Neighbors block power restoration by refusing to allow tree trimming.

[Liberal In Texas]

25000 still without power in North Texas as of last night. But:

From an Oncor (the power company) Twitter: "Restoration work stopped in 2 neighborhoods as homeowners refused 2 let crews clear tree limbs from the line. Crews had 2 move 2 next outage. Please understand, your decision to refuse tree trimming is preventing others from having their power restored."

From DMN: "...the homeowner in North Dallas is without power, but does not want his tree trimmed. Oncor says that is preventing the rest of the neighborhood from also being restored. In Arlington...the homeowner did have power but parked his car beneath the tree to prevent the trimming and restoration for others in his neighborhood. ...the Sheriff had to be called out near Sherman last week when an uncooperative homeowner pulled a gun on trimmers trying to prune a tree so that an Oncor crew could pick up a downed power line."

What self-centered idiots.

http://weatherblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/02/oncor-says-power-struggle-over-tree-trim.html

[babylonsister]

1. Sickening, and yes, selfish. I hope the neighbors understand what's

going on. Maybe they can talk some reason into these people.

[Lasher]

2. Throw a couple of them in jail, that's the best way to reason with these selfish bastards.

If this interference isn't illegal it should be.

[CBR]

3. WTF? People never cease to amaze me. nt

[TheCowsCameHome]

4. Just when you thought you'd seen it all.

"...the Sheriff had to be called out near Sherman last week when an uncooperative homeowner pulled a gun on trimmers trying to prune a tree"

[DBoon]

23. Someone pulls a gun on law enforcement and isn't immediately blow away?

Of course that is Texas.

In LA, someone pointing a gun at a cop is stone cold dead. immediately.

[The_Commonist]

24. I don't think that "trimmers trying to prune a tree..."

...are law enforcement officers.

[w8liftinglady]

5. I knew it was Texas before I even clicked on this-my "neighbors"

a bunch of self-serving right wing bastards.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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[spotbird]

8. Took the words out of my mouth

This is why God invented the easement.

[Cirque du So-What]

12. Hope it doesn't end up in front of the Supreme Court

Remember how the conservatroids marched in lockstep to remove the right of eminent domain to the city of New London, CT? Impeach their ignorant, reactionary asses!

[baldguy]

13. Simple solution: no easement, no power.

If the asshole in the OP thinks his trees are more important than his neighbors, then he can freeze the rest of the winter - and he'll roast in the summer too.

[wolfgangmo]

32. that's not bad.

If I was the power company I would get permission to run a bypass and run the power right around their house so to speak. And just for fun, make all the power lines end at their house and then pound emergency power strike lines into the ground all around their house. That out of make bathtime a little more fun.

[Obamanaut]

14. But what does New London think of eminent domain now?

<snip>Pfizer said it would pull 1,400 jobs out of New London within two years and move most of them a few miles away to a campus it owns in Groton, Conn., as a cost-cutting measure. It would leave behind the city’s biggest office complex and an adjacent swath of barren land that was cleared of dozens of homes to make room for a hotel, stores and condominiums that were never built.

<snip>The announcement stirred up resentment and bitterness among some local residents. They see Pfizer as a corporate carpetbagger that took public money, in the form of big tax breaks, and now wants to run.


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/nyregion/13pfizer.html

[Cirque du So-What]

19. I admit not following the aftermath of that decision

but it will get cited in countless instances - many of which will have more merit than claiming eminent domain over a neighborhood in favor of commercial development. That decision may well influence other cases with far more merit, such as where the health & welfare of people are concerned.

[Raineyb]

22. THAT is a completely different situation.

In New London they wanted to declare a whole neighborhood as blighted so they can use eminent domain to move the people living there (and probably buy the land cheaper than if the had to negotiate the land in good faith) so that a private company (Pfizer) could use the land for its own private use. That is a far cry from someone trimming trees over the objection to the ass hat property owner in order to restore power to the entire neighborhood.

THIS is a bloody straw man. I don't even know why you would make such an argument.

[Obamanaut]

29. You are right, it is completely different. I was responding to a post

suggesting that eminent domain may be a good thing, that referenced New London, Conn. and the loss of the Kelo property (among others.)

Now, that loss (the direct result of eminent domain action) witnesses vacancies, lost taxes, lost tax benefits, jobs moved, weeds in yards, etc. No good there at all.

The Texas tree/power line story is completely different. This is an item quire easily taken care of with power company easements, similar to what is done in my area. The co-op trims trees regularly, they have access to all the lines that provide me with electricity - all good.

Different from eminent domain, they aren't seizing anything, not a strawman at all. I don't lose a thing when they trim the trees along the property line that divides my property from that of my neighbor (who just put in a large gate so I can have access to his pecan trees and not have to go to the front of his property.)

[Liberal In Texas]

15. Please don't use this story as an opportunity to bash all of Texas.

Believe me, they know about eminent domain in Arlington. Lots of people lost their homes for Jerry Jones' new Cowboy stadium by using eminent domain.

And remember, there are jerks in every state, even New York.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

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[LanternWaste]

27. It is doubtless that...

It is doubtless that "assholes" have many varied agendas, not merely blocking repair crews. If one accepts that, one is forced to accommodate the possibilities that yes, Virginia, there assholes in other states.

Having lived almost my entire life in TX, you could of course more completely expound on the laws and customs inherent to TX and TX only that you allude to which encourages individuals to act in irrational and anti-social ways-- please be both precise and relevant as I'm not a very clever person...

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

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[TheCowsCameHome]

17. I guess they never stood in front of a moving chain saw

That's an attention-getter.

[wolfgangmo]

30. And they have not heard of utility right of ways.

You will find in every contract having to do with home ownership in america (of at least in the civilized parts - snarky editorial note) (or in overriding local/state/federal laws) that utilities have a right of way built into every property they go through. This could be a stip of land at the front of your yard, back or your yard, side or your yard or a combination. Utilities do not need your permission to enter your property on those right of ways, not do they need your permission to maintain them by such things as tree trimming.

Frankly any person denying access should be hauled to jail as soon as they touch the trimmers. When I was growing up the cops would have loved doing this. On the other hand, when I was growing up cops weren't recruited exclusively from war zones and critters like Sherif Joe A didn't exist. Much has gone downhill since Reagan took office and steered the country into a ditch.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

36. Refusal to allow access to an easement is a civil matter

And it should be. However interference with an utility crews during an emergency could be made a criminal act

[AngryAmish]

34. Not an instance of eminent domain

Virtually everywhere there is either an explicit or implied easement that allows a power company to cut trees at will.

Then there is the general police power for health and welfare.

[madrchsod]

7. he does`t own the "air rights" to the tree

and he has to allow access along his property line that the wires run over

the power line runs between the houses on my block. if the transformer blows up someones property is going to be torn up to get access.

[Coventina]

9. Geez, the people in my neighborhood LOVE to cut down trees.

Also, my city would cut down the trees anyway, no matter who objected for whatever reason.

Heck, my city just cut down about 50 mature trees along one side of the road, just so that the landscaping would match on both sides of the street.

:eyes:

[Sal Minella]

18. A City Councilman has a brother-in-law who sells firewood

by the pickup-load, mayhap??? This sounds really fishy to me.

The electric company around here just BUTCHERS trees anywhere near a powerline -- the hardhats with the chainsaws and the bucket trucks seem to have this "no branch within fifty feet of any wire or post" rule and they leave some tragically deformed and mutilated oak and ash trees behind.

Edit: tyop

[MgtPA]

35. When PECO wants to trim trees, they don't hire tree surgeons to do the job, that's for sure.

[Gormy Cuss]

25. In many places, the utility companies only have to ask once

and if the property owner doesn't get it done, the utility crews are empowered to trim as needed. To save money, one of my former neighbors let PG&E do most of his tree pruning--and it showed.

[Lorien]

31. Ugh. My city is the same way. They don't just "prune" trees around power lines,

they hack the living shit out of them, leaving ten feet of space between the tree and the line. They cut down 200 year old oaks along one main road just to allow one private owner to move their whole house down the street. Hell, the city will come on to your property to cut anything they damn well please if it poses any threat to their above ground power lines, which SHOULD have been buried to begin with since hurricanes and tornadoes aren't uncommon around here!

[Cirque du So-What]

10. I hope this gets resolved soon

before it inspires even more libertoons and conservatroids to pull shit like this in other locations and other situations. WTF do these people fail to understand about the concept of right-of-ways? Thing is, with the gaggle of conservative, black-clad clowns on the Supreme Court, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if they decided to whimsically toss out 250 years of jurisprudence. I'm already calling for impeachment over their latest fiasco - the corporate contributions thing. These dickweeds have no place on the Supreme Court, a lower court, a kangaroo court or a basketball court.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. How stupid

[patrice]

16. Go Trees!!!

:bounce:

[csziggy]

21. The agreement I signed with our electric co-op gives them the permission to trim whenever they want

And I give them verbal approval whenever they ask, plus if I notice overhanging limbs that could come down in a storm I call them and ask that they come a trim the trees BEFORE an outage.

I love my trees, but I want my power - I've been without power for extended periods after storms and it is no fun, even when we are prepared.

The jerks that have power but are blocking it being restored for others are self a-holes.

[Canuckistanian]

26. Treehuggers with firearms?

That's a new one. "Keep your damn government away from my Oak tree"

[annabanana]

28. Ah yes. . The *backwash". . in action.. . . n/t

[LWolf]

37. There's certainly a war against trees at DU this weekend.

While I would certainly allow my trees to be trimmed for power lines (unless it threatened the health of the tree,) I think property owners have every right to protect their trees.

[Heywood J]

38. I'd be surprised if one of the neighbors in the second case

(the one where the homeowner had power, but refused to let it be restored to others) didn't serve up some justice for this. Rocks through all the windows will do interesting things in the winter.

[Edweird]

39. It's common.

[Contrary1]

40. I'm probably going out on a limb here (pun intended);

But just a couple miles down the main street closest to me, (Indy, not Texas) the local power company has "trimmed" the trees that were interfering with power lines.

This wasn't due to downed power lines, just routine maintenance. Beautiful trees just a year ago, they now look hideous. On many of the trees, 75% of the upper branches were cut away, making it less than 1/2 a tree. In the majority of these cases, no notice was given that the utility company was going to do this.

Maybe these homeowners are hoping to hire an expert to do the trimming. I certainly hope that is the case in Texas.

A good alternative would be for the power companies to contract with licensed tree trimmers, who actually know what they are doing to perform the needed work.

[Liberal In Texas]

41. Oncor has a reputation of butchering trees when they cut them back from power

lines, which may have something to do with the resistance of these people. However, when the power is out after a major storm like this people should understand that getting the power back on has a higher priority than aesthetic limb cutting. The guys are electrical techs, not arborists and are probably working as fast as they can. In an emergency, it's doubtful that the power company would be even able to find professional tree trimmers let alone have the time to wait form them to show up.

One thing most people don't do is being proactive; having their trees cut by professionals before there is an emergency. It's understandable in these tough economic times that tree trimming may not be very high on anyones priority list.

These idiots need to realize that in an emergency, you get what you get.