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'Overpruning' ordinance is surprise to businesses
Seminar is planned in Kernersville to better educate public on details
Monica Young photo
A contractor’s overzealous crape-myrtle pruning put Cagney’s Restaurant & Pizzeria afoul of a Kernersville ordinance on tree height.
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Published: June 13, 2009
KERNERSVILLE
Not long after Genci Lino moved from New York to open Cagney's Restaurant & Pizzeria last year, his landscape contractor told him that it was time to cut back the crape myrtles bordering his parking lot on Main Street.
Lino told the landscapers to do what was needed. "I know about cooking, not about pruning trees. I told them to go ahead," he said.
Unfortunately, the overzealous pruning of his crape myrtles got Lino a visit from the Kernersville's Planning Department.
"Most businesses don't know that the town has an ordinance about the height of trees and shrubs. If they are ‘over' pruned below the required planting height, then they are in violation," Senior Planner Sharon Richmond said.
To combat the issue of overpruning before it becomes a problem, the Kernersville Community Appearance Commission is holding a seminar, "The Proper Way to Prune," Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m. in the municipal chambers at Town Hall. The speaker will be J. Keith Finch, an arborist and urban forester.
Business owners, landscape contractors and even residential-property owners are invited to the seminar. Organizers plan to videotape the seminar to distribute to area business owners.
The policy on tree and shrub height is not new. It was adopted in 1994 and took effect in 1995 with the Unified Development Ordinance. But trouble has come as trees have matured and landscapers are lopping off limbs and tops, said Ken Whitaker, the zoning and inspector administrator.
Whitaker said he has seen businesses prune trees to the point that they have had to be replaced. One business, he estimated, had to spend $20,000 to $25,000 to replace river-birch trees that were pruned incorrectly and ruined.
Each business is required to have a landscape plan on file. Although plans differ, some generalities exist. Trees must be at least 8 feet tall and 2 inches in diameter when planted. Shrubs must be 18 inches tall and wide and grow to 3 feet within three years.
When a business falls out of compliance, Whitaker notifies the business. Each spring, five to six businesses encounter pruning violations. Richmond said that improper crape-myrtle pruning is the most common issue the department finds.
Richmond said that their goal is not to offend but to educate. She believes that the free seminar will help do that.
"If people will just let their trees grow and maintain them, they will be able to trim underneath for signage to be viewed. It just takes a little time," Whitaker said.
Lino said he was surprised when he found out last year that his trees violated the town ordinance.
"I've learned my lesson. I had no idea, but you learn new things every day,'' he said. "I have no anger, but next year when those guys want to trim my trees, I'm saying, ‘Hell, no, don't touch my trees.'"
■ Monica Young can be reached at cyoung9@triad.rr.com
■ For more information about the pruning seminar, call Richmond at 992-0605.
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