When Jungle Den Villas condo association president Tony Adams paid a company to cut down a large oak tree on association property in Astor, he didn't think much of it.

The tree was dangerous. It was decaying, and the root system was damaging the dock and seawall, according to a document from a tree specialist. Adams said the tree had dropped limbs on the dock.

Then came the notice from Volusia County The association was in violation of the county's tree laws and could face more than $20,000 in replacement costs. It would either have to plant more trees or pay up.

The county's tree regulations outline such hefty costs for people who, mistakenly or otherwise, run afoul of permitting requirements. The Jungle Den Villas Recreation Association, the condo association, voted to cut the tree down, Adams said. So Adams hired Above the Rest Tree Service to do the job. He said the owner of the company, Jeff McAfee, assured him he didn't need a permit and only needed an arborist report. Adams said he believes the county should penalize the tree service company instead of having property owners foot the bill. As for the county's replacement costs, Adams said, "They're more vigilantes than they are environmentalists." McAfee said the customer is responsible for permitting, which is noted in the agreement provided to Adams. He said in working with residential properties, getting an arborist to assess the tree before removing it is usually sufficient. But he said he didn't say a permit wasn't necessary.

The stump of a 55-inch laurel oak tree is shown in the Jungle Den Villas condos in Astor. A condo association is facing hefty costs after having the tree cut without a permit in January.

Zoning matters

The property is zoned as urban multifamily residential. In Volusia County, multifamily developments aren't exempt from the county's tree-permitting requirements, Growth, and Resource Management Director Clay Ervin said in an email to the News-Journal.

But single-family and two-family structures with certain conditions are.

Ervin said that the county's goal is to mitigate the impact of the tree removal.

"It is an unfortunate situation and county staff will work with the owner to address the violation," Ervin said.

Keith Abrahamson, environmental permitting manager and county forester, said the county prefers to see people preserve trees first, and replanting as a secondary option. He said having people just pay and not replant is the least-favored option.

Saving trees

"This code is really about saving trees," he said.

Volusia County officials responded to a complaint in January after the crew cut down the 55-inch diameter laurel oak, according to Volusia County Environmental Specialist Todd Hannah. The county sent out a notice of violation.

The remedy: Pay into the tree fund, plant new trees, or do some combination of the two. Otherwise, the association could face code enforcement action.

Here's how that worked out in this case.

Hold on, there's math

This is where it gets complicated. The county is requiring the association to replace the tree at a rate of 15% of the cross-sectional square inches of the tree, according to Hannah.

The laurel oak had 2,374.63 cross-sectional square inches, and 15% is about 356 cross-sectional square inches. For paying into the tree fund instead of planting enough trees, the cost per cross-sectional square inch is $56.52.

Bottom line?

 

That puts the total replacement price if no trees are planted, at over $20,000.

The condo association received an after-the-fact permit and is working with the county to plant replacement trees. But if the association doesn't plant enough trees, they'll still have to pay.

How much? It's not clear. The county doesn't provide an estimate on how much the replacement trees will cost at all for a tree that Adams said needed to come down.

"I've got pictures of the tree that show big hollow parts of it after they cut it down. ... I mean the tree was obviously in bad shape," he said.