Recently, the owners of Dongfang Venice Community, Yongning West Road, Pidu District were a little angry: many trees in the community were "decapped" and "shaved". Not only did they lose their branches, but their height was also shortened because of the property management's unauthorized pruning of trees.
Can trees in residential communities be pruned without authorization? Is it compliant to prune trees to the point of "shaving your head"?
Today (17th) afternoon, Red Star News, together with Chengdu Park City Construction Management Bureau and Pidu District Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau, went to the scene to find out. The reporter saw that more than ten trees in the community were pruned to varying degrees, of which the camphor tree in front of Building 2 had only the main trunk left.
The pruned trees
Pidu District Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau determined that this is an excessive pruning behavior that has not been publicized or approved in accordance with the prescribed procedures, and will be punished according to the degree of damage to the trees.
More than ten trees were "shaved" and did not submit the approval
Property: It has a great risk of wind and rain in summer, and it will be restored to its original state three years later
Owners: There are support and opposition
At 14:00 this afternoon, residents of Oriental Venice Community were in groups of three or three. Unlike usual, more than ten trees in the community have been "shaved", of which the camphor tree in front of Building 2 has only the main trunk. At the scene, staff from the Pizhou District Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau are investigating the damage to trees.
Yang Dan, property manager of Oriental Venice Community, took the reporter around the community. The reporter saw that the trees in the community were mainly camphor, and the planting range was mostly in the green belt within five meters away from the building. The trees were about 5 floors high, and the highest height exceeded 6 floors. Manager Yang introduced that there are more than 1,100 households in the community and hundreds of trees.
Announcement posted by the property
"We prune trees mainly for safety purposes," said Manager Yang. It is a safety hazard in summer, with heavy winds and rainy trees too high and too many branches. Currently, the property fees in the community are 0.7 yuan per square meter. Many owners have defaulted on property fees, resulting in a shortage of funds in the community. "So, we have adopted the method of pruning more parts at one time and reducing the number of pruning times."
Manager Yang told reporters that the community plans to prune the trees in the community from October 12 to 14. "During the pruning process, there are both owners supporting and opposing the owners. Some high-rise owners stand under the trees to prevent construction."
In fact, this is not the first time that the community has pruned trees. In September 2017, the community has pruned two camphor trees, "only the main part is retained, and the trees are pruned from six floors to about five floors. Now it seems that there is no difference from other trees around it. "
The picture shows trees pruned three years ago, and are now back to a state of lush branches and leaves. Aunt Yang, who lives in Unit 2, Building 18, does not agree with this pruning method. She said that she has lived for five years and has a lot of feelings for the trees here. "You can prune, but don't cut it. They saw off the trunks by one or two meters. I don't think the property is qualified to saw these trees." At the scene, Zhao Bo, deputy director of the Pizhou District Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau, introduced that the Pizhou District Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau received a report from the community owners on October 15 and conducted a preliminary investigation. Combined with the on-site inspection in the past two days, it was determined that this was an excessive pruning behavior that was not publicized and approved in accordance with the prescribed procedures.
If you want to prune the trees in the community, do you want to prune them?
Municipal Park City Construction Management Bureau: Excessive pruning will be punished
Who has the final say in the community to prune trees?
Relevant person in charge of the Greening Center of the Municipal Park City Construction Management Bureau introduced that Article 8 (Pruning and Management) of the "Chengdu Residential Community Greening Management Regulations" implemented on June 1, 2019 mentioned that property service institutions shall carry out greening maintenance in accordance with the provisions of the property service contract, organize plant pruning regularly to ensure that the greening landscape is neat and beautiful. In addition to the conventional pruning stipulated in the property service contract, if the impact of residents' lighting, ventilation and living safety due to plant growth is indeed necessary to be pruned and eliminated in accordance with relevant technical regulations, the property service agency shall obtain the approval of the owners' committee and announce the pruning plan at the pruning site, and accept supervision from the owners and the public.
Pruned trees
Pruned trees
But this does not mean that the trees in the community can be pruned as they want.
"For trees that really plague the lives of residents in the community and cause lighting, safety and other problems, the property company must first convene the owners to hold a meeting to discuss and publicize the pruning plan. The pruning plan should be protected as much as possible in accordance with the principle of one tree and one policy," Zhao Bo told reporters. At the same time, the property needs to submit the pruning plan to the street office where it is located for approval. The construction process must be handled by a professional pruning team to protect the health of the tree to the greatest extent.
The Chengdu Landscape Regulations mentioned that the design, construction and supervision of landscaping projects shall be undertaken by units with corresponding qualification levels. The design and construction of landscaping projects shall implement landscaping project design specifications and construction procedures to ensure quality, and shall be supervised, inspected and guided by the landscaping administrative department. For building zoning that implements independent management, the owners are jointly responsible for the management and maintenance.
The above-mentioned relevant person in charge of the Greening Center of the Municipal Park City Construction Management Bureau told reporters that the focus of protecting trees is to popularize "how to cut". "The next step is to start with publicity and education, popularize the standard process of tree pruning, establish a legal concept in the minds of property and community owners, and enhance the awareness of residents to protect trees. After the excessive pruning of Oriental Venice Community is completed, the relevant responsible persons and responsible units will be punished in accordance with the principle of local management in accordance with the principle of local management and further verify the facts of violations and the degree of damage to trees."
Zhao Bo also said that the next step will strengthen the publicity of laws and regulations, popularize the standard procedures for tree pruning by streets and properties, and welcome the supervision and support of residents.
Red Star News Reporter Ye Yan Intern Reporter Wang Peizhe Photo Reporter Zhang Zhi
Edit Liu Yupeng
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