just fine without an "urban forester," especially if this is an example of what the guy does all day.

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Sorry, but how exactly do you "improperly" prune a crepe myrtle tree? We had one of these in our front yard and we dug it out as it was right up against the house and causing our trim to rot and problems with the roof. We dug the entire stump out, roots and all and the thing STILL tried to grow. They're like a really big weed. You can cut these things back to nubs and they'll still grow.

reply to post by eight bits


It's probably someone who doesn't take all that much of a pay. It seems like the sort of position that's held by a consultant rather than a full-time individual...though it might be the same person that is in charge of parks for the city.

You'd be surprised at how important arboreal management is within a city, especially for health and pest control issues.

Granted, is this case necessarily something about the enforcement of a good law? Not necessarily. Is it a case of selective enforcement? Probably not.