PEABODY, MA — Salem Country Club and Mayer Tree Services, Inc. were each fined nearly $70,000 last year for illegally removing trees from wetland and golf course resource areas.
The Peabody Conservation Commission voted Wednesday night to fine $300 per tree for the 233 trees removed without permits — a total of $69,900 each — for both the country club and Dan Mayer’s Tree Company.
The fines are in addition to a $22,502.50 bill the commission approved to bill Salem Country Club for the costs of the ongoing tree restoration process.
In issuing the fines, the commission recognized Salem Country Club’s willingness to work with the city on restoration efforts given the tree crop was discovered earlier this year, but concluded the penalties were justified after the country club was accused of being a “habitual offender” violating the Conservation Commission’s bylaws and permitting regulations related to the course.
The commission announced in March that Salem Country Club had been granted permission to fell trees around holes 6 and 7 as part of annual maintenance in December. However, the commissioners alleged that the club knowingly went far beyond the limits of the permit in the “clear cut”. More than 600 trees, including those along wetlands and under the Commission’s responsibility to protect them.
SCC chief executive Peter Fischl said during a meeting in March the club took “full responsibility” for what he believed was an honest mistake. He claimed that the club believes tree felling falls within this area as most trees are in areas where the club does general maintenance such as mowing and pitch maintenance.
He said he only found out after the work was completed that it wasn’t.
Wednesday’s fines passed by a 5-1 vote, with Commissioner Amanda Green calling for higher fines based on the trees’ true value and their environmental impact, well over $300 apiece. She argued that the fine “should be at least twice that amount,” but other commissioners countered that the $300 per offense was a quantifiable amount that could stand up better to an appeal.
It was also noted that Salem Country Club’s financial commitment to the tree restoration remains and will include additional payments for the project over an extended period of time.
(Scott Souza is Patch Field Editor, covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
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https://patch.com/massachusetts/peabody/140k-fines-issued-over-salem-country-club-illicit-tree-removal
