AMERICAN FORK -- A city employee's orders may have been at the root of how a row of century-old trees was damaged during a construction project.
At least two of the large trees were so heavily damaged they may have to be replaced, said Carl Wanlass, city administrator.Workmen cut through the trees' root systems to install a water pipe during construction of a commercial building at the northeast corner of 100 North and Center Street. The corner is lined with seven Norway maple trees that may be at least a century old.
"The city changed the game plan on us," said Ron Torgersen, builder and part owner of the property.
A city engineering employee told workmen to dig the trench six feet closer to the trees than the plans showed, Torgersen said. The water pipe was approved to go under the curb and gutter but instead went to the side of it next to the trees. That put the trench into the roots.
"We're in favor of the trees, too. . . . We're putting up a half million dollar building and we want that corner to look good, too," Torgersen said.
One of the conditions of granting construction approval was that the trees would be protected, City Councilwoman Juel Belmont said. The builder was supposed to hire an arborist to see that the city-owned trees were protected, Planning Commission minutes show. But that never happened.
"There was no attempt to save the trees -- none." Belmont said.
The root system on some of the trees wasn't just cut, it was ripped out, she said.
"Why wasn't the trench dug in the street? It couldn't be any closer to the trees," Belmont said.
Construction workers also drove their equipment between the trees and made no attempt to be careful with them, she charged.
She has called in state forester Brook Lee and an arborist, Tony Dietz, and will get a report from them soon on what can be done about the damage and the monetary value of the trees.
"The damage is so heavy there may be nothing we can do," Belmont said.
Torgersen also said an arborist will be hired to see what can be done with the trees, but he questioned if they were worth saving. They have had years of neglect, he said.
"They look like they kept hitting a farmer in the head as he rode by on his horse so he used an ax to take care of his headache," he said.
Belmont agrees that the trees haven't been cared for properly in the past, but she said they could have been preserved with proper care in the future had they not been so heavily damaged during construction.
"This happens often in American Fork," she said.
In the past eight years 10 trees have been lost on Center Street alone, she said. She contends that some of the trees were damaged by neighboring property owners installing sprinkler systems. She also claims some city-owned trees on Main Street were removed by property owners, even after being told not to do so by city officials. Business owners have also, without proper approval, topped trees that were blocking their signs, she claims.
"And the city does nothing about it," she said.
"We need an ordinance that has teeth. It's a sad situation."
The Deseret News was unable to reach city engineer Howard Denney for comment.