Petal tree ordinance may be strengthened

[selmore]

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061209/NEWS01/61209018/1002


......
The ordinance was created last year after a property owner clear-cut a lot with a cluster of old oak trees, said Mayor Carl Scott. Following a public outcry, the ordinance and accompanying fine were adopted.

Somebody help me out....are they referring to the corner of Carterville and Hillcrest?
Whats that greedy profit monger's name...wasn't he an "alderman" or "Board of Sups" or something..im new in the area.
How come the author didnt name names and how'd he end up with premo property anyway....how much did he make on the sale of the cleaned property? Did anyone investigate this?
Nancy Kaffer, If you are reading this, please put some more meat in your article. "a property owner????????"

[Conveyor Belt]

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061210/NEWS01/612100323/1002

Here's the full article... I'm guessing they don't want someone getting into a pruning mode and then taking down a whole tree... Funny this should come up now that I'm considering taking down a 20yo oak in front of my home. I can do it myself, but think it's ridiculous to have to pay to take my own tree down...

[fuzzis]

I suppose I don't understand this policy. If it's my property...why shouldn't I be allowed to do with it as I please? I get some of the stuff about keeping your property neat and orderly, but at the same time...this seems a bit much.

fuzzis

[Conveyor Belt]

I donno... I can kind of understand the rationale behind trying to protect the 100 year old oaks... but then, again, it is the property of the owner, if someone else wanted it, they should have bought it.

[Hermione]

I took down every remaining pine tree and a big water oak in my yard. If I could afford to, I would pay to have some neighbors trees taken down. Sorry, but that crunching sound over my head on 8/29/05 scared me out of my wits, hope to never hear it again. (Not to mention damage to my house.)

PLEASE don't plant water oaks!! Water oaks have a very shallow root system. Plant live oak or magnolia.

[Maggie-Doodle]

I dunno about the shallow root thing with water oaks...we had backhoe digging out the roots and we had a hole dug that we could have put a swimming pool in had it not been in our front/side yard...we still didn't get them all...they broke off...we only got the very top ones...

I can tell you this though, water oaks are very prone to rot from the inside out. The whole inside core of the tree was black with rot but you could not tell it from the beautiful green leaves and canopy it sported.

[Tully Mars]

Water Oaks, as many of you have attested, are very prone to heart rot. If you want oaks on your property a good bet would be a white oak or a pin oak, although pin oaks don't do particularly well in soils with a high pH.

And to answer selmore's question, yes it was the property at the intersection of Hillcrest and Carterville and yes it was Lynn Cartlidge that had all of the trees cut down (quite unnecessarily I might add since he has done absolutely nothing else to improve the property). Remember that kind of activity if he runs for Supervisor again next year.

[selmore]

I find it odd that the article didn't mention the name of the offender and only refered to him as a "property owner". I figured it was because the offender was part of the "establishment."
I figure that the trees across from the middle school won't last long either.

[Hermione]

I dunno about the shallow root thing with water oaks...we had backhoe digging out the roots and we had a hole dug that we could have put a swimming pool in had it not been in our front/side yard...we still didn't get them all...they broke off...we only got the very top ones...

I can tell you this though, water oaks are very prone to rot from the inside out. The whole inside core of the tree was black with rot but you could not tell it from the beautiful green leaves and canopy it sported.

I could be wrong (yes, it's possible.) I thought I remembered when y'all had the straight line winds and so many trees came down, that the city urged people not to plant water oaks because of their roots. Let me do some research. I know they're not the best oak, though.
When we looked around after the storm, we saw very few magnolias down. They seemed to fare very well.

[Blondie]

Tully what is he planning on doing with that land? It's just been sitting there.

[Maggie-Doodle]

Hermione, Oh I agree about planting water oaks..not the best thing for sure...for more than one reason. They may have shallow roots up beside some of the other oaks...I can't say for sure...I know the tree we had seemed to be very secure, all water oaks may not be.

I vote for magnolias and live oaks too...not only are they beautiful and graceful but the magnolias also smell soooo good! I love Sweet Gums and Maples too because of the beautiful fall colors but they too are not practical...boths roots grow on top of the ground.

[Tully Mars]

Tully what is he planning on doing with that land? It's just been sitting there.

He managed to get the planning commission to change the zoning from R-1 (low density residential) to General Commercial which means that pretty much anything from a convenience store to general retail to office buildings could go there now. There are also several uses that could eventually happen there that are very incompatible with the surrounding neighborhood.

He readily admitted that he didn't have immediate plans for the lot but thought that the rezoning would increase his chances of either finding a tenant to build for or a willing buyer. IMO that land would have been nice with a few homes scattered among the (now gone) oak trees.

[Blondie]

Thanks, Tully. I figured you would know. Seems like the last thing we need is another convenience store. It would be good to have some houses there. The land was really nice before it was clear cut.

[politically incorrect]

If I buy the property, I buy the trees and should be able to cut as many down as I please without the government getting involved. When will this interference in private property rights stop? The foundation of freedom is the right to own property and use it as you see fit. I can understand some common sense zoning - to a certain extent - but whether or not I have a tree by my house does not affect my neighbor's ability to landscape his yard any way he chooses.

The City of Petal needs to take a deep breath and stop writing an ordinance each time the board of alderman holds a meeting. Keep the streets paved and keep the garbage picked up and then get out of the way and let the people have a break from the long arm of government intruding into their lives.

[Blondie]

PI, I agree. Seems like they have gone overboard with the ordinances lately. I know there is a need for rules and I know that Petal doesn't have as many restrictions as a lot of towns, but don't bombard us with them all at once. We need a breather between them. The dog registration is what got me. I know it ticked off a whole bunch of people.

[countrygirl]

I used to wonder why folks cut down all the trees before they built a house. After Katrina, I thought about how smart they were. I still like trees though...just not too close to the house.

[Petal4Life]

Tully what is he planning on doing with that land? It's just been sitting there.


Actually, Lynn had the property zoned for agriculture. Hense all the watermelons he planted there. He did this so that he could use it as a tax write off for one more year. I have heard that he plans on building houses on the property.

Some people have more money than common sense!!!!

[Tully Mars]

Actually, Lynn had the property zoned for agriculture. Hense all the watermelons he planted there. He did this so that he could use it as a tax write off for one more year. I have heard that he plans on building houses on the property.

Some people have more money than common sense!!!!


No, it was definitely re-zoned general commercial. I was at the zoning hearing when it took place. As far as I know, he still has no firm plans for the property.

[Truthpick]

The City of Petal needs to take a deep breath and stop writing an ordinance each time the board of alderman holds a meeting. Keep the streets paved and keep the garbage picked up and then get out of the way and let the people have a break from the long arm of government intruding into their lives.
[/QUOTE]


Amen brother.

[politically incorrect]

No, it was definitely re-zoned general commercial. I was at the zoning hearing when it took place. As far as I know, he still has no firm plans for the property.

Maybe it depends on the outcome of the election.

[sugarnspice]

Amen, Amen, and again, Amen!!!!!


Amen brother.[/quote]

[sugarnspice]

My praise is for Politically Incorrect's statement about private property, not the ordinance.

Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God!