City Lowers Fine 36% On Park Avenue Tree Cutter

City Lowers Fine On Tree Cutter, Cites Compelling Ignorance

In a daring, possibly precedent setting move Tuesday night, Emeryville's city council reduced a fine of a man caught illegally cutting city owned trees by some 36%.  The man, Rick Gerow of Gerow Properties, a Lafayette California based real estate firm said in his defence he was unaware that Emeryville has a tree ordinance and that of the three trees he cut, one was dead, one was injured and one had damaged the sidewalk in front of his Park Avenue property.

Rick Gerow

The city originally fined Mr Gerow $14,100 for the infraction, an amount mandated by the city's tree ordinance based on professional tree valuation, replanting costs, administrative costs and penalty but the council used it's option provided by the ordinance to lower the amount to $9000, a reduction of $5100 or about 36%.  The city did not indicate if its out-of-pocket costs would be fully recovered by the $9000 figure.

Mr Gerow noted that because the trees in question were originally planted by him as a condition of approval for a 1990's remodel construction project at the Park Avenue address, he was simply maintaining the trees when he cut them and had every intention of replanting.
Cities, it should be noted, commonly make applicant tree planting a condition of approval for construction projects however the city becomes the rightful owner of any street trees in the public right of way as is the case here with these three street trees.

'Emeryville Properties 2' Says They Owe Nothing for Illegal Cutting of Street Trees

Will Corporations In Emeryville Be Held Accountable?

Business Appeals Fine For Illegally Cutting Emeryville's Trees

Rick Gerow of Emeryville Properties 2, a Lafayette California based real estate corporation, has thrown down the gauntlet; he should not have to pay a penny for having illegally cut three large city owned street trees in front of his building at 1259 Park Avenue and he has filed an appeal to the city to that effect.

In a May 20th letter to the city, Mr Gerow stated he was "not aware" of the 2003 Emeryville Tree Ordinance and that it was the city's responsibility to notify him that permission must be granted for anyone to cut down the street trees.

Rick Gerow: Says ignorance

of the law means you get off
scot free.

After Emeryville Properties 2, a subsidiary of Gerow Properties Inc was notified of the violation of the tree ordinance, Mr Gerow submitted that the three trees in question should have been cut down anyway and that the fine should therefore be zero.  The May 20th letter states that one of the trees he cut down was dead already and that a second had a major limb that had fallen and the third was causing the sidewalk to lift "about two inches" and these conditions mean the trees value is zero.  

Further, Mr Gerow says he is not responsible for any associated fees including the arborist report.  The city's arborist disagrees and has placed the three trees value at $4600.  With the penalty fine and other associated fees, the city is owed $14,100.

Mr Gerow indicated he has already replaced two of the cut trees with saplings and is willing to replant the third one.  The city's arborist has indicated that the replanting job Mr Gerow did is substandard and that the trees will subsequently not grow to their proper size.  The city maintains that a proper job must be done replacing the three trees and part of the fine imposed is meant to recover these replanting costs.

If the appeal is denied, it will mark the among first time the tree ordinance has been successfully implimented and imposed a fine on an illegal tree cutter.

The city council voted to strengthen the ordinance in May 2010 after citizens complained the ordinance was too lax and let illegal tree cutters off the hook without imposing any fine.  The complaining citizens posited that a penalty fine, as was enacted in 2010, would add sufficient deterrence to would be future illegal tree cutters.  Apparently, not enough for Mr Gerow.

Please read the precursor story to this in the March 10th edition of the Tattler.

Emeryville Properties 2 Inc will make their appeal at the June 21 council meeting.