By Cortney Casey
C & G Staff Writer

STERLING HEIGHTS — Robert Belt wants to save the flowering crab apple tree in his backyard — and he’s willing to take his fight to court.

The Sterling Heights resident filed a lawsuit June 19 via his attorney, Kevin Hirzel, in an effort to halt ITC Holdings Corp.’s plans to chop down the tree.

ITC owns and maintains 8,000 miles of high-tension power lines throughout Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, including the ones that run behind the Belts’ home on Jewell, near 14 Mile and Maple Lane.

Belt said his dispute with ITC began in late April, when he spotted a worker from Davey Tree Expert Company roaming his fenced backyard, examining the crab apple tree.

When Belt confronted the worker, he said, the worker told him the tree would need to come down because of its proximity to ITC’s power lines.

“I couldn’t quite believe it, because it’s never been a problem where the trees even come close to the wires,” he said. “I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding. … You’re pretty radical, in my opinion.’”

In the past, when DTE Energy owned the lines, workers trimmed tree branches from outside of his fence, but never ventured into his yard or expressed a desire to remove the tree, said Belt.

In an affidavit, Belt indicates that the 29-year-old crabapple tree is at least 20 feet below and 10 feet away from the nearest power line. He feels ITC is chopping down the trees so it won’t have to bother with periodic trimming.

ITC spokeswoman Cheryl Eberwein said the company — which purchased the lines from DTE and Consumers Energy over the last few years — had to update its vegetation management policy in the wake of stricter federal regulations enacted after the 2003 blackout.

“One of the mandatory standards that we have to meet is no vegetation-related outages,” she said, adding that companies now face fines running up to $1 million per day if such outages occur.

Under ITC’s current policy, “we are cutting tall growing species in the wire zone,” said Eberwein, “and then anything outside of the wire zone, we’re looking at the impact that those species … could have on the wires in terms of falling in, in terms of sag and sway of the lines, etc.

“We are willing to talk to residents if they have concerns about a particular tree that we have identified,” she added, “but by and large, when we have identified a tree as being a danger to the system, it’s basically because we’re considering a number of different factors.”

Eberwein said high outdoor temperatures and increased power demand cause lines to sag more during the summer, bringing them closer to trees below. Electricity also can arc from the lines to nearby foliage, she said.

For Belt’s wife, Mari Jo, the timing felt particularly ironic. Just two days prior, she taught her third-grade students in Warren Consolidated Schools about Earth Day and the importance of planting trees.

“I was upset, almost in tears,” she said. “We’ve been wracking our brains as to what to do.”

She said deer and groundhogs eat the tree’s fallen apples, and birds — including orioles, cardinals and doves — have taken up residence in its branches.

Other nearby trees also are headed for the chopping block. The worker “has gone in all the neighbors’ yards and condemned most of their trees — many of them, anyway,” said Belt.

Nearly every home along Jewell now sports at least one “no trespassing” sign on its fence to ward off ITC and Davey employees.

Tiffany Clark, who lives near Belt, said ITC wants to remove multiple trees from her yard.

“I’m more disappointed that all I had was a door hanger that trees were coming down and no explanation,” said Clark, who said she’s struggled to get more information from the company.

John Mieszczak, a neighbor who stands to lose a pine tree, said few residents would dispute trimming, but to remove the trees altogether is “somewhat ludicrous.”

The plight of Jewell’s residents mirrors that of many people in Shelby Township, where outrage from citizens over proposed ITC tree removals has spurred town hall meetings and involvement from local government officials.

Belt’s suit also names Davey Tree Expert Company. Sandra Reid, manager of corporate communications for Davey, said she was unable to comment June 25 because the company had not yet received the lawsuit.

At press time, a hearing on Hirzel’s motion for a temporary restraining order was scheduled for July 7. However, as of June 26, Hirzel, Belt and ITC were working on a tentative agreement that would save the tree and keep the issue out of court.

Belt said he felt the compromise — which entails cutting 10 feet off the treetop — was still “a little excessive,” but “I want to be reasonable,” he said.

Hirzel said he considered it a “win-win situation” that allowed the Belts to retain their tree while keeping the lines safe.

Staff Writer Kristyne E. Demske contributed to this report.
You can reach Staff Writer Cortney Casey at ccasey@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1046.