FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:    Rick Joyce, Lee County Community Development
                (941) 479-8182

FORT MYERS, Fla. (November 6, 2001) – The continuing incidence of excessive pruning of trees throughout unincorporated Lee County is prompting county commissioners and code enforcers to enact tougher enforcement actions and request that businesses and landscapers familiarize themselves with county tree maintenance requirements.

The Board of Lee County Commissioners today unanimously approved allowing environmental code enforcers to issue on-site county court citations for up to $500 per tree to violators and to authorize the county attorney’s office to secure injunctions for repeat violators. The county court citations are either paid or appealed through the court system, not the typical hearing examiner process.

Citations will be given on an individual tree basis and fines are $100 for the first occurrence, $200 for the second and $500 thereafter.

The requirements apply mostly to industrial, commercial and multi-family residential development projects and specify that trees must not be severely pruned to permanently maintain growth at a reduced height or spread. Instead, vegetation may only be pruned to promote healthy, uniform, natural growth of the vegetation, except where necessary to promote health, safety and welfare. Generally, these pruning standards do not apply to single-family residential home sites, although the standards also are valuable to trees on these sites.

Both retained and new landscape trees are important components to the community infrastructure. Trees provide breaks in the urban landscape and offer many benefits, including providing oxygen, conserving energy, filtering water, creating a cool canopy, absorbing noise, reducing glare, creating areas for wildlife and increasing property values.

Tree topping and severe crown pruning practices are a threat to trees. This type of pruning is also known as hat racking, balling, rounding over, poodle tailing and lollipopping. The practice shears off the top part of the tree crown regardless of branching structure causing dense new growth that is weakly attached. Some topped trees are so severely injured they must be replaced.

Some businesses complain that trees decrease visibility to their establishments, but appropriate plant selection can help in this regard and, according to county standards, a new or existing plant’s potential growth must be considered in advance of conflicts that might arise due to development. County Environmental Sciences staff always is willing to work with property owners to address visibility and landscape requirements.

For information about plant selection, tree protection and pruning, you can contact Lee County’s Division of Environmental Sciences at 479-8585 or Lee County Extension Services at 461-7500.