Terry Bevis moved to the Village of La Zamora from Minnesota about three years ago.
Like so many others who move here from the north, he didn’t understand everything about trees and plants in his new hometown.
But when a tree service was doing work for a neighbor, he was also advised by that same tree service that he ought to have the large Oak tree in his back yard trimmed back.
“My wife and I went out for a few hours, when we got home it was like Holy Cow! What happened?” Bevis said.
They had been hatracked.
Turns out, this was just the start of their trouble.
Soon, they were notified that they were in violation of the Town of Lady Lake’s tree ordinance.
In 2012, the Lady Lake Commission enacted a measure designed to protect trees. Lady Lake has long been proud of its beautiful tree canopy and has been designated a Tree City.
“Hatracking” is a practice that is often used to reduce the size of a tree. A homeowner may feel that a tree has become too large for the property or that tall trees pose an unacceptable risk.
But topping stresses trees. A stressed tree with large, open pruning wounds is more vulnerable to disease and insect infestation.
In his case, Bevis wrongly believed he was getting sound advice from a local professional.
“Treebillies,” said Erik Knudsen, the man long known simply as The Villages Gardener.
Too often, folks who move here from the north can be taken advantage of by tree services that are not looking out for a tree’s best interests, Knudsen.
“They want to make a few bucks and move on,” he said.
But what they leave behind can turn into an expensive problem for the homeowner.
Not only are they left with an unattractive tree, in Lady Lake they could be violating the tree ordinance and find themselves trying to nurse a tree back to good health.
If Bevis has to remove the tree it could cost up to $2,000.
How to avoid such trouble?
• Check with local officials before taking on such a project.
• Talk to a certified arborist about your trees before you start cutting.
“We don’t want to have to deal with this after homeowners have already made a mistake. We would rather make people aware on the front end,” said Thad Carroll, Growth Management director for the Town of Lady Lake.
Bevis has a letter telling him to appear at 10:30 a.m. Jan 28 before a Lady Lake magistrate for an update on the tree case.
If he could turn back time, he would have handled the whole thing differently.
“I wish I’d known then, what I know now.”
