Ag Exempt in Texas-fined by city for cutting down dead/dying trees

[ellenaspen]

Hello, advice needed please.  We have a 20 acre farm in Denton County.  We are in the city limits of a small rural town.  We cut down 6 dead/dying trees on our property.  We were then contacted by the city saying we needed a permit to cut down the trees and they are fining us $54k for cutting them down.  Several people have told us that if we are ag exempt the municipal ordinances do not apply.  I can not find any document that says that.  Does anyone on this forum know about this?   TIA 

[rusticretreater]

Lacking a lot of information here.  First, determine the zoning of your property.  Agricultural, Residential, etc.  That is crucial to your arguments.  Is your farm entirely in the boundaries of the town?

Review the regulations of the town and the county to try and determine the regulatory authority and what regulations apply.  Do you have pictures of the trees to prove they were dead and dying?  You should also review how the fine is calculated.

If you are unable to resolve the situation or determine your legal position in all this, it is time to hire an attorney.

[DDW_OR]

get a lawer's opinion. most times it is free

[nativewolf]

Challenges of being in a suburban county, of Dallas/Ft Worth, with 1 million people.  They don't have enough trees and don't want to lose them so developers have to work around the trees.  This would be especially true if your trees were in public right of ways.  If you had live oaks than they can be regulated throughout TX though...you are a bit far north to have live oaks.  I think...I didn't spend that much time in Dallas, too busy for me.  The real problem here is that there are a million people in your county....Million.  

Rustic is right on though, know your zoning and check zoning.  Denton Tx (town of) itself does restrict tree cutting.  If your property has a house it seems you are exempt (  http://denton-tx.elaws.us/code/dc_subch13_sec35.13.7), you would have had to have a qualified person determine if the tree was diseased or dying (too late) but that could have been an exemption.  Read your town and county code.  $54k is worth a lawyer.

[sawguy21]

A B.C. property owner also got nailed for not following proper procedures. He didn't wait for a development permit before clearing his land and received 163 tickets, one per tree. Ouch!

[ellenaspen]

The property is zoned agriculture.  Our property is entirely in the town.  The town sent out an arborist to evaluate the stumps to determine the size of the tree and condition before they were cut down.  The arborist classified 2 as dead, 2 as in poor condition and 2 that could not be determined.

We do have ag exemption from the taxing authority in Denton County which is the county the town is in.

[rusticretreater]

Tell the town you want everything in writing.  They will have to tell you under what authority and regulation they have the power to fine you.  Then you know exactly what they are doing and more importantly, they can't change their story after they put it in writing.  The lawyer, if you hire one, will need the information.

Also, the arborists docs need to be collected as well.  You may have to frame your request as a FOIA request.  If they won't give you the docs, the lawyer can subpoena them.

2 dead, 2 diseased, you say they were a significant safety hazard.  The other two, you say they didn't look well. 

You then read the town's regulations and see what the scope of the regulations are.  If it specifically says residential or business properties for example, then you have your out being that you have an ag property.  

[nativewolf]

Also ag exemption only typically refers to land use status for tax reasons not Zoning which regulates development/landuse regs.    Not the same thing.  Again Rustic is giving good advice, get their reasons in writing and statutes that authorize fines.

[Texas Ranger]

I have done arborist evaluations and will bet that value is that of living trees, I have no idea what game is being played or how to defend your positions other than follow the above and prepare to get legal assistance.

Addendum.  Dead trees have no value other than firewood.  Removal of dead and dying trees is standard timber management practice.

[Magicman]

This is kinda like a second opinion from a Doctor.  I would be contacting another arborist, forester, etc. and getting another evaluation.