Hobart: Tree damaging walk owner’s responsibility

A tree wreaking havoc in a Hobart subdivision can be removed, but only at the owner’s expense.

The Board of Public Works at its Wednesday meeting granted resident Victoria Justice permission to get rid of the tree that sits on her parkway in the Deep River Pointe subdivision. The tree, which she described as having “fewer and fewer leaves each spring” and visible roots tearing up the sidewalk as well as a corner of her driveway, has injured three people recently.

“One of them is still in physical therapy (after tripping on the sidewalk); the other will never be able to eat right again because she fell flat on her face,” Justice said. “I’ve replaced the sidewalk concrete at my expense, but that well has run dry.”

Mayor Brian Snedecor told Justice that the city had its own arborist look at the tree, and they determined that it’s healthy and therefore doesn’t fit the city ordinance’s requirement of being “dead, diseased or a hazard.” And while he understands her concerns, the board doesn’t believe the city can intervene when it’s the developer’s responsibility.

Justice added that the developer owns property behind hers that is wetland, and a tree from that property fell on a tree of hers during one of the last storms. She’s tried to get in touch with the developer to take care of it to no avail, she said, to which the board recommended that her insurance company get in touch with the developer’s to get the process started.