Kentucky delays Brownsboro Road tree removal

James Bruggers, jbruggers@courier-journal.com 9:13 a.m. EST December 24, 2014

The State cites safety as a concern because of the distance the trees Tafel planted are from the roadway. A distance of at least 6 feet. "There are hundreds of telephone poles and other trees planted around the city that are closer to the roadway than these trees," Tafel said. Tafel has been given thiry days to remove the trees, or the State Highway Dept. will remove them and charge Tafel for the labor. Dec. 1, 2014(Photo: Alton Strupp/The Courier-Journal)

The state highway department has agreed to delay the removal of 17 trees that were planted along Brownsboro Road without permit.

A temporary reprieve was granted after a lawyer representing the City of Rolling Fields asked for more time to resolve the matter.

"We are honoring their request for an additional month," said Matt Bullock, the chief engineer for the Kentucky Department of Highways District 5.

"The City needs a bit of time to try and find an informal solution," Rolling Fields attorney John Singler wrote to Bullock on Dec. 12. "It would be most appreciated if you could hold off the chainsaws for a month to allow us to get together and see if some kind of mutually agreeable solution can be found."

COURIER-JOURNAL

Lawyer asks Kentucky to "hold off the chainsaws"

The trees were planted earlier this year after road construction had forced the removal of a number of shade trees. State officials said the trees will grow too big, will become a threat to motorists and increase road maintenance costs.

State officials have said any object including trees placed in a right of way of a state road needs an encroachment permit, and that Kentucky officials seek to preserve a "clear zone" to limit dangers to motorists. No trees can be planted in a clear zone with trunks wider than four inches in diameter at maturity, they said.

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Kentucky delays Brownsboro Road tree removal