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Dave Thormahlen stands on a dock overlooking the Little Deschutes River. Behind him is his home and the area where he had brush and more than a dozen trees cleared without a county permit.
Rob Kerr / The Bulletin
When clearing trees can get you in trouble
Deschutes County to send letters on what landowners should know
By Christopher Stollar / The Bulletin
Published: October 08. 2007 4:00AM PSTSUNRIVER — It all started when lightning struck a pine tree last month in Dave Thormahlen’s backyard.
The tree burst into flames, making Thormahlen worry that some willow trees just yards away could also catch fire, threatening his home south of Sunriver. The Little Deschutes River flows by his property. Trees line the riverbank, and there is some marshy ground before grass that leads up to the house.
After the fire, Thormahlen hired someone to knock down more than a dozen willows with a backhoe. A neighbor complained to Deschutes County and the state, and Thormahlen has since learned he possibly broke county code.
This case and about a dozen other similar ones in the past year have prompted Deschutes County to plan a mailing of thousands of letters within the next two months to people who live on or near wetlands. The letters will explain how the law works and what the consequences are for breaking it.
The county has laws protecting wetlands to help preserve the health of the river, fish and habitat, said Tim Grundeman, a county code enforcement official. The state also has some rules, but those are less restrictive.
Grundeman added that Thormahlen violated local wetland laws and could be fined an initial $600 if he doesn’t work with the county, which could order him to replant the willows. Thormahlen says he never knew he needed a permit, although he didn’t inquire in advance, and was told by the Oregon Department of State Lands after the incident that his clearing did not violate any state laws.
“There’s a lack of information,” said Thormahlen, 68. “If we had known, we would have applied for a permit.”
The laws
Deschutes County prohibits removing any vegetation from a wetland unless it is diseased, insect-infested or involves normal maintenance and pruning, Grundeman said.
However, people can get an exception to the code if they ask the county for a conditional use permit. That costs $1,450.
Property owners must inventory all vegetation, explain why they want to remove it, and locate all property lines, easements and high water marks. If the explanation remains incomplete, it could go to a hearing, where the county requires a $2,500 deposit to pay for a hearings officer.
The Oregon Department of State Lands has some wetland regulations but not as many as the county, said Christina Veverka, a resource coordinator with the department.
State law requires local governments to adopt programs that will protect natural resources and conserve open spaces such as wetlands.
Veverka said the state can get involved, however, if somebody disturbs a certain amount of soil. People can be fined $600 each day by the state if they do nothing to comply and fix the damage.
The county has its own process.
In general, staff tries to work with violators and get them to remedy the situation, said Tom Anderson, Deschutes County Community Development Department director.
“It’s not designed to be heavy-handed,” he said. “We give property owners the opportunity to correct whatever violation is there.”
First, if someone submits a written complaint to the county, Grundeman mails a letter to the homeowner.
If the homeowner doesn’t respond within 15 days, Grundeman has a Deschutes County sheriff’s deputy issue a citation.
For a person who refuses to comply, the county can fine the homeowner $600 per citation a second time. If nothing changes, Grundeman can have the deputy issue a third citation.
But that’s rare.
“The vast majority of people are responsive,” Anderson said. “We achieve voluntary compliance.”
Learning the law
On average, Anderson said, the county gets a handful of cases each year involving people who trim or remove willows illegally.
The topic gained some attention in 2003, when the county commissioners allowed four homeowners south of Sunriver to trim willows by the Deschutes River, County Commissioner Dennis Luke said.
That case was different from Thormahlen’s, he said, because the homeowners did not want to remove their willows with a backhoe.
“We gave very specific parameters to trim that,” Luke said about the 2003 case. “They weren’t substantially trimmed. It wasn’t whacked to pieces.”
In Thormahlen’s case, the willows were completely knocked over, not trimmed.
Thormahlen received a letter from Grundeman on Thursday and left a phone message the same day. What frustrates Thormahlen and his wife, Gerri, also 68, is how little information they had, though they did not call the county or state to inquire.
“You own the property,” Gerri Thormahlen said. “You think it’s yours and can do whatever you want with it.”
When Veverka visited their house last month to take a brief look at the property after a neighbor complained, Dave Thormahlen said she told them that the state had nothing against their actions.
“She said, ‘It looks like you cut a few (willows) out, but I really can’t see anywhere where it disturbed growth,’” Dave Thormahlen said. “‘It appears like it will grow back. I can’t see where there’s a violation with the state, but you may be in violation with the county.’”
Veverka said last week that they had this conversation, but she wants a second look at his property because she did not have time last month to actually walk by the willows.
“I want to take a look at the ground, make sure the roots are still intact and the willow roots are intact,” Veverka said. “If they are, luckily the site should self-restore.”
Grundeman, however, said Thormahlen may have to replant some willows.
“It was a pretty egregious violation,” he said. “It was cleared pretty well.”
Grundeman encouraged all landowners to contact the county and learn the laws.
“The biggest thing we’re trying to get through to people is to contact the county and find out what you’re able to do with your property,” he said. “Otherwise, you’re going to get into trouble.”
Christopher Stollar can be reached at 617-7818 or cstollar@bendbulletin.com.
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