HELP Save Our Neighborhood Trees!
Have you seen the blue and orange paint on our trees?
KUB is pruning/cutting trees in Kingston Woods & Kingston Hills (and soon, in West Oaks and Kingston Park)
Come to the neighborhood meeting with KUB people!
When: Tuesday, August 11, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Erin Presbyterian Church, 200 Lockett Road (go east on Deane Hill Dr., left on Lockett)
Why: to express our concern with KUB’s aggressive pruning policies, and demonstrate public support of these concerns (including political reps and media)
· RSVP if possible, to let us know if you can attend the meeting with KUB and share your concerns.
· Talk to your neighbors and encourage them to attend the meeting too
Why Should You Attend? To Show that YOU CARE!
· Several neighborhood members have been working to set up this meeting and avoid unduly aggressive tree-pruning by KUB which will damage our property values and increase our utility bills.
· If only 15 or 20 people show up, that will clearly indicate to KUB and our political representatives that we don’t care enough to bother with. Each property owner will then just need to address KUB on an individual basis.
· However, if 100-150 people show up to represent concerns by a neighborhood of ~450 homes, then that would indicate strong concern by KUB customers/ ratepayers and citizens/ taxpayers/ voters. It would also encourage more KWNA residents to serve the neighborhood at large as information gatherers/disseminators, lobbying our public officials and services, etc.
· Think about it—it is to your benefit as well as the whole neighborhood’s.
Stay updated!
· Visit the KWNA website at: http://www.kwnaonline.com/ to learn more information about this issue and others affecting our neighborhood
· Send your email address to KWNA Secretary Sara Jordan (jordanss@comcast.net, or 693-5869) to be kept abreast of further neighborhood news.
Who is affected?
KUB organizes its pruning operations by Electric Distribution Circuit area. In the Kingston Woods area, they have already sent out letters for circuit RH11 (covers Moneta, west end of Deane Hill, and east end of Twining). Letters are supposed to go out Tuesday, July 28 for circuit RH32 residents (supposedly the next area west of RH11, where we have already seen many markings). Liz Didier (KUB Vegetation Management) told me last week that the contractor was only about half done marking the current circuit area; she said it would cover the Kingston Hills streets too. West Oaks and Kingston Park are scheduled for late this year.
The yellow door-note from the KUB contractor said 10 feet from power lines…
KUB's representatives have been leaving notes on doors stating that they are only cutting to achieve at least l0 foot clearances. You will soon receive a letter from KUB. However, the reality is they will likely cut all branches of trees facing the power lines from the ground to the top of the tree (they call it “ground to sky clearing”) in many instances. Using the official “lateral pruning method,” KUB will often cut the branches back to the middle of the tree instead of just cutting a smaller amount. This results in clearances far greater than 10 feet from the power lines, and the overall effect is that many trees will be cut in half. KUB in many cases would rather remove the whole tree.
What is KUB’s legal standing for entering my yard and cutting my trees?
KUB has the right to maintain their power lines. This means they can make repairs and climb the poles without obtaining your permission using limited right of way authority. In some areas they have utility easements which give them additional legal authority.
However, it is believed that they do not have unlimited rights to remove or destroy trees without your permission, especially if the tree is located beyond the right of way. At some point, extensive damage to trees becomes trespassing and vandalism. Large trees increase the value of property by many thousands of dollars, plus their shade saves us lots of money on utility bills. Consider consulting your own private attorney for specific legal advice.
Submit pictures of your marked trees…
Thousands of trees have been felled in surrounding neighborhoods over the past month alone. Take pictures of your large, endangered trees which show their addition of value, shade, and beauty to your home. Email them to suzytrotta@gmail.com to be posted on our KWNA website’s "Endangered Trees Showcase." Include pictures highlighting the distance from the power lines.
Flyers going out to all homes in the neighborhood
We have prepared flyers with essential information concerning KUB’s tree pruning / cutting operations to be distributed to all neighborhood homes.
Street Captains (listed below) or other neighbors on each street—can you help us with distribution of flyers on your street? If so, please contact Sara Jordan (jordanss@comcast; 693-5869) and we will get copies to you.
Thank you for getting involved—
Sara Jordan
Secretary, Kingston Woods Neighborhood Association
and
John Overly, Concerned KWNA member
