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Wash. Landscaper Faces $163,000 Topping Bill07-02-08 | News

Wash. Landscaper Faces $163,000 Topping Bill




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An investigative report by Wright says a four-man crew topped trees with a hedge trimmer and hand saws. The topping reduced the height of the trees from about 13 to 8 feet, Wright wrote.


Olympia, Wash. officials want a landscaping company to pay an estimated $163,000 to repair damage after it topped more than 450 street trees in the Horizon Pointe neighborhood without permission.

Workers for Huff Landscaping Inc. of Rochester topped trees in the public right-of-way in the south Lacey neighborhood before the city put a stop to the work Jan. 25.

Galen Wright, the city’s urban forester, said he had never seen damage to street trees on this scale and had “never even heard about a situation like that from other cities.”

Business owner Ken Huff said he didn’t know the trees were on public property or that there were restrictions against topping the trees.

The city mailed Friday a “voluntary mitigation plan” to Huff that details how the company would repair the damage, associate planner Ryan Andrews said.

Wright concluded 265 of the damaged trees needed to be replaced, and the remaining ones need restorative pruning for up to three years. He pegged the total cost at $163,675.

Favero Greenforest, a Seattle arborist hired by Huff’s insurer to confirm the damage, determined 95 trees need to be replaced, which would lessen the cost.

Huff would agree to comply with the terms and waive his right to appeal if he signs the mitigation plan.

He said his workers would undergo training by a certified arborist in response to this incident.

Source: theolympian.com.

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