Ross Township tree service fined for zone violation

Posted Apr. 5, 2015 at 9:09 PM

A tree removal company has operated unlawfully in a Ross Township residential neighborhood, Magisterial District Judge JoLana Krawitz ruled March 20.

Krawitz issued a $168 civil judgment against McIntyre’ Tree Service operator Keith McIntyre Sr., for violating a provision of the township zoning ordinance. McIntyre operated the business at his residence on Ramblewood Drive — which is zoned R-1 for low-density, single-family residences only — Ross Zoning Officer Steven Meylach said.

McIntyre has paid the fine, Meylach said, but has until May 1 to decide if he wants to appeal the ruling to Monroe County Court.

Nearby residents have complained for months about trucks and other heavy equipment being operated at the Ramblewood Drive residence during the day and night. They contend the area has been excavated and the driveway enlarged to accommodate the vehicles.

A website lists the company’s specialties as tree removal and trimming, brush removal, stump grinding and firewood deliveries.

McIntyre’s began operating at Ramblewood Drive in 2011, Meylach said. The first complaint about the business was filed last summer.

Meylach said it took him awhile to document the presence of work trucks, because the trucks were gone during the day to work assignments. Residents sent him photos of the trucks. He eventually determined that several cars parked there during the day were owned by employees who picked up the trucks and drove them to work sites.

McIntyre told Meylach and the judge during the March 20 hearing that he will keep no more than two trucks at the residence in the future, Meylach said.

“I will do a routine check and make sure he is in compliance,” Meylach said.

McIntyre might have been subjected to a much larger fine than the $168 judgment, Meylach said, but he decided not to subpoena residents who lodged complaints to testify at the hearing.

“We’re not trying to put anybody in harm’s way in Ross Township,” Meylach said.

Now that the judgment has been entered, McIntyre would be subjected to a possible $500 maximum daily fine if another violation prompted the township to file another notice, he said. Each day’s violation would constitute a separate occurrence.

“The fact he was found guilty, he can’t say he didn’t understand the law,” Meylach said. “What the township would like is a cessation of operating the tree service” at the residence.

A voice mail to McIntyre’s Tree Service seeking comment wasn’t immediately returned.