It was
noticeable right away. First was the sound. The persistent angry buzz of gas-powered machines broke the summer morning
stillness. Next was the visual shock. A row of backyard trees gone, exposing
the siding of the new home in the development beyond.
Neighbors
felt a mix of emotions. There was the surprise. There was confusion. There was
a feeling of helplessness. And there was anger.
What was
happening was a clearing of trees in the backyards of a row of homes. A set of
power lines runs through there, and Consumers Energy is engaged in maintaining
the lines on their easement to prevent power outages from tree limbs falling
during storms.
They all
understand the right and responsibility of the power company to maintain the
poles and wires and do what they can to maintain consistent power. In fact,
power companies have a federal mandate to do this. But local neighbors are
disturbed by how it is being done, by what they perceive to be excessive
clearing of trees and not enough respect for their own rights and concerns as
property owners.
Their
primary complaint is that Consumers did not follow its own protocol of letting
residents know about the planned trimming and allowing them to discuss
specifics. Door hangars were left months previously, but the norm is to give
two-weeks notice before actual cutting begins. They feel some trees were not
trimmed but clear cut, leaving only stumps. They also feel that some trees were
not tall enough to be a threat to the power lines, and others were not anywhere
near underneath the power lines. One neighbor’s underground sprinkling was
damaged. Add to that the loss of aesthetic view, privacy, and personal
investment in landscaping, and you have a set of angry neighbors. A neighbor
was offered $200 after complaining, but says the amount doesn’t come close to
covering the cost of replacing landscaping.
I contacted
a friend who works in public relations for Consumers, and he referred me to the
company’s forestry communications director. He told me that this is an unusual
case, because a neighbor in the new development behind my neighbor wanted to
remove trees, do their own landscaping and put a fence around the property.
They contacted Consumers about tree removal in the easement, and the Company
contracted with a crew to remove trees on that part of the easement only. But
that neighbor was shocked at the extent of cutting also. That particular section
is clear cut, but other portions of the easement should not be cut so severely,
I was told. Also, the remainder of cutting in this particular section of power
line is not scheduled til November.
I was also
informed that the normal protocol is to send a postcard to residents informing
them of plans to trim trees. After that, an employee paints blue Xs on trees
and goes door to door to talk to residents, or leaves a card with a phone
number if residents are not home. The
forestry communications director told me that Consumers will meet with
residents on a case by case basis to discuss questions and concerns to balance
property owners’ interests and maintaining the power lines.
Consumers
does remove—versus trim—about half of the trees they address. This is
determined based on the species of tree and its potential to grow too near
power lines, the health of the tree, and the physical relationship to power
lines. All of Consumers’ foresters are certified arborists capable of making
these assessments. The representative of Consumers also encouraged me to share
the Right Place Right Tree concept, a program of the Arbor Day Foundation that
helps homeowners select species of trees to plant that will not grow to the
height of power lines. More can be found at http://www.arborday.org/trees/righttreeandplace/
In spite of
assurances from Consumers, neighbors are still concerned. One had an arborist
on their property and was assured that since they have a professional tree
company maintain their trees that they would not be trimmed. But the trees have
been marked, and this neighbor believes the company lied to them. They have
moved because of it.
This set of
neighbors is especially sensitive because several years ago the Spring Lake
Township Planning Commission made assurances to residents that the new
development behind them would not come too close to their property lines. But at a subsequent meeting, when the
developer was present but neighbors were not, plans changed. More trees were
cut than they had expected to make way for new homes.
One
neighbor is working to set up a meeting between Consumers representatives and a
group of residents. They feel they may have more strength of voice and gain
more respect as a group than they have had as individuals. Their concerns are logical—to
get Consumers to be reasonable about which trees are affected, and whether they
can be trimmed as opposed to clear cut.
Time will
tell if Consumers actually considers the interests of their customers. As a
public utility, they are a monopoly allowed by law. But they are regulated by
the Michigan Public Service Commission. Other residents in the Tri-Cities who
have similar issues with Consumers Energy may want to file a complaint with the
MPSC, which can be done online” http://www.michigan.gov/mpsc
UPDATE: As of September 10 neighbors informed me that Consumers met with the group of them and determined they could remove and re-route power lines behind their row of homes. So they can take out the poles and lines at no cost to the neighbors. And they will not need to cut down any trees.
UPDATE: As of September 10 neighbors informed me that Consumers met with the group of them and determined they could remove and re-route power lines behind their row of homes. So they can take out the poles and lines at no cost to the neighbors. And they will not need to cut down any trees.
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