City-owned trees wrecking property on Moline Avenue in Cedar Hills, woman says

When Betty Trim and her husband moved to 4481 Moline Ave., it was supposed to be their dream home in Cedar Hills. Now, the Columbus woman is worried about the towering oak trees on the right-of-way after roots broke through their concrete driveway and covered the yard, preventing grass from growing.

“I have been unhappy with the situation for quite some time now,” said Trim, who moved into the three bedroom, two-bath home in 1966 with her late husband, Matthew.

Forty years after moving to the area and before Matthew died in 2008, he tried to get help from the Consolidated Government to remove trees threatening the property. The city recently re-evaluated the trees on the right-of-way and approved one of four for removal along with sharing the cost of repairing the damaged apron on the public right-of-way, said Don Osborne, deputy director of Public Works.

When there is possible damage from a city tree, the city’s policy is clarified in a driveway letter from the city arborist. It directs the homeowner to get three quotes on repairs and submit them to the city’s risk manager for approval. After the work is completed and inspected, the homeowner submits a request from the city for half of the repair cost.

“You never know if it was up to code or not,” said Pat Biegler, director of Public Works. “A lot of times, you find it’s not 4 inches thick . I don’t know if it’s from tree roots or just driving over it.”

Removal of the tree near the driveway depends on how many trees are on the removal list ahead of Trim, Osborne said. “Once the tree is removed, the roots stop growing,” he said.

Trim, 83, said she’s happy the city agreed to remove one of the trees. The driveway has been broken for more than five years while the trees and roots have been a constant threat for more than 10 years.

“I’m hoping all of them will be removed,” Trim said as she used a cane Friday to walk through the yard. “If you look at the lawn, I no longer have a yard or what you call a beautiful lawn. This was our dream home.”

Osborne said any further removal of trees impacting the driveway apron can be submitted to the Tree Appeals Board.

Although she’s been at the location for 51 years now, Trim still remembers when the couple drove to the area and liked it as soon as they laid eyes on it. The neighborhood has been nice and quiet over the years.

When a city crew pulled up one day and planted the trees, she said the worker never asked any questions. “Even if they asked us, we didn’t realize they were going to grow to be humongous,” she said.

City crews have stopped frequently in the neighborhood to trim the trees but they didn’t control any root damage. “I could no longer get grass to grow,” Trim said. “And turning on the sprinkler was useless. The roots are up over the grass now.”

Years ago, Trim said her husband asked about removing the trees, but an official said it’s against the law to remove property from the city right-of-way. All the trees are within 5 feet of the curb.

Trees are part of the city’s infrastructure, Biegler said. “ They are important for air quality and the quality of life,” she said.

Trim would like to get her yard back. “It doesn’t show any value in the property in terms of the beautification of it,” she said.

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This story was originally published January 30, 2018 at 10:06 PM with the headline "City-owned trees wrecking property on Moline Avenue in Cedar Hills, woman says."