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City gets hotline for tree problems
Enforcement of the current tree trimming and cutting code is being increased while a revision is under review.
By JANET ZINK
Published August 28, 2005
It's tough being a tree in Tampa.
Construction of condominiums and big houses on small lots put life and limb in danger.
A revised city tree code that aims to protect our foliaged friends is making its way through the government approval process.
In the meantime, the city has activated a 24-hour tree hotline to keep Tampa's trees from being illegally trimmed or cut down.
Residents can call 258-TREE (8733) with questions or concerns about tree-trimming activity or tree removal they see. Inspectors in the departments of Business and Housing Development, Code Enforcement, and Parks and Recreation will respond seven days a week.
Officials hope the hotline helps prevent cases like the one earlier this year in the Channel District, where tree trimmers without a permit cut back a grand oak so severely it nearly died.
"If somebody had observed it happening, they could have called the tree hotline and we would have had construction services center or code enforcement respond," said Cindy Miller, director of Business and Housing Development.
Wofford Johnson, a Sunset Park resident who served on the committee that helped draft the revised tree code, said the hotline will give citizens answers to questions involving tree cutting such as: Does this person have a permit?
"There needs to be a central place residents can go," Johnson said. "We see an awful lot of trees being damaged, including some grand trees."
Creation of the tree hotline came out of discussions about the tree code changes in April.
Miller suggested that instead of making wholesale changes to the tree code, energy should be put into better enforcing the existing code.
The tree hotline, she said, will help with that.
The revised tree code includes updates to a technical manual that guides inspectors, builders and homeowners in handling trees and a requirement that a certified arborist must supervise the trimming of grand trees.
The new ordinance is scheduled to go to the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission in September and the City Council for final approval later that month.
- Janet Zink can be reached at 226-3401 or jzink@sptimes.com
[Last modified August 27, 2005, 11:05:06]
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