Clearcut revisited
Clearcut revisited
Early last September, landowner Jay Fenton cleared his Stairley Street lot of its 40 or so monterey pines. Just about all had pitch canker disease, he said, and at least a few were also infested with bark beetles--not surprising, since the two maladies are spreading fast.
Fenton said he feared that all would die eventually and that he would face the enormous expense of cutting down trees year after year. Ultimately, he took an offer from the loggers: $24,000 to clear all the trees then instead of $10,000 for just the current problem. Fenton denied that he did it to make his property easier to sell.
Recently one of Fenton's neighbors, Jeff Lee, responded with two good points.
Two facts are indisputable.
1. At least three of the trees that were cut were located within the 30-foot public street right of way and thus on city property. This is according to a boundary and topographic survey prepared by Dennis Boschetti L. S. on July 10 last year. Independent of who planted the trees, they should not have been cut without city permission.
2. Within two days of the tree removal, a for sale sign appeared on the property. I believe this indicates that Fenton's motive was simply to sell the lot more easily--not, as he says, to avoid greater expense.