[BNBR]

Originally Posted by Arcenal352

I've practically cleared my backyard except for the extreme perimeter boarding the fence. Never had any issues. My uncle cleared a solid 5 acres of land on his property. Similarly, no issues. I do have two huge oak trees in my front yard that I hate. A permit is required for those. But no one blinked an eye at my backyard. And yes, they apparently do watch the property, as I received a notification when a fence panel was down

You mean the decaying oak trees that could fall over any minute and need to be removed immediately for safety reasons?

[ByeByeLW]

Please check for bird/wildlife nests no matter what you do!!

[Meemur]

Originally Posted by eliPM

My condo has gone ahead and started cutting big tree down to the ground. can they do this?

Off the top of my head: yes, they can do that. But you can google your city website and give the main switchboard a call. They will refer you to the proper department where you can check for yourself.

[Meemur]

Originally Posted by BNBR

You mean the decaying oak trees that could fall over any minute and need to be removed immediately for safety reasons?

When in doubt, check with the city, first. You can google their website for the phone number and call them.

I was once tasked with cutting back all of the overgrown bushes and such on a relative's home in FL. When I called and gave them the address, the lady told me, "I know that house. It's an eyesore. Cut it all out!"

And I did.

[BNBR]

Whatever you do, do NOT call the city first. You don't want to be on their radar. What if they say "no"? Now what?

It's your tree, cut it down if you want on a weekend. If the city ends up saying anything, which they probably won't, claim it got hit by lightning or was decaying and dangerous... the tree is gone, they can't prove anything at that point.

I used to be all for permits - until an inspector came to my business because I did the right thing and permitted something. What did he do? Goes nuts, threatens to close me down over a half wall that was there when I took over and had no idea. Now I'm in about $4,000 getting new drawings, permits, etc. etc. All because I did the right thing and got a permit for another item. He literally threatened to close me down. Who the heck would get permits for anything when this is the result of doing so?

Big addition to your house, of course, get permits, but for minor stuff, keep the city as far away as possible.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by BNBR

Whatever you do, do NOT call the city first. You don't want to be on their radar. What if they say "no"? Now what?

It's your tree, cut it down if you want on a weekend. If the city ends up saying anything, which they probably won't, claim it got hit by lightning or was decaying and dangerous... the tree is gone, they can't prove anything at that point.

I used to be all for permits - until an inspector came to my business because I did the right thing and permitted something. What did he do? Goes nuts, threatens to close me down over a half wall that was there when I took over and had no idea. Now I'm in about $4,000 getting new drawings, permits, etc. etc. All because I did the right thing and got a permit for another item. He literally threatened to close me down. Who the heck would get permits for anything when this is the result of doing so?

Big addition to your house, of course, get permits, but for minor stuff, keep the city as far away as possible.

Precisely. I've keep my mouth shut and cut down some 20 trees or so in my back yard without asking. The worst that can happen would be a fine. No one has ever said anything. The large old I'm more wary about because the city likes to keep those for aesthetic reasons.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Arcenal352

Precisely. I've keep my mouth shut and cut down some 20 trees or so in my back yard without asking. The worst that can happen would be a fine. No one has ever said anything. The large old I'm more wary about because the city likes to keep those for aesthetic reasons.

Thank you for contributing to the urban heat island and making our cities less livable by removing trees.

[kokonutty]

Originally Posted by Arcenal352

Precisely. I've keep my mouth shut and cut down some 20 trees or so in my back yard without asking. The worst that can happen would be a fine. No one has ever said anything. The large old I'm more wary about because the city likes to keep those for aesthetic reasons.

Why cut down trees? I've never seen a real estate ad touting "barren landscape" but have seen plenty bragging about tree-lined streets.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

Thank you for contributing to the urban heat island and making our cities less livable by removing trees.

It was overgrowth. As I clearly stated, the old oaks are still there. I don't live in an urban area. That said, i like to be able to use my back yard. Trees here grow from ground up to 20' in a year. If you don't cut them, your yard is unusable.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by kokonutty

Why cut down trees? I've never seen a real estate ad touting "barren landscape" but have seen plenty bragging about tree-lined streets.

Did you read my posts? I clearly stated that I cut trees in my FENCED BACK YARD. The oaks in the front remain. I cut what made the back yard unusable. I'm in Florida. We get uncontrollable growth if not maintained.