It’s my tree. Why can’t I cut it down?
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Can the government really stop you from cutting down your own tree?
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The day that Sarah Bond finally became a homeowner, she had almost given up. It was 2021. The housing market was red hot. She and her husband, Joel, kept getting outbid. They were starting to think maybe their family would never have a place they could make their own. A place where she and Joel could plant blueberry bushes. A place where their daughter, JoJo, could raise baby ducks and chickens. Then she got a call from her realtor.
She left a voicemail and she said, congratulations. And I was like, what? I just started like, I was like, no way. And I told my husband, he was like, are you serious? Are you kidding?
The house that was now their house was... It was white with black trim, two stories tall. It was nicer than she ever thought she could afford. And it was located in their dream neighborhood on a tree-lined street in southwest Portland. She remembers when they first went to visit the area.
And as soon as we opened the doors of the car, we just hear like an eruption of children laughing and screaming. And there were just all these kids like rolling down the hill. And they're just like tumbling all over each other. And it's just like magic.
Sarah's favorite part about their new home was the huge yard. She used to work at a garden center, and she loved how many plants and trees were grown around their home.
About a week or two after they move in, Sarah's in the backyard when she realizes that one of the trees is growing at a kind of weird angle. It's this huge Douglas fir.
What happens when a homeowner's tree poses a danger?
It's like 100 feet tall. And it is so big that standing in the backyard, she couldn't even see the top of it. And it is leaning towards the house.
When I first noticed the lean, my immediate feeling was like, oh my gosh, this should have been taken out like yesterday. Like this is really scary.
It was like this tree of Damocles just looming over them. Sarah kept picturing it falling.
This tree wasn't going to like fall and, you know, put a hole in our roof. It was going to fall and we would be lucky to walk away.
Sarah and Joel start looking into how to remove a hundred foot tall tree from your backyard. They find out that they need to get approval from the city because in Portland, like in many places, anytime you want to remove a large tree, you have to apply for a permit.
And Sarah's like, well, clearly this tree is dangerous, so let's just get this permit. They go online, fill out the forms. Pretty soon, a city inspector comes to look at the trees. And a couple weeks later, Sarah and Joel get the letter.
I have a memory of my husband, like, walking into the living room and saying, oh, they denied our permit.
I was like, what? The city had determined that the leaning tree looked healthy and normal and that removing this tree would significantly affect neighborhood character. So the city would not let the Bonds cut down their tree.
It was so surreal. And like, I couldn't, I was in a state of disbelief for a long time.
Sarah was like, wait, this is not a city tree. This is our tree in our own backyard.
I don't understand how we are the owners of the tree if we have no power over making a decision about it. It makes no sense.
In recent years, hundreds of towns and cities in America have passed laws to protect trees, to preserve the urban canopy for the good of the neighborhood.
And these laws are redrawing the line between what belongs to the property owner and what belongs to the community.
Hello and welcome to Planet Money. I'm Jeff Guo. And I'm Amanda Aronchick.
How do city permits affect tree removal decisions?
Here in the United States, the general rule is that towns and cities have a lot of power when it comes to land and how people use it. Towns and cities can pass zoning laws. They can ban certain types of buildings.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Can the government really stop you from cutting down your own tree?
0:00–2:00
2
What happens when a homeowner's tree poses a danger?
2:00–4:10
3
How do city permits affect tree removal decisions?
4:10–6:01
4
What are the implications of tree protection laws on property rights?
6:01–7:50
5
How did a tree ordinance lead to a legal battle in Canton, Michigan?
7:50–9:46
6
What arguments did the lawyer present against the tree permit laws?
9:46–11:58
7
What was the outcome of the legal battle over tree permits?
11:58–14:45
8
How did the tree incident impact Sarah Bond's view on homeownership?
14:45–26:59