Town Trees

climbingmonkey24

climbingmonkey24

Carpal tunnel level member
Location
United States
For some reason I’ve been on a kick where whenever I have to look at a job where the tree is in the front yard I get anxiety about having to discuss with the customer whether I think the tree is a town tree, etc. if it’s questionable and will they understand what I’m saying etc.

:muyenojado:


okay, I got that off my chest now.

I feel like I’ve completely forgotten how to talk and deal with people over the last year.
 
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I see companies regularly trimming / removing trees that are on the edge of a property etc.

I wonder how many actually check with the town.

When do you guy’s make the determination if you think you need to check with the town.
 
Simply put, we don’t. It’s not our problem, it’s the responsibility of the property owner to know if their tree is actually their tree. We have made sure to make it clear in our contract that such matters, including permit questions, are the responsibility of the property owner. We work in too many towns to keep up with all the potential rules, if we did it we would have to pay someone full time just to chase townships!
 
Reach said:
Simply put, we don’t. It’s not our problem, it’s the responsibility of the property owner to know if their tree is actually their tree. We have made sure to make it clear in our contract that such matters, including permit questions, are the responsibility of the property owner. We work in too many towns to keep up with all the potential rules, if we did it we would have to pay someone full time just to chase townships!
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So if someone calls to trim a tree that is within 10ft of the pavement in a neighborhood (not a main rd) you don’t even bother with mentioning anything, you just trim it?

What about the liability falling on you if the town was to make a fuss if they found out you pruned the tree?
 
climbingmonkey24 said:
What about the liability falling on you if the town was to make a fuss if they found out you pruned the tree?
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What's the liability of a properly pruned tree? Looks good and saves the town the cost of pruning it.


I also don't worry about ownership of trees unless it's between neighbors and there isn't a clear property line between properties. Then I ask the homeowner to clarify and take their word for it.
 
climbingmonkey24 said:
So if someone calls to trim a tree that is within 10ft of the pavement in a neighborhood (not a main rd) you don’t even bother with mentioning anything, you just trim it?

What about the liability falling on you if the town was to make a fuss if they found out you pruned the tree?
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Correct, if they call us to prune a tree and accept a quote that states they are responsible for any necessary permits, we show up and prune it.

If the town makes a fuss, they’re going after the property owner. Our work is always done safely and correctly, according to current industry best practices, so the town has no reason to be upset with us. We didn’t just decide to show up and start chopping away, we were contracted by the owner of the property. That pretty much removes the liability from us, especially since our contract says so.

Every once in a while (maybe once a year or two?) we do get stopped by an HOA President or some variety of municipal representative. If that happens, we point them to the homeowner and explain that we are just the tree crew, contracted by the homeowner to do the work (Wanna see a signed contract?) and we take a (sometimes quite extended) lunch break while everything is sorted out.
 
climbingmonkey24 said:
I was under the impression any unauthorized trimming of a town tree could result in penalties / fines.
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That is possible, but how likely? You know your area, are there licensing/registration requirements in the cities? If so, you’re still probably covered if you’re legal to work in that city. Maybe @oldoakman can weigh in, as that is what he does?
 
Around here easement is 35' form the center of the road. I have insurance certs on file and a good relationship with two of the municipalities I work in and it is a matter of a phone call. Most of the time they will leave it to my judgement as to what's best removal or trim. One city could careless they would like to remove all the trees out of the easement to lessen their liability. They will push for removal if it's a trim job even if it's a healthy tree. I get a kick out of giving them the bad news that the tree is staying.
All it takes is a call to the city forester or code enforcement.
 
I’ve established contact with one of of the city foresters in one of the towns I work in. He’s given me a permit before no problem.

Do you think you should tell the homeowners though during the estimate process that you need to check with the town or just do it without even telling them? But if you run into an issue and they say it can’t be trimmed then you’re gonna have to explain that the town won’t let you trim it?

There seems to be some mixed views here on whether the company should be the advocate for checking on potential town trees or let the responsibility fall on the homeowner. Not a bad thing, just interesting to hear how others handle it.
 
Contact the city first. As in you contact them. HO's don't know the language and can make the situation worse.
It never hurts to introduce yourself to the foresters I prefer a phone call or a in person meet and greet.
In my experience the municipality doesn't care if it is their tree or not and who does the work as long as they know what they are doing and it will save them budget money. That is why it it important to meet and greet and build a relationship.
 
I think telling the homeowner they may need to check with the town is a good idea if you think they need to, as they may not know. However, I think it is also best to leave the actual checking up to the homeowner, unless you have a “permit fee” for doing it. We charge a $200 minimum for pulling permits if we have to get the permits ourselves for a project, it takes far too much time for us to do it for nothing.
 
flushcut said:
Contact the city first. As in you contact them. HO's don't know the language and can make the situation worse.
It never hurts to introduce yourself to the foresters I prefer a phone call or a in person meet and greet.
In my experience the municipality doesn't care if it is their tree or not and who does the work as long as they know what they are doing and it will save them budget money. That is why it it important to meet and greet and build a relationship.
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True, I have sort of established a relationship with one of them in a town I do work in, not in person but via email. He’s given me a permit before, quick and painless.
 
Reach said:
I think telling the homeowner they may need to check with the town is a good idea if you think they need to, as they may not know. However, I think it is also best to leave the actual checking up to the homeowner, unless you have a “permit fee” for doing it. We charge a $200 minimum for pulling permits if we have to get the permits ourselves for a project, it takes far too much time for us to do it for nothing.
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What I meant is a telling the homeowner you’re going to check with the town yourself or just do it and not even tell them?

I can’t speak for other towns, but one town I’ve dealt with it’s quick and easy. Sends me the permit via email, can be done in just one email message explaining what I want to do and a pic of the tree. And the permit is issued directly to the tree company.

Never thought about permit fees.

The thing is how many homeowners who say they will check with the town actually follow through?
 
Better to make it a solid relationship than "sort of established relationship" that's how you become the cities forester and get the calls to do their work. My service area is a hand full of small towns and I do all the work for one of them because I built a solid relationship and do quality work. Another one I was placed on their preferred contractor list which cuts a lot of red tape and getting the go ahead with just a phone call.
 
I’ve never done work for a city. Some I think require you to have a bucket yea?

How would you go about getting your foot in the door? Is there a process of getting approved to even be considered?

I primarily focuses on pruning / trimming, not removal.
 
climbingmonkey24 said:
What I meant is a telling the homeowner you’re going to check with the town yourself or just do it and not even tell them?

I can’t speak for other towns, but one town I’ve dealt with it’s quick and easy. Sends me the permit via email, can be done in just one email message explaining what I want to do and a pic of the tree. And the permit is issued directly to the tree company.

Never thought about permit fees.

The thing is how many homeowners who say they will check with the town actually follow through?
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If you’re going to check on permits yourself, you should tell the customer you plan to do so. If nothing else, it will set you apart from the competition.

We do very little for “free”, as time is money; in this business the only thing you have to sell is your time. If you’re giving it away, you’re losing money.

Whether or not the homeowner actually follows through with their promise to check with the town really doesn’t matter much, at least to me - if they say the will, and sign a contract saying they will, it’s their problem.
 
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