Residents in Kelmscott are exasperated after their repeated requests to remove a ‘dangerous’ tree were rejected by the City of Armadale.
The tree is one in a stand of Marris in a narrow service lane which forms a ‘green barrier’ between the back fence lines of properties along Gunnamatta Place and warehouses along Gillam Drive.
Locals say the trees have collectively been causing issues for years, with dropping limbs smashing through shed and glasshouse roofs, roots pushing up through pools, and persistent leaf litter and gum nuts collecting in gutters and in the service lane abutting their back fences.
“At one point the leaves piling up against the fence were up to three foot high,” resident Andrew Brown said.
Mr Brown said issues with the tree outside his property have been ongoing, with his father taking the fight to the city for well over a decade.
“He was still fighting them even as he was battling cancer,” he said. “That’s how concerned he was.”
But Mr Brown’s personal breaking point came four weeks ago when his wife strolled out through their back door on a leisurely Saturday morning to see what was upsetting the dogs and was horrified to find four-foot flames licking their back fence.
“It went up so quickly. I dread to think what would have happened if we went out that day and weren’t there to fight it,” Mr Brown said.
Neighbours raced out with garden hoses to try to subdue the fire which was consuming the dry piles of leaf litter and gum nuts and threatening to light up the eucalypt, before fire crews arrived on scene.
“If it wasn’t for our neighbours’ dogs barking, we would not have known the danger we were all in,” Robert Rankin said.
Despite promptly notifying the city of the incident, maintenance crews took nearly two weeks to remove the remaining debris.
“I am dismayed at how long it took the council to finally start moving the leaves,” Mr Rankin said.
“We now seem to be at a standstill with the council; they won’t even trim branches let alone remove trees that are threatening our properties, especially if another arsonist takes it into his/her head to have another go.”
“None of us has slept properly since that fire, and we’re all worried about going out in case it goes up again,” Mr Brown said.
“We’ve worked our arses off to pay for our home and I don’t want to see it go up in smoke.
“The council is playing a dangerous game – especially with the fire bug that’s been going around recently.”
City of Armadale CEO Joanne Abbiss said they had “responded to the complaints received” and the tree immediately outside Mr Brown’s property had been assessed “many times”.
After inspecting the tree on the Monday immediately after the fire, Ms Abbiss said it was found to appear “healthy, with no visible signs of pests or disease damage”.
“The tree was recently pruned. The city determined no further action would be taken at this time,” Ms Abbiss said.
She also added that Marri trees are “a known food source for endangered black cockatoo species”.
But Mr Brown said that the extent of the pruning that had been done was laughable.
“It’s a 50-foot monster, and they pruned back about 10kg of branches,” he said. “It’s not a bloody rose garden.
“I’ve been a nice guy for 12 years with this tree – now I want it gone.
“They don’t live here when the winds are going and this tree is on a 30-degree angle.
“I’ve had projectile branches smash through three sheets on our glasshouse. My partner is a gardener – she’s always in there. If one of those branches comes down while she’s inside, she’s dead.
“I understand the importance of trees, but it’s clear they value a tree over human life.”
Ms Abbiss responded to that claim, saying “the city values the safety of our residents and visitors, and trees that are assessed as posing an unacceptable risk are removed”.
The Examiner asked whether the city could be held liable if the tree killed or maimed someone.
“Liability for any injury, damage or loss involving private property is reported to the city’s insurers, who undertake an assessment and investigation, before making a determination,” Ms Abbiss said.
According to the City of Armadale’s management practice, trees will only be considered for removal if they are dead, diseased, structurally unsound or dangerous, obstructing an approved works program, causing ongoing damage to infrastructure, or considered by the Manager Parks Services to present an unacceptable level of risk to persons or property.
But what constitutes an “unacceptable level of risk” is not explained.
A healthy tree’s proximity to houses or other infrastructure, or the litter it drops are not considered by the city to be valid reasons for its removal.
“The city considers some inconvenience arising from street trees as a necessary consequence of living in an urban environment where trees deliver significant community benefit,” the city’s website reads.
And should a resident take it upon themself to remove a problematic tree, they could be fined.
According to Mayor Ruth Butterfield, the City of Armadale applies the Helliwell system to calculate the fine for tree vandalism, which considers the tree’s age, size and value to the community.
But she explained that the city often prefers not to penalise people, instead opting to educate the community on the value of trees in their neighbourhood, with newer, more treeless suburbs up to 20 degrees hotter than older parts of the city with mature shade trees.
“I really worry about my grandchildren living in a suburb that has no trees and that we cannot walk down the street during the day because it is too hot and the paving is too hot to walk on, dogs can’t go for a walk and we can only walk in the very early morning and at night,” Mayor Butterfield said in an interview last year.
Gunnamatta Place locals believe the City of Armadale is not seeing the wood for the trees.
“The council has no problems allowing developers to completely clear land of all trees, shrubs etc. But rate-paying citizens are obviously of no concern to them at all,” Mr Rankin said.
“The worry waiting for the leaves to go and the general time and stress we are going through over these dangerous trees is making us sick at heart.
“I have lived and worked in Armadale most of my life and this is the first time I have requested help from the council. The indifference shown is astounding.
“When did councils become big brother and not a servant of the people who pay their wages?”
Andrew Brown said the recent fire lit another inside of him and he vowed to not back down from this fight.
“These people have got to be made accountable,” he said.
