$4000 trim

Every two to three years, Eddie Sales trims and prunes the crape myrtles at his church, Albemarle Road Presbyterian Church.

But this year, the city of Charlotte cited the church for improperly pruning its trees.

“We always keep our trees trimmed back because you don’t want to worry about them hanging down in the way,” said Sales, a church member.

The church was fined $100 per branch cut for excessive pruning, bringing the violation to $4,000.

http://iowntheworld.com/blog/?p=77839

:bash Fining a church for over trimming their trees? This is an instance of local Gubment out of control! What ever happened to having someone from the zoning department stopping by and talking with the leadership of the church, maybe explain the regulations and ask that the church comply in the future? Is the city of Charlotte so strapped for cash that they are using zoning laws to strong arm a church for money?!

Indeed. I do not care what zoning laws are in effect. This is simply ridiculous and certainly overstepping one's authority. !00 per branch? I trust they have detailed the pruning of trees. A** holes.

Definitely a case of someone with too much authority and too little knowledge about how to use it appropriately, IMO.

That is what we get when we allow government, be it local, state, or federal, to do what they want without citizen oversight.

sounds like an episode for "Bureaucrats gone wild...."

bailey bud wrote: sounds like an episode for "Bureaucrats gone wild...."

No, it sounds like you guys don't know what you're talking about again. I grew up in Chicago but my fathers side is from the deep South and I lived down there for a number of years and the over pruning of Crape Myrtle trees is as big a problem for them, as Pine Beetles are for us. I probably have 2 to 3000 trees on my property and when two of them got Pine Beetles I was required by regulation to cut'em down, chop'em up and bag'em for 2 years..No easy task for most people, and if I would have had to pay someone to do that the cost could have easily been over $4000. They have those regulations so we don't lose the entire forest to Pine Beetles and the regulation on the pruning of Crape Myrtles exists for the same reason. Everyone down there knows that when you over prune a Crape Myrtle it weakens the tree and they become susceptible to a mryiad of highly contagous diseases than can reek havoc on the entire crape Myrtle population.

It looks like your pot stirring right wings blogs got you guys again-It's easy to get mad, angry and irrational when you only hear half of the story. Try to remember that next time

someone needs a nap

$4000 for cutting and bagging two pine trees? VL, you're on drugs.

Sounds like some kind of HOA on crack, but since it's a local government thing, it also makes sense. I wonder if they also fine them when a weed pops up in the lawn and it isn't taken care of immediately?

Nobody that matters wrote: $4000 for cutting and bagging two pine trees? VL, you're on drugs.

They were massive trees.. two of my biggest. I counted the rings and they were over 1000 years old. And believe it or not I cut them down with a tiny $49 electric chain saw. I just was goofin around and once I started with it, I couldn't stop. The saw was trashed when the dust finally settled, but it got her done. No other man could do that