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JCC Resident Fined for Tree CuttingBy Desiree Parker Saturday, September 17, 2011
County resident Linda Schaller's new view.
Senior Watershed Planner Mike Woolson went to the property, owned by Linda Schaller, in February after an anonymous tip alerted staff to the violations, he told the James City County Board of Supervisors at their meeting Tuesday. He explained to Schaller why she could not remove vegetation from a Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area on three separate properties without prior consent. When he left the meeting, he said she had stopped the work. In April, staff heard that work had been completed on the property. According to the staff memo about the violation, "The degree of noncompliance has been deemed major due to the deliberate act of removing large mature canopy trees and valuable buffer for the purpose of gaining a water view of the James River and the presence of two conservation easements." The penalty includes a fine of $13,000 and an agreement to replant about $10,000 worth of small trees and shrubs to replace those that were destroyed. Schaller, a retiree, told WYDaily she only removed three trees and one dead tree, and that the view already existed at her home when she purchased it in 2009. Staff notes in the memo said that aside from the three mature trees and one dead tree, understory vegetation was also removed. Schaller said one tree was on the property line between her property and her neighbors, not actually on the neighbor's property. Also, she said, "The only reason I took them down was because other people in Governor's Land told me they take down a tree or two a year. "I didn't think it was that big a deal," Schaller said, adding that she "thought it was like a traffic violation, I didn't know it was so serious." When people from the county came to her property in February, Schaller recalled, they did tell her she needed a permit to clear the trees. When asked if she stopped the work when she heard from staff and then restarted it later, Schaller said, "Stop work? There was no work, it wasn't like I was clearing." She argued "Anyone can see that there was no clearing, there are just one or two stumps [visible] there." In April, Schaller said, she recalled having a conversation again with staff, and her understanding was that the county was going to adjust the fine and that the previous staff report had been wrong. She did not go to the board meeting Tuesday due to health concerns, she said. Staff had originally planned to fine Schaller for four violations, because the county easement is also on property that is a Governor’s Land common area, but the county reconsidered and decided not to issue two violations for the same property. The hearing date before the board was moved from earlier in the summer to Tuesday due to this alteration in the number of violations. The James City County Board of Supervisors pulled the fine for discussion before approving it Tuesday evening, and the violation caused them to ask for a work session to discuss increasing the penalty for flagrant violations such as Schaller’s. Board member Jim Kennedy noted that Schaller got a “million-dollar view” and her penalty compared to the new view of the water was likely considered “a pretty good trade-off.” Kennedy said he was unhappy with her actions, which he called “deliberate in nature.” He also asked staff to look into how many similar violations have occurred in the same neighborhood over the years, because he recalled a similar instance in the area in 2007. Development Manager Steven Hicks told WYDaily later in the week that there have been six civil charges for Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area violations in Governor's Land, and the first violation recorded in the county database was in 1996. Supervisor Jim Icenhour asked if the county could request that the General Assembly increase the maximum allowable fines for these types of violations, because currently someone “can buy a very nice view for a very cheap price.” This will also be discussed at an upcoming work session. Schaller purchased her nearly 5,000-square-foot home in 2009 for just over $1.2 million, according to county records. |
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Comments
All this nonsense over four lousy trees. Fine her $100 per tree and let it go at that.
As ridiculous is that is, she certainly didn't buy County property or her neighbor’s property that had the SAME violation. So if you are going to persecute this woman and not the original owner that did the work, don’t you also have to go after the neighbor and yourself for someone else’s violation on their property? If the original owner cleared this area before she purchased the lot, how would you know where the RPA begins and ends? Is it so unbelievable that a new owner could think that was outside of the RPA and remove a couple more trees? If you are going to enforce the RPA to this extent then MARK IT! $13,000 and having to re-plant an entire area, that someone else cleared, sounds pretty ridiculous to me. Especially if her only offence was removing a couple trees – dying trees at that. Way to go JCC, lets pick on all of the affluent retirees in Williamsburg, it’s not like they do any good here or make up a large % of our population (sarcasm: for those that don’t know what it is look it up!).
But I guess it is yours, and you can do with it as you please. Who cares about the rest of the humans.
If so, this is another reason to shut down W&M, a waste of taxpayers' money.
The people have allowed more rules, regulations, and laws to consume the people and we have 'NO' rights any more -
The sucky law makers let the Rainforest be destroyed and the climate is still trying to absorb that stupidity and greed- Big business can do as they please and clear millions of acres with no charge - So when are you going to start standing up for your selves- OR is it already too late - It's all about 'Control and taking your money in America Or putting your neck into a noose for offering resistance to multiple stupid laws and acts of tyranny and aggression forced upon everyone that can't defend themselves or their properties - To live on your own property 75 yards from the river bank and be commanded not to look at the river is a true instance of one's lack of 'rights' and proves every day that one has to pay dearly for any liberty to the one's that stole the land to begin with and now repeatedly charge over and over for the same thing -- Stand-Up Americans or lay down and be tread upon until your broke and homeless - It's the other guy now but your turn is coming up-
Vegetation and undergrowth help filter the runoff into the river and ultimately the bay. It ultimately helps protect a beautiful natural resource and all the marine and wildlife dependent on it.
I can understand her frustration and her feeling that the property is her own, but she bought it with these restrictions in place. And she compounded her error when she ventured into her neighbor's yard and the county's easement.