It’s not too often that the fate of a single tree prompts a full-fledged public hearing. But that’s just what is happening today to determine whether an island property owner can cut down a 70-year-old catalpa tree on York Street.
The dispute, which Nantucket tree warden Dave Champoux believes will ultimately need to be settled by the Select Board, hinges on whether the catalpa should be designated as a so-called “town tree.” If it is, that designation could prevent the tree’s removal even though it’s located on private property.
(Watch the hearing on Thursday, Feb. 17 at 2:30 p.m. at this link)
The obscure town bylaws regarding town trees are now in the spotlight after Champoux pinned a notice on the catalpa tree last week which states “Public Hearing Will Be Held Regarding Removal Of This Tree.”
What is a “town tree” anyway? According to the town code, a tree must meet at least one of the following criteria to earn that designation:
- The tree was purchased, or its planting was paid for, by the Town
- The tree stands on or has its trunk partially on Town-owned property
- The tree was donated or otherwise conveyed to the Town
- The tree has been maintained more than once by use of Town funds, equipment or personnel during the last 20 years, with the visits separated by more than one year.
Town trees are supposed to be adorned with a special medallion (though few are) and the designation provides special protections and requires a public hearing before one can be removed. If anyone objects to a town tree being cut down during that process, the Select Board is required to make the final call in the matter, which is what could end up happening in the case of the catalpa on York Street following this Thursday’s public hearing before the town’s Tree Advisory Committee.
The undeveloped lot at 10 York Street – described by an island real estate firm as “one of the last vacant lots in Town” – was purchased by a limited liability company controlled by developer Jeff Kaschuluk in September 2020 for $800,000.
As he submitted plans to the island’s regulatory agencies to build a new dwelling on the property, Kaschuluk said he attempted to get in touch with the town’s arborist, Dale Gary, to ask about the two large catalpa trees at the front of the lot. But Gary was out of the office on leave for an extended period. Kaschuluk said his attorney, Richard Glidden, checked in with a member of the DPW administration, who told them the catalpas were not designated as town trees.
And so after obtaining a building permit, Kaschuluk’s team began to cut down one of the catalpas last September.
“We cut the first one down and then some neighbor comes running at us, saying ‘what are you doing’?” Kaschuluk said. “By that time (town arborist) Dale (Gary) was back online, and within an hour or so, I got a call from Dale saying ‘what are you doing?’ I told him what I told you, that I was told these are not town trees. We went back and forth, and weren’t getting anywhere, other than we needed to go to a hearing on this.”
The catalpa tree wasn’t planted by the town, is located on private property, and was never donated or conveyed to the town. But both Champoux and Gary said that it has been maintained through the town’s tree maintenance program on several occasions, thereby qualifying it as a town tree based on meeting that single criteria for such a designation.
“They (Kaschuluk and Glidden) are maintaining it’s not a town tree,” Champoux said. “So this will be the subject of the hearing, and if there’s any objection (to removal), and I’m sure there will be, the selectmen will have the final say…Hopefully it gets resolved prior to having a hearing. But there’s no negotiation as far as this one goes. They want to proceed ahead and we don’t want them to.”
Gary concurred that the town had cared for the trees in the past, and vouched for the catalpa as one that he considered to be a town tree. In addition to the two catalpas at the front of the lot, there is also an old gingko tree on the property that Gary said was one of hundreds donated to island residents by the late Walter Beinecke. There are no plans to remove the ginkgo.
Kaschuluk does not believe there is any documentation of the town performing maintenance work on the catalpa trees. He said Glidden, his attorney, obtained a town document that outlined the municipal tree plan which listed the more than 2,000 town trees that have garnered the designation, but the two catalpas were not included. And while he intends to proceed with the hearing, Kaschuluk said he does not want a protracted dispute with the town over the trees.
“No one appreciates or respects trees more than I do,” Kaschuluk said. “I’m not going to the mat over this tree, but I’m going to give it the best effort and let them know this whole process is flawed with the town tree designation.”
The public hearing on the catalpa tree before the town’s Tree Advisory Committee was originally supposed to be held in January, but was rescheduled to Thursday, Feb, 17 at 2:30 p.m. It will be conducted virtually, and the Zoom meeting ID and passcode can be found at this link.
