Judge extends order barring power company from cutting trees in Pittsfield Township
A Washtenaw County judge has extended a restraining order preventing a power company from continuing to cut trees along a Pittsfield Township neighborhood until a court hearing later this month.
Circuit Judge Donald Shelton signed a second emergency injunction barring ITC Holdings Corp. from cutting trees along Beech Drive just hours after crews began trimming arborvitaes this morning. The order extends a prior injunction signed by Circuit Judge Melinda Morris late last week and now includes the entire street, and not just the eight homeowners who filed a lawsuit.
Work crews waited for an agreement between neighbors and the electric company.
Angela Cesere | AnnArbor.com
Morris, who was unavailable to address the matter because of the President’s Day holiday, had previously scheduled a hearing for Feb. 24.
Residents climbed into the trees this morning to prevent crews from cutting.
“They just starting showing up with an army of trucks and took some down before I could get in,” Joel Mewton said by his cell phone while sitting in one the trees lining his property just before 9 a.m.
It was unclear how many trees were cut before crews received word of Shelton’s order.
ITC spokesman Joe Kirik said the crews were out and performing their scheduled maintenance duties on the properties not included in the court order until Shelton reached the company by telephone
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.
“The judge extended the order to the cover the street and the next step will be the hearing,” Kirik said. “But we feel that given it’s our easement, we have full right to trim or to cut.”
Pittsfield Township police officers were called to the neighborhood and remained on scene until the crews left late this morning, Township Supervisor Mandy Grewal said. She said she was surprised to receive calls from distressed neighbors and went to the scene to assist.
“We’re talking about a loophole. They were using a strict interpretation of the ruling,” said Grewal, who was active in negotiations with the company to delay cutting on two previous occasions.
“It’s a very aggressive stance for them to be taking with a community that has worked cooperatively with them to find an amicable solution for both sides.”
Art Aisner is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.
Comments
fos24
Sat, Feb 20, 2010 : 3:02 p.m.
I can appreciate where both sides stand. The utility companies have a job to do and decisions they make need to bear in mind not just the safety of the community and potential for risk to their equipment, but how cost effective their practices are as well. They can't afford to go back every couple of years to trim the same tree over and over. Be that as it may, people buy their homes, move into certain communities, and create a certain environment around their home and yard that affords them a feeling of comfort and makes that place they go every day after work feel like home. It can only be expected that they would rise up to fight changes to their environment. Both sides having a case, this isn't the only situation where people are complaining about trees being cut down to save power lines. Where the power companies may be within their rights, the people are clearly not happy with liberties the companies have been given to remove trees. It doesn't make the people right to protest, but if they are that unhappy with the law, this may not be just a question of who's right or wrong, but rather a situation where both sides need to take the time to sit down and find something as close to a happy medium as possible.
MJSteklac
Thu, Feb 18, 2010 : 10:37 a.m.
@TheGerman The homeowners own the property where the trees are located, but ITC has the easement. ITC has the right to do anything it needs to do within the easement to maintain its utility lines. If a property owner places a fence, shed, trees, etc. on the utility easement, the utility has the right to remove those "obstructions" and to not repair or replace them or compensate the property owner for their removal and/or destruction. The blackout of 2003 was started by high-voltage power lines that came into contact with trees within the utility easement. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has mandated that ITC and other electric transmission companies do whatever is necessary to prevent power outages on their system including removal of trees. These same issues came up in the late 1990s when severe storms went through SE Michigan and it took Detroit Edison weeks to restore power. Many of the power outages were the result of power lines being brought down by trees. Following a dressing down by the Michigan Public Service Commission, Detroit Edison went on an aggressive tree trimming campaign. I dealt with many resident complaints when the crews came through the community where I was employed at the time. In some communities, politicians ordered their police officers to arrest the tree trimming crews. In other communities, the municipality sued Detroit Edison and its tree trimming crews for their activities in the community. The utilities cover too much territory to only do superficial tree trimming which will need to be repeated after several years. In the case of Detroit Edison's tree trimming campaign and in the case of ITC's current activities, I think you will find that the law is ultimately in on the side of the utility company.
Basic Bob
Wed, Feb 17, 2010 : 6:22 a.m.
With the high voltage in these transmission lines, an electrical arc can develop between the lines and the trees. This is an obviously bad situation that can be prevented by removing trees underneath the lines. The trees may only be 15 feet high, but they encroach on the safe space which ITC must maintain. There should be nothing but grass under the lines, no trees, no fences, no utility sheds. Sadly, this will expose the back yards of this entire neighborhood directly to the street.
David Cahill
Tue, Feb 16, 2010 : 11:10 a.m.
It is a Really Bad Idea for a company to play fast and loose with a judge's orders like this. The company will probably find out just how bad at the February 24 hearing.
tracyann
Tue, Feb 16, 2010 : 9:28 a.m.
Are they just trimming the trees or cutting them down completely? Either way, it doesn't appear as if the trees are tall enough to be a problem.
lg
Tue, Feb 16, 2010 : 8:39 a.m.
The home owners own the land pay taxes and maintain it. the easement only gives them the right to use it for maintenence purposes, It also states they have to repair any damage they cause as its NOT their property. They a allowed to cut or trim any tree the can fall on to these lines. obviously trees that only grow to 12-14 feet cant reach a power line thats 40 feet in the air. Common sence is all the residents ask to bad they don't have any.
Duane Collicott
Tue, Feb 16, 2010 : 8 a.m.
"What gives them the right to cut down trees on private land?" An easement.
tdw
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 7:11 p.m.
Maybe if they cut those trees people will be able to go really,really fast on snowmobiles like up north
jd
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 6:29 p.m.
If you notice, in comments left on previous articles related to this story: it's an easement area - they have rights to be there (read carefully when you buy, people); power companies are required to aggressively cut/trim to avoid issues similar to what caused the big 2003 blackout; and power lines can sag substantially in hot weather - so they might not look close now, but better safe than sorry. You do like your heat, lights, TV, etc - right?
Susan Carver
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 5:22 p.m.
Utility companies are tyrannical. What gives them the right to cut down trees on private land? The Fourth Amendment needs to be extended to include companies like these.
treetowncartel
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 5:08 p.m.
Interesting that they picked a day when the courts are closed to pull this stunt. I am sure Shelton was more than willing to sign that Order based on that fact alone.
TheGerman
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 2:20 p.m.
I have a question about this situation: Who actually owns the land that the trees are on? Reason I ask is because at my house, we planted trees on the easement behind the house as well, and we were told that if the utility company ever needed to, they could cut them down without warning, since it is their land.
tdw
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 2:10 p.m.
Just a small bit of info here, but those power lines are off of Helen, in the back yards of people living on Beech
SemperFi
Mon, Feb 15, 2010 : 1:57 p.m.
So, ITC tried to pull a fast one, by getting their crews to do the dirty work before the hearing on Feb 24. It's unfortunate that they are so narrow minded about their stated goal of protecting the power lines. There's got to be a better way.