ATC removes trees at Fellow Mortals

Company legally cleared to cut vegetation but cited for not getting permit

By Michael S. Hoey

Correspondent

American Transmission Co. removed trees from most of the easement it owns on the property of Fellow Mortals Animal Hospital and on neighboring properties along Palmer Road in the Town of Geneva last week.

ATC notified Fellow Mortals Animal Hospital owner Yvonne Blane in June that the company planned to remove any trees it deemed a threat to the power lines on an easement it owns on her property at W4632 Palmer Road. Blane said that would remove a very important sound barrier for recovering animals at the hospital. Blane also said the company had always trimmed trees in the past and she hoped to convince the company to continue that policy on the easement on her property, even if she had to pay for it.

Fellow Mortals filed for an injunction in Walworth Circuit Court to stop the tree removal but lost the case on Oct. 13. ATC was then free to remove the trees and did so on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Blane said that while she certainly disagrees that ATC should have been allowed to remove the trees, she had no problem with the people contracted to actually remove them.

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“We are grateful the workers were as careful and respectful as they were,” Blane said. “They were doing what they had to do, but they cared about the wildlife.”

Blane said they also worked with her to provide some of the tree limbs to provide for beavers the hospital cares for and they saved most of the trunk of the 100-year old spruce tree that was cut down. Blane said she hopes to find a use like a little library for that wood.

“It’s not what we wanted, but it went smoothly and carefully,” Blane said.

Blane said ATC provided plenty of notice so she and her staff could move as many animals inside as possible to avoid the stress created by removing the trees. Blane said the only animals not fully moved inside were some deer, and even they were able to hide out in an outdoor shelter area. The workers even located their wood chipper on a neighboring property in an effort to keep the volume down.

“It was the best outcome we could hope for and we are real grateful for that,” Blane said.

Despite losing most of the larger trees that provided a barrier for sound generated on Palmer Road, Blane said two smaller spruce trees that could get fuller over time were spared. She also said the hospital will explore adding a berm and planting some trees that will never grow more than 15 feet tall. She said she would approve any plantings with ATC so she never has to worry again about losing any more trees.

Even though ATC removed the trees, it might cost the company for violating a Town of Geneva ordinance that requires anyone who wants to remove trees to get a permit. ATC has argued no permit is necessary because the company qualifies for an exemption to the ordinance as a public utility.

Town Chairman Joseph Kopecky has said he disagrees and said the Town of Geneva does not allow clear-cutting of trees. He said previously that he considered what ATC planned for the work on Palmer Road to be clear-cutting. Kopecky could not be reached for comment since the work was done.

Town of Geneva Police Chief Steve Hurley confirmed ATC has been cited $1,321 per day the work was being done for violating the ordinance. Hurley said ATC can dispute the charges in municipal court.

“ATC has not sought a permit from the town for tree cutting,” Hurley said.

“The police department has been in contact with officials from ATC and they have been advised that they are in violation of the town’s clear cutting ordinance,” Hurley said. “ATC has elected to move forward with the tree cutting without a permit.”

Jackie Olson, ATC corporate communications representative, disagreed that ATC is violating the ordinance.

“Town of Geneva officials were informed on several occasions that ATC believes the local ordinance does not apply to public utilities,” Olson wrote in an email. “In a letter to the town, our attorney stated that ‘the recent court ruling affirms that ATC has the right to trim and remove trees within the area covered by ATC’s easement,’ and that ATC ‘will not be clear cutting properties, but rather trimming some trees and removing incompatible ones within our easement strip to keep our lines safe and reliable.'”

Olson said ATC determined that it was not necessary to remove vegetation from the entire easement width, so vegetation outside what was deemed necessary remained in tact. Blane said that ATC removed every tree from about 40 feet of the 50-foot easement it owns.

Olson said the company had a representative on site while the work was being done to receive the citations, and ATC will resolve the matter in court.

Blane said she wants to move forward in a positive manner and hopes people who have been following the case have learned something about easements.

“Be aware, read the easement agreement,” she said.

Blane said real estate agents and others in that field need to do a better job informing clients about easements. Blane said she had no idea when she and her husband purchased the land that ATC would one day have the right to remove trees on its easement.

Blane also said she hopes her situation can lead to local legislators being elected who care more about the citizens they represent. Blane said Fellow Mortals received no support from any local legislators other than the Town of Geneva.