So now MoCo has a "Tree Tax"

[psucobra96]

"poop tax," "Rain Tax," "Bag Tax," and now a

"Tree Tax"

http://www.gazette.net/article/2013...ty-Council-passes-tree-bills&template=gazette


This county and state just cannot find enough crap to get their hands into and now they want to get into people's private property. I only figured this out after reading a comment in today's gazette about this insane law. If you need a sediment control permit (build a pool) or move 100 cubic feet of dirt then you would be subject to the law.

Edit: I read that the new law does not go into effect until March 1, 2014. I have several trees that will be coming down before that. TIMMMBEEERRRRR!!

 

[Norton]

$750? On top of the outrageous cost to remove the original tree?

Good luck with that.

I'd plant three white pine saplings and call it a day. If they didn't survive because of some malady, well, then that's just Mother Gaia's will.

The law of unintended consequences is going to cause a lot of trees to come down between now and the law's implementation.

 

[silver78]

But when you plant the required new trees you can't buy regular fertilizer to feed it because MOM and the other libs have banned most fertilizers that contain phosphorous. The new rules are effective 10/1/13 but many MD stores have already removed fertilizers that contain phosphorous from their shelves.

http://mda.maryland.gov/resource_conservation/Documents/fertilizerwebpage.pdf

 

[pwoolford]

Wow that county is F'D up! Hard to call our land "private" anymore!

 

[rob]

The law of unintended consequences is going to cause a lot of trees to come down between now and the law's implementation.

I doubt it. Almost no one will even know about the law until the call a tree removal service to get some nasty looking tree removed.

More likely consequence is that people will leave a dangerous tree because they can't afford to pay the tax.

Just my $.02

Rob

 

[Don H]

"Only trees that pose a danger would be exempt from the permit fee and the requirement to replace it"

Every tree is a danger

 

[joppaj]

Wow...

 

[engineerbrian]

"tree tax"...just added to my list of reasons to get out of this state

 

[Doctor_M]

Next step... exhale tax to minimize CO2 emissions. Hold your breath 30 seconds every other min to get the tax credit.

This stuff would be hilarious if it weren't true.

 

[ofofhy]

Just so people are clear on what this bill applies to, it is only for "roadside trees" that are on the county's right of way. It does not apply in general to all trees on your property.

http://mocoalliance.org/wp-content/upload/Fact-sheet-on-Street-tree-bill-41-12.pdf

http://www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/pdf/bill/2012/Packets/20121211_10A.pdf

It's not unusual for a city or a county to require permits to work on trees that are directly on a street. I was a certified city Tree Tender in Philly, and I could legally trim roadside trees without a permit so long as I didn't use power tools or lifts of any kind. If you wanted to have a street tree removed, you had to get a permit. In the case of Philly, the city took care of replacing the tree one-for-one. Note in the guidance linked above, the country forestry department is supposed to replace the trees at their discretion, but due to budget/staffing shortages, it is not being done. So, this is a measure to make up for govt shortfalls.

The permit is not too onerous in this case, but the three-for-one at the cost of the homeowner is rather intrusive.

 

[MikeTF]

A 'rock tax' will be the next new tax.

Sent from my smartphone using Tappatalk 2.

 

[Skins_Brew]

You know, Pepco takes quite a bit of heat when the lights go out after a major storm, but you know what, with all the BS that they have to deal in regards to MoCo and the trees, I don't fault them:

Liberal: WE MUST SAVE THE MOTHER CANOPY! IT IS THE LIFE FORCE OF OUR COUNTY! IT'S SOUL CANNOT BE TRIMMED!

Liberal w/ no electricity (after a major storm): OMFG PEPCO! TRIM SOME DAMN TREES ALREADY!!

Seriously, **** these people.

 

[pbharvey]

The county will use the money in the fund to plant trees in areas where it has very few trees, like its urban districts.

That makes perfect sense.

 

[Miss Lead]

A 'rock tax' will be the next new tax.

Sent from my smartphone using Tappatalk 2.

If the tax were applied to all of those in the GA and the current administration the State coffers would be bulging. From the rocks in O'Malley's head alone.

What will the liberals do if a street tree falls on a busload of children....

 

[Mr H]

Does this include the really tall trees, cleverly disguised as cell towers??

 

[huesmann]

Just so people are clear on what this bill applies to, it is only for "roadside trees" that are on the county's right of way. It does not apply in general to all trees on your property.

http://mocoalliance.org/wp-content/upload/Fact-sheet-on-Street-tree-bill-41-12.pdf

http://www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/pdf/bill/2012/Packets/20121211_10A.pdf

It's not unusual for a city or a county to require permits to work on trees that are directly on a street. I was a certified city Tree Tender in Philly, and I could legally trim roadside trees without a permit so long as I didn't use power tools or lifts of any kind. If you wanted to have a street tree removed, you had to get a permit. In the case of Philly, the city took care of replacing the tree one-for-one. Note in the guidance linked above, the country forestry department is supposed to replace the trees at their discretion, but due to budget/staffing shortages, it is not being done. So, this is a measure to make up for govt shortfalls.

The permit is not too onerous in this case, but the three-for-one at the cost of the homeowner is rather intrusive.

Furthermore, the law doesn't affect utilities, like Pepco. So if there's a tree on county right-of-way that needs to be removed because it's interfering the utility lines and could be a hazard in the event it came down in a storm, the utility can remove the tree without being subject to the "tax". So if you have a tree on public R/W that is dead or diseased, just contact Pepco and tell them its condition and suggest they come remove it so it doesn't fsck up their utility lines. Believe me, with all the bad press Pepco has been getting for post-storm outages, they'll be happy to send a crew out to remove the tree.

 

[RightD]

"Only trees that pose a danger would be exempt from the permit fee and the requirement to replace it"

Every tree is a danger

Only the Police and the Military should be able to have trees...

 

[Mr H]

If a tree falls in MoCo, and there's no one there to tax it, does it still kill puppies and butterflies?

 

[Yme]

i can't seem to open the documents on my phone and am rather new to MD. What is defined as roadside tree?? is it within 5 feet from the roads?

 

[Indiana Jones]

Does the government not remember that a war broke out because of this exact kind of shit? People need to be more outraged over this kinda shit. I want to see mass disobedience. **** these assholes.