According to the American Society of Consulting Arborists (www.asca-consultants.org), “there is no higher authority in the arboricultural profession—nor a more objective voice—than a Registered Consulting Arborist® (RCA) on matters involving the health, legal, environmental and aesthetic considerations of trees. RCA’s are routinely called upon for expert testimony, damage assessment and appraisal, municipal and commercial landscape planning and development, tree preservation, hazard assessment and other situations requiring the utmost expertise and professionalism.”
Some examples of tree and landscape issues requiring professional consultation and remediation:
1. A potential buyer is interested in a building lot that is either wooded or has large mature, desirable trees. Before buying, the interested party needs answers to the following questions: Can I build the type of house I want, where I want it on the lot without destroying all or most of the trees either directly during the construction process or indirectly from residual construction damage? If the answer to the above question is no, then what type of house can I build and where should it be located to minimize immediate and future tree loss? Where should utilities, access routes, outdoor living areas, etc. be located to take advantage of existing and desirable site characteristics with minimal damage to and loss of trees?
Professionals whose help might be needed in this situation: Real Estate, Architect, Landscape Architect, Engineer, General Contractor, Arborist, Surveyor, Excavation and Grading, etc.
2. A large, mature, healthy tree is thought to be growing on a mutual property line. The tree provides shade, wind protection, and aesthetic benefits to one neighbor. The other neighbor considers its invasive roots and falling fruits a nuisance, and would like to have more sun and less shade. One neighbor wants to keep the tree and the other neighbor wants to get rid of it or at least cut it back to something undesirable. This situation is getting out of hand; the neighbors are to the point of threatening each other. What can be done to satisfy both neighbors? Who can help? How might this situation be different if the tree was just slightly over the property line rather than on it?
Professionals whose help might be needed in this situation: Attorney (Legal), Surveyor, Arborist, Real Estate, Landscape Designer, Landscape Contractor, Appraiser, Insurance, etc.
3. A tree is suspected of being hazardous for one reason or another. The tree is located in a public area close to a structure used by people. The tree provides important shade and is prized for its aesthetic and landscape qualities. The tree is very important and it would be considered a big loss if it had to be removed. On the other hand, an unsafe tree is unacceptable and cannot be left standing in that condition. The tree must be evaluated by a professional to determine whether it is hazardous and what risks it poses. Based on such an evaluation, any necessary remedial action should be taken.
Professionals whose help might be needed in this situation: Arborist, Landscape Architect,
Landscape Contractor, Landscape Designer, Attorney (Legal), Superintendent, Property Manager, Developer, Insurance, etc.
4. Expansion of a 70 year-old building situated in an established setting is desired. Keeping the existing trees and landscape are very important to the owner and the neighborhood. The budget for the project is tight. Is the project feasible and realistic given the owner’s expectations and demands? Some trees and a part of the landscape will have to be sacrificed to complete the project; will the end result be acceptable to the owner? Can disturbed areas be designed and planted to ensure an immediate, established feel that complements the existing landscape? Can protection of trees and landscape adjacent to the project be guaranteed during construction?
Professionals whose help might be needed in this situation: Architect, Landscape Architect,
Landscape Contractor, Landscape Designer, Arborist, General Contractor, Engineer, Surveyor, Attorney (Legal), Superintendent, Property Manager, Developer, Real Estate, Insurance, etc.
5. It is necessary to install new or replace old utilities through an established neighborhood with mature, prized trees. Compare the costs / benefits of maximizing efforts to preserve the trees versus minimizing the cost of utility installation.
Professionals whose help might be needed in this situation: Landscape Architect, Landscape Contractor, Landscape Designer, Planners, Urban Forester, Arborist, Utility Contractor, Engineer, Surveyor, Attorney (Legal), Superintendent, Property Manager, Developer, Real Estate, etc.
6. A house or other valuable structure is situated in a beautiful wooded setting. The trees are large and add considerable value to the property, but many are older and some are beginning to show age related decline. The owner is becoming increasingly concerned about the potential damage a falling tree might do to property and person. What, if anything, can be done to alleviate the owner’s concern and still preserve the setting? How can value be balanced against risk in a situation like this?
Professionals whose help might be needed in this situation: Landscape Architect, Landscape Contractor, Landscape Designer, Urban Forester, Arborist, Surveyor, Superintendent, Property Manager, Developer, Real Estate, etc.
7. A builder or developer has a wooded piece of property on which they want to build a spec house or houses. What will produce more profit and a more desirable end product: stripping all the trees and vegetation off the land, regrading, building on bare soil, and then landscaping; or, carefully building amongst the existing trees and lay of the land?
Professionals whose help might be needed in this situation: Architect, Landscape Architect,
Landscape Contractor, Landscape Designer, Arborist, General Contractor, Builder, Engineer, Surveyor, Attorney (Legal), Planner, Superintendent, Property Manager, Developer, Insurance, Real Estate, etc.
8. A property owner wants to do extensive landscaping, including the construction of elaborate outdoor living areas. There are many valuable, mature trees on the property within the project area that the owner wants to preserve and work around. Is it possible to save all of the trees and achieve the owner’s objective? If so, what measures must be taken before, during, and after landscape development and construction to ensure the long-term health and survival of the trees? How much of a construction insult can a tree take and still survive over the long term? When is it better to remove a construction damaged tree than to leave it in place?
Professionals whose help might be needed in this situation: Architect, Landscape Architect,
Landscape Contractor, Landscape Designer, Arborist, General Contractor, Engineer, Surveyor, Attorney (Legal), Insurance, Real Estate, etc.
9. A historic school building, flanked by equally historic and majestic trees, is scheduled for remodeling as commercial office space. The building and the trees are synonymous to the public. The building owner makes it clear during the planning and construction phases of the project that the health and preservation of the trees is of paramount importance. The general construction contract includes clauses for protection of the trees and strict penalties if they are violated. A number of contractors working on the project use the area under some of the trees for staging materials, parking equipment, portable toilets, disposing of liquid waste products, etc. in violation of their contract agreement. The trees begin to decline before the end of construction and are dead within three years. Five trees are affected. Each tree is appraised in the mid-to-high five figures. The building owner sues the contractors involved for the replacement cost of the trees. Who, if anyone, comes out ahead in this scenario? How could such a problem be avoided in the first place?
Professionals whose help might be needed in this situation: Architect, Landscape Architect,
Landscape Contractor, Landscape Designer, Arborist, General Contractor, Engineer, Appraiser, Surveyor, Attorney (Legal), Insurance, Real Estate, etc.
10. Parks, golf courses, cemeteries, private developments, and the like, frequently have large numbers of trees that they are responsible for maintaining. Maintaining the trees in good health is important, but it can be costly. Having both short and long-term plans for tree maintenance allows for a budget to be established and a schedule to be followed. This reduces costs in the long run. A maintenance plan usually starts with a tree inventory and assessment. A proactive tree maintenance program has been shown repeatedly to be more cost effective in the long run than reactive tree maintenance.
Professionals whose help might be needed in this situation: Architect, Landscape Architect,
Landscape Contractor, Landscape Designer, Arborist, General Contractor, Engineer, Surveyor, Attorney (Legal), Planner, Superintendent, Property Manager, Developer, Insurance, Real Estate, etc.
11. A multidisciplinary team approach to resolving problematic tree and landscape issues tends to result in the best outcome. This type of approach tends to minimize prejudice, complacency, and pet solutions by isolated practitioners, and provides the ultimate decision maker (usually the owner) with the best body of information and data on which to base final decisions.
Professionals whose help might be needed in this situation: Architect, Landscape Architect,
Landscape Contractor, Landscape Designer, Arborist, Environmental Consultant, Urban Forester, General Contractor, Builder, Engineer, Surveyor, Attorney (Legal), Planner, Superintendent, Property Manager, Developer, Appraiser, Insurance, Real Estate, etc.
12. Parks, golf courses, cemeteries, private developments, and the like often contract tree care and maintenance to outside companies. These entities must provide potential bidding contractors with identical, detailed Work Specification Guidelines in order to properly compare competitive bids for their needed tree work. These guidelines should be prepared by an independent, objective consulting arborist who has no conflict of interest with regard to the eventual performance of the tree work. These guidelines establish the quality and quantity of work so that all contractors are bidding on the same scope of work. The consulting arborist works closely with the entities to prepare guidelines that meet their needs and wants.
Professionals whose help might be needed in this situation: Architect, Landscape Architect,
Landscape Contractor, Landscape Designer, Arborist, General Contractor, Attorney (Legal), Planner, Superintendent, Property Manager, Developer, Insurance, Real Estate, etc.
13. A General Building Contractor (GC) has completed a major government or commercial project that took several years, but a significant final payment is being withheld because of dead or dying landscape plants and trees. The landscape contractor who did the installation, much of it more than a year ago, has since bailed on the project and is no longer in business. The GC wants to permanently fix all problems associated with the landscape and get paid. Many plants have already been replaced during the project, some two or three times. The GC wants to know why the plants are dying before continuing to replace them. Are the plants dying due to poor landscape design, unsuitable siting or drainage, inappropriate use of species, unhealthy nursery stock, poor installation techniques, poor post-planting maintenance, soil incompatibility, bad timing of installation, bad weather, bad luck, or some combination of all these factors? A Registered Consulting Arborist®, especially one with extensive experience in the landscape contracting industry, should be able to provide the GC with answers to the above questions, although it will undoubtedly take some time to properly investigate all the possible problems. This is a situation that may well find at least partial settlement in a courtroom, so it is important to be thorough.
Professionals whose help might be needed in this situation: Architect, Landscape Architect,
Landscape Contractor, Landscape Designer, Arborist, General Contractor, Environmental
Consultant, Engineer, Surveyor, Attorney (Legal), Project Superintendent, Insurance, etc.
14. A homeowner wanting to increase the value and/or desirability of her “for sale” home hired a landscaper to cut down trees blocking her views of the beautiful mountains. 22 of the trees felled and left lying in a tangle on the ground in the forest belong to her neighbor with whom she has had a friendly relationship up to this point. The large, cut trees were straight and tall and ranged from 24″ to 32″ DBH (diameter at breast height). The neighbor was not asked for his permission to cut the trees. The neighbor now has a mess to deal with and has lost the value of the trees. He wants the mess cleaned up, replacement trees planted, and compensation for the value of the 22 lost trees. Who is responsible for this mistake – the homeowner, or the landscaper, or both? Is the neighbor in any way responsible? Who should pay for this mistake? What method should be used to appraise the value of the lost trees? What are the chances that all of the involved parties will walk away from this situation happy and satisfied with the results? How could this situation have been avoided?
Professionals whose help might be needed in this situation: Attorney (Legal), Surveyor, Arborist, Forester, Real Estate, Landscape Designer, Landscape Contractor, Appraiser, Insurance, etc.
15. A homeowner arrives home from work one afternoon and discovers that one of her adjoining neighbors hired a tree company to cut down and haul away several of her large, mature trees – only the stumps remained. The trees had provided valuable shade and privacy, were an important part of the established landscape, and added considerable value to the property. The trees are not replaceable in this homeowner’s lifetime. The homeowner is justifiably angry and distraught. She wants to be compensated for her loss, and to punish her irresponsible neighbor. She no longer wants to live in her current neighborhood; certainly not adjacent to the offending neighbor. This is a bad situation that is unfortunately fairly common. In all likelihood it will be settled through litigation or in a court of law. Somewhere along the line a consulting arborist will need to be hired to appraise the trees. This will be a complicated and difficult process because the trees no longer exist and forensic evidence will need to be used to arrive at tree values.
Professionals whose help might be needed in this situation: Attorney (Legal), Surveyor, Arborist, Real Estate, Landscape Designer, Landscape Contractor, Appraiser, Insurance, etc.
16. A local municipality wants to construct an 8’ wide asphalt walking/biking trail through a well-established neighborhood. For the most part, the new trail will not adversely affect residences or properties it transects, and will be an asset to the community. However, as planned, it will pass through the front yard and land of a 100-year-old house, 28’ from the front door; generations of the same family have occupied this house since it was built. Two, 100-year-old, healthy, 24 inch (trunk) diameter pecan trees are in the way of the trail and will be destroyed; these trees have considerable functional and sentimental value to the owner. The town has offered the property owner $1750 total compensation for the two trees and about $6500 for the land occupied by the trail; land values in the area are about $75,000 per acre. Removal estimates alone for the two trees and stumps are well over the compensatory amount offered by the town, and it is the property owner’s responsibility to remove the trees. The town is using “eminent domain” to take the land it needs for the trail. The town has been unwilling to consider the property owner’s request to relocate the trail to a more suitable location elsewhere on his property – well behind the house. The property owner does not want to lose the only two shade trees in his front yard, and does not want to live in a house with a public trail so close to his front door. His neighborhood prohibits privacy fences, so he is not even able to screen the trail from view. He is concerned the trail in the front yard will significantly drop the value of his house, and make it difficult if not impossible to sell. He feels the compensation offered by the town for the trees and land is a fraction of their true value. He has already spent thousands of dollars to no avail on attorney and appraisal fees to remedy this situation. What are his options moving forward? Who can help resolve this situation in a manner that satisfies both the property owner and the municipality?
Professionals whose help might be needed in this situation: Attorney (Legal), Surveyor, Arborist, Real Estate, Landscape Designer, Landscape Contractor, Appraiser, Insurance, etc.
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Andy White, Registered Consulting Arborist® #510, and LandArbor Consulting, LLC are uniquely qualified to assist these professionals in providing their clients with accurate and timely answers and information that will help resolve these kinds of issues. His qualifications come from a long career in the landscape and general contracting industries, national recognition as a multiple award-winning landscape designer, extensive post graduate and continuing education, and the ability to relate to and work with other professionals and consumers in the landscape and arboricultural industries.
LandArbor Consulting’s stated mission is to assist allied industry professionals and select landowners develop landscapes and resolve tree-related issues.
If you find yourself in a situation or with a case involving trees, and need to consult with a Registered Consulting Arborist® contact Andy White at LandArbor Consulting. Please share this information with other members of your company, firm, or institution.
LandArbor Consulting, LLC
49 Old Farm School Rd.
Asheville, NC 28805
828-298-3520 of
http://www.landarbor.com
consult@landarbor.com
LandArbor Consulting, LLC 