"The church was fined $100 per branch cut for excessive pruning, bringing the violation to $4,000."



  • Non-IT WTF, but it made me yell WTF anyway, so here you go:

    [url]http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/05/28/2333197/church-fined-for-improper-tree.html[/url]


    Edit, update: [url]http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/06/02/2343620/church-wont-have-to-pay-fine.html[/url]

    Clearly, this ordinance is kind of a big deal to the city.


  • Where's the WTF? A church violated an ordinance and is being fined for doing so. As stated in the article: "We do that for a number of reasons but mainly because they are going to come back unhealthy and create a dangerous situation down the road."

    Edit, update: Oh, so now if enough people complain, you'll be allowed to violate any ordinance you want? Good to know! THERE'S the WTF!



  • @dcardani said:

    Where's the WTF? A church violated an ordinance and is being fined for doing so. As stated in the article: "We do that for a number of reasons but mainly because they are going to come back unhealthy and create a dangerous situation down the road."

    Edit, update: Oh, so now if enough people complain, you'll be allowed to violate any ordinance you want? Good to know! THERE'S the WTF!

    The WTF is over-legislation.  That's alright, it won't be long until all the water dries up in that area and there will be nothing left to prune.



  • I have to agree, even in Corrupsylvania we have laws that regulate your property to conform to certain guidelines to maintain aesthetics that relate to your neighborhood.

    Now I would like to see a match "Tree Huggers vs The Church"



  •  This doesnt surprise me at all. I left Charlotte a few years back after having lived there for years.  The government there is perhaps the most corrupt one I have seen.

    Example:

    The government put legislation to public vote that asked the people to vote yea or nay on the following in one broad sweep.

    Funding school music programs, funding museams, and paying for yet another stadium for a sports team they did not yet have (there were already 6 stadiums in charlotte, this became number 7 and actually made one previous one unused, just to get a chance at bringing in an expansion team for basketball)

    The people voted No, and spoke out about the stadium.

     

    The results, the legislation was split up into three different votes, no longer given to the public because now they were small enough, and the stadium passed while the other two were declined.

    Reason given?  The people obviously didn't think they were important enough.



  • And here I was thinking a church had been fined for having too many religious

    branches of itself.



  • @serguey123 said:

    I have to agree, even in Corrupsylvania we have laws that regulate your property to conform to certain guidelines to maintain aesthetics that relate to your neighborhood.

     

    And here I thought as the person who bought the damn land that I'd be the one deciding how it looked.  Don't know what I was thinking...

     



  • @Master Chief said:

    @serguey123 said:

    I have to agree, even in Corrupsylvania we have laws that regulate your property to conform to certain guidelines to maintain aesthetics that relate to your neighborhood.

     

    And here I thought as the person who bought the damn land that I'd be the one deciding how it looked.  Don't know what I was thinking...

    People are so naive sometimes, but is ok, it seems there is room for improvement.

     



  •  Church properties are zoned as COMMERCIAL in Charlotte.  So much for the "wall of separation between church and state".



  • @operagost said:

     Church properties are zoned as COMMERCIAL in Charlotte.  So much for the "wall of separation between church and state".

    Well, it is a bussiness



  • @serguey123 said:

    I have to agree, even in Corrupsylvania we have laws that regulate your property to conform to certain guidelines to maintain aesthetics that relate to your neighborhood.

    For example, you can't take down the painting of Dear Leader.



  • Well, the people keep electing and reelecting socialists and Democraps. What do they expect?



  • @blakeyrat said:

    @serguey123 said:
    I have to agree, even in Corrupsylvania we have laws that regulate your property to conform to certain guidelines to maintain aesthetics that relate to your neighborhood.
    For example, you can't take down the painting of Dear Leader.

    So you see, there is not that much of a difference between communist Korea and that part of the USA.

    It makes you wonder



  • @dcardani said:

    Edit, update: Oh, so now if enough people complain, you'll be allowed to violate any ordinance you want? Good to know! THERE'S the WTF!
     

     

    To be fair, they seem to be aiming for basically the same standard "replace the tree and we'll drop the fine" policy that was mentioned in the original article.

     



  • @emurphy said:

    @dcardani said:

    Edit, update: Oh, so now if enough people complain, you'll be allowed to violate any ordinance you want? Good to know! THERE'S the WTF!
     

     

    To be fair, they seem to be aiming for basically the same standard "replace the tree and we'll drop the fine" policy that was mentioned in the original article.

     

    From the second article:

    The city no longer allows crape myrtles to be counted among required trees, mostly because of the popularity of topping them off, Johnson said.

    If it decides to replant, Albemarle Road Presbyterian Church would have to plant a different species.

    I like the "cut down a perfectly good, mature tree that might 'weaken the trees and make them susceptible to pests and diseases' and replace it with a sapling" law.



  • @chrismcb said:

    I like the "cut down a perfectly good, mature tree that might 'weaken the trees and make them susceptible to pests and diseases' and replace it with a sapling" law.

    Or short: the CDPGMTMWTMSPDRSL law.



  • Just seam this: 

    funding museams



  • @dcardani said:

    Where's the WTF? A church violated an ordinance and is being fined for doing so. As stated in the article: "We do that for a number of reasons but mainly because they are going to come back unhealthy and create a dangerous situation down the road."

    Edit, update: Oh, so now if enough people complain, you'll be allowed to violate any ordinance you want? Good to know! THERE'S the WTF!

    Awesome, well I'm just going to start picking Trilliums here in Ontario. Who cares if they're a protected species and I could get fined for doing so! I'll just get community support.



  • @SilentRunner said:

    Well, the people keep electing and reelecting socialists and Democraps. What do they expect?

    Dey took arr jerrrbs! Obama is ruinin ameerka!



  • @dcardani said:

    Edit, update: Oh, so now if enough people complain, you'll be allowed to violate any ordinance you want? Good to know! THERE'S the WTF!

    Think Jury nullification.  If a Jury can overturn a law they feel is unjust, why can't a few people take down an ordinance?


  • @serguey123 said:

    I have to agree, even in Corrupsylvania we have laws that regulate your property to conform to certain guidelines to maintain aesthetics that relate to your neighborhood.

    I suggest you avoid southern California, then. Especially the People's Republic of Irvine, where the homeowners' assocation will fine you for leaving your garage door open form ore than 15 minutes, and you're not allowed to have visitors who drive pickup trucks.



  • @Master Chief said:

    @serguey123 said:

    I have to agree, even in Corrupsylvania we have laws that regulate your property to conform to certain guidelines to maintain aesthetics that relate to your neighborhood.

     

    And here I thought as the person who bought the damn land that I'd be the one deciding how it looked.  Don't know what I was thinking...

     

    Sure, and that's probably the case so long as their decorations don't harm others, which is the original problem (or at least was claimed to be). They claimed that trimming the trees too much would create a hazard later on. Most sane people wouldn't think that just because you own a piece of land you should be able to build whatever unsafe building on it you want to, for example. If it falls over, it's going to create a hazard for neighboring buildings and people passing by. So there are codes and ordinances. This is the same thing (at least assuming the claim of later hazard is valid. I know nothing about trees, so I can't say). Nobody's rights or freedoms are being infringed here.



  • @taustin said:

    you're not allowed to have visitors who drive pickup trucks.

     

    That's OK, I'll just say it's mine.



  • From the article:

    ... Foresters will then meet with the person receiving the permit and give instructions on how to properly trim their trees, Johnson said.  The state Division of Forestry recommends that anyone trimming trees should be certified by the National Horticulture Board, but certification is not required to receive a permit. ...

    And you wonder why your taxes are high.  The city is required (by law) to  have a team of (presumably licensed and trained, and thus expensive) Foresters on the payroll, to meet with anyone wishing to trim their trees.  I guess I'd rather have a highly trained Forester on city payroll than a equally trained cop or fireman.




  • @frits said:

    @taustin said:

    you're not allowed to have visitors who drive pickup trucks.

     

    That's OK, I'll just say it's mine.

    Well, that's certainly not allowed either. Seriously, they'll forclose on that.


  • ♿ (Parody)

    Could be worse....the rabbit police could have been after them.


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