Re: Power company right of way?

Chris,

A few years ago I read that a property owner was successful in negotiating with
the utility when they wanted to clear a right of way.  What the property owner
did was hire their own contractor and supervised the work to meet the
requirements of the the utility company.  Then the utility company re-imbursed
the property owner for the costs.  I do not believe you can fight the right of
way 100% but you can control what is done.  Now this was for a major new project
out in a semi-rural area.

Here in the city, I just refuse to let them in my yard (it is locked) and do my
own pruning (via a reputable tree service).  The utility people have never come
back and asked me to unlock the gates.

If they are going to really destroy the appearance of the tree, you can ask them
to just take it down.  But, when I asked them to come take one down that was
near a power line, I was told I had to wait for them to make their normal rounds
in a few years.  My brother apparently said the right words when he called to
have them take one down, because they did it for him as a special trip.

I have also noticed over the years that there are two different trimming crews
that move through the area - perhaps one is for the electric and one is for the
telephone?

I was told that they only will clear along the main lines (across the back of my
lot) and that the lines going to the houses are the property owners
responsibility.  I have a very large maple and the limbs were mixed into the
lines going to the house, I was fortunate that my tree service would trim them
for me.  I know of a man who's tree mixed into the lines near a "main" and no
tree service would touch it.

Perhaps you can contact a real estate attorney to find out what your rights are?

Just some thoughts - I know that if they get into a yard and start wacking on
their own it is heart breaking to see what they do.  Good Luck.

--
Debby Williams
Author of Fruit and Urban Kitchen Gardening e-zines at:
http://wz.com/homegarden/GardensPlants.html
Regional Advisor at http://www.thevegetablepatch.com/
Oakland County, Michigan USA;USDA Hardiness Zones 5b/6a


>
> Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2001 14:42:36 -0600
> From: "Christopher P. Lindsey" <lindsey@mallorn.com>
> Subject: Power company right of way?
>
> Is anyone aware of any resolutions dealing with utility company
> rights-of-way?  Our power company is seeking to limit the height of all
> trees within 80' of power lines to 40', and all trees within 15' would
> be limited to 20' in height.  That would do away with about 30 firs,
> spruces, hemlocks, and pines that I have in my yard, not to mention a
> century-old oak tree.
>
>    http://www.news-gazette.com/story.cfm?Number=8785
>
> The local citizenry is up in arms (and rightfully so) about these
> developments, but I was hoping that someone out there has had experience
> with this type of thing that they'd be willing to share.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Chris

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