Pittsfield Township homeowners block power company's attempts to cut trees today
Work crews wait for an agreement between neighbors and the electric company on the status of the trees under power lines.
Angela Cesere | AnnArbor.com
Residents of Beech Drive in Pittsfield Township took to the trees this morning as crews from a power company began cutting down arborvitaes along their property, despite a court order.
“They just starting showing up with an army of trucks and took some down before I could get in,” Joel Mewton said by cell phone while sitting in one the trees lining his property just before 9 a.m. “They’re actually cutting right now.”
Mewton and seven other homeowners filed an emergency injunction in court last week to prevent ITC Holdings Corp. from cutting dozens of the trees that have been there for nearly 25 years.
Washtenaw Circuit Judge Melinda Morris signed the restraining order last Thursday and scheduled a hearing on Feb. 24. Cutting was not to occur until at least then, the order states.
A few trees were cut down early this morning prior to the work being stopped.
Angela Cesere | AnnArbor.com
ITC officials said last week they would abide by the court ruling.
Spokesman Joe Kirik said this morning that the crews were out and performing their scheduled maintenance duties on the properties not included in the court order.
The Novi-based company, which acquired the right-of-way containing the trees from DTE in 2000, is required to remove trees in the area under and 10 feet outside power lines, he said.
“Our legal department reviewed the order, and we’re confident that we have the right to exercise our rights on the easement,” he said.
Mewton said he tried to speak to an ITC employee and offered to show a copy of the court order, but they ignored him. He said another resident parked a car in the middle of the street to prevent trucks from continuing down the street, and one truck drove on a lawn to get around it.
He said he and handful of other residents will remain outside until the crews leave. The residents called 911, and Pittsfield Township police were reportedly on their way to the neighborhood.
As for the residents standing in the trees or trying to prevent ITC workers from doing their jobs, Kirik said the company is evaluating the situation.
Art Aisner is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.
Comments
Richard
Tue, Feb 16, 2010 : 1:10 p.m.
Excuse me, it is AnnArbor.com that shuns objectivity.
Richard
Tue, Feb 16, 2010 : 1:08 p.m.
First, I'd like to apologize for name calling...Second, i'd like to point out that Action Jackson referred to the Company personnel as "idiots", yet that post is still up. i can see that the paper is not very objective where this story is concerned.
lg
Tue, Feb 16, 2010 : 8:16 a.m.
Mr. action jackson those trees were put there because the builder was required to put them there and for the last 28 years the residents have been required to maintain them. I for 1 had to replace some because they died or else the township was going to do it and send me a bill. I have a copy of the mandate filed with the county. If ITC cuts them I could potentially have to replace them. I don't think that would happen but I didn't think any one would every cut them either.
Rork Kuick
Tue, Feb 16, 2010 : 8:14 a.m.
I'd like coverage on the larger question of what the management strategy on the power lines is. What is actually being achieved in many places is a perfect storm of invasive alien plants. I'm accusing ITC of being a very poor steward of that land. Consider partnering with the local neighbors perhaps. (Bias: I have about a 100 yard border on a power line.)
Anonymous Due to Bigotry
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 6:29 p.m.
If the crews were within their rights then why weren't THEY the ones to call the cops at the first sign of trouble? Those guys are idiots and the company needs to review its procedures. On a related note, that neighborhood is the most multi-ethnic neighborhood that I've seen in the area. You have caucasian, hispanic, asian, black, and middle-eastern people living right next to each other on properties mixed together like different colored tiles on a tile floor pattern. My guess is that the average white person in an enlightened white Ann Arbor neighborhood would be too afraid to live there.
actionjackson
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 4:36 p.m.
Never ever plant any sort of tree within the easement of any power lines. This is just plain common sense! A little foresight would have had the homeowners planting trees on their own properties and none of this bad bad corporation issue would never have become an issue in the first place. Not good to drive trucks on private property ITC.
lg
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 2:05 p.m.
Its bothersome that some people are so out of touch with reality. if your remember the investigation of the 2003 blackout. it was found that the tranmission line owners were at fault they didn't properly train employees ignored alarms didn't communicate problems and actually shut down a server that controlled the system. They were sited for no less than 14 major violations. There was a tree that triggered a ground fault which is supposed happen. The tree was 4-6 feet taller than the line obiously had been there a while. I have a photo of it. There were others found on the easement that were 60 feet tall. What happen when they got the ground fault they reset it! how smart was that. they have redundant lines they are supposed to reroute around the problem until they KNOW what the problem is. I have researched the trees in question. They are emerald green arborvitae they are considered slow growing and can reach only 12-14 feet tall. thats 46 feet shorter than the trees in 2003, and get no taller. Thats shorter than the ITC truck in the picture. Bottom line if you have an ingrown toe nail do you amputate the foot. Also site plan filed with the county for that row of houses required those trees to be there. And that future home owners maintain them. and replace any that die. I guess ITC feels they are above the law and the Judge in this case and by the way trees were cut that were actually listed on the court order what's Mr. Kirks response to that. He must of known more than the judge.
lg
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 1:42 p.m.
Its bothersome that some people are so out of touch with reality. if your remember the investigation of the 2003 blackout. it was found that the tranmission line owners were at fault they didn't properly train employees ignored alarms didn't communicate problems and actually shut down a server that controlled the system. They were sited for no less than 14 major violations. There was a tree that triggered a ground fault which is supposed happen the tree was 4-6 feet taller than the line obiously had been there a while. There were others found on the easement that were 60 feet tall. What happen when they got the ground fault they reset it! how smart was that. they have redundant lines they are supposed to reroute around the problem until they KNOW what the problem is. I researched the trees in question. They are emerald green arborvitae they are considered slow growing and can reach only 12-14 feet tall. thats 46 feet shorter than the trees in 2003, and can get no taller. Thats shorter than the ITC truck in the picture. Bottom line if you have an ingrown toe nail do you amputate the foot.
TheWhistler
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 12:58 p.m.
Of course, if power lines were burried underground this wouldn't be an issue.
poolhopper
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 12:49 p.m.
Dear Judge: Your Honor. The Attorneys at ITC have blatantly thumbed their noses at you in open public, and now the entire County is watching. ITC attorneys have ordered their Corporate employees to ignore Your Honor, and Your Honor's paperwork and power. And now it is being reported ITC Corporate employees are driving heavy trucks on the neighbors lawns- private property that is not owned by ITC, to blatantly do whatever they want, when they want, and how they want. We can't have large Corporation Employees driving heavy trucks across people's front yards. What happens if they do this in fits of rage and ignorance, and run over small children playing in their own front yards? Any reasonable and rational person would certainly say "We just can't have this type of behavior in our community". Now it's not about "just trees". Now it's all about a group of very comfortable corporate attorneys in a large corporation that feel they don't need to be bothered with the local legal system, legal paperwork that is generated in the legal system or the pipsqueek Judges that preside over any ITC cases that might come before them. Here is an interesting idea for your consideration to get the large corporation's attention on a more permanent basis. How about immediately ordering all the Corporate Attorneys that met in front of you when you issued the original restraining order, order them back to your chambers, find the ITC Attorneys in contempt of court, and send all the ITC Corporate Attorneys to jail until the 24th so they can have plenty of quiet time to think twice about ever thumbing their noses at you and ignoring the Court, or for that matter, any court. While they are in jail with plenty of time to think about this matter, envisioning them coming up with many positive ways to make this situation right with The Court and all the citizens of the County that are now watching this case with great interest. The matter might even be quickly settled out of court to Your Honor's liking, and not take up any more valuable time of the Court. If so, they could then all go home early.
Macabre Sunset
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 12:38 p.m.
We can tell from the chosen photos whose side the "reporter" supports. I wonder what the real story is.
YpsiLivin
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 12:30 p.m.
So everyone says that the trees are nowhere near the wires, right? My question is this: what happens when one of the wires falls and lights up the trees below? Do the trees NOW count as a significant hazard? Remove them. They should never have been planted in the right-of-way in the first place.
jd
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 11:19 a.m.
I'm always tempted to ask people like Mewton which they like better - their trees or their heat, TV, dishwasher, lights, etc. I doubt that ITC would violate a court order - it sounds like they're doing maintenance work outside of the realm of the restraining order. And I'm sure it would have been better PR to wait until the end of the order, but it's not like these companies wake up each day and decide where to cut trees - these crews are probably scheduled well in advance. By causing delays in the work, these residents are passing along the costs of idle crews to all of the rate payers.
GA
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 10:56 a.m.
Since the blackout of 2003 (that was caused by a tree south of Cleveland shorting out a high voltage transmission line) strict new reliability standards have been implemented governing the electric grid. Those rules include keeping vegatation clear of HV transmission lines. The Arborvitae look quite tall in the photo, ITC probably has no choice but to cut them down if they are in the right of way. The homeowners may be better served spending money moving the trees rather than fighting ITC in court. Even so, not good PR for ITC.
krc
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 10:42 a.m.
Ridiculous! Those 'trees' are nowhere near the power lines. If it took 25 years for them to get that tall, then how can they be considered fast-growing? Maybe in another ten years they would become a threat. So boo to you, ITC.
treetowncartel
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 10:26 a.m.
Probably not the best PR move on the part of ITC. They should have just let the injunction hearing run its course, which they will most likely prevail at.