Lake County Gazette

Resident Mark Stolzenburg voiced concerns about ensuring the village of Lake Bluff can maintain its trees.

“It’s very important for this village for two reasons,” Stolzenburg said during the Lake Bluff Board of Trustees meeting on June 27. “Number one, public safety. Again, we should be minimizing the number of tree limbs that are falling from the sky. Number two, maintaining one of our most important natural resources in this village, which is our tree canopy.”

“About 53 weeks ago, I corresponded with the village board about issues of tree maintenance,” Stolzenburg said. “That correspondence was occasioned by a large limb that fell off a village-owned tree on my block onto a power line. That tree limb caught fire, knocked out power to a part of the village for several hours, and necessitated a rather significant response to fix the damage caused by the limb that fell off the village-owned tree.

“And to be somewhat blunt, at that time, there appeared to be a two-pronged approach toward tree maintenance that the village was taking. One was gravity, and two was cut it down when it dies.”

The new village budget, accepted in May 2022, accepts a higher value for tree maintenance in the coming year.  The village previously responded to tree complaints and had a certain level of tree maintenance, but is looking to increase that program. It is looking at starting with renewed efforts in November.

The board discussed that prior to the onset of Emerald Ash Borer in 2012, the village public works had divided the village into six sections and dedicated a year to each section in a continuous cycle for a survey of trees, as well as doing tree removal and responding to calls all over the village at the same time. It is looking to do a similar program with the new funding, however with fewer sections than six.

Stolzenburg was told by the trustees that the village also does not have the budget for the equipment, specifically a boom truck, or the training and liability insurance that is required for regularly taking care of very tall trees. Working with a vendor who has a team that is trained and equipped properly would ensure greater safety in dealing with trees that are taller.

To learn more about Lake Bluff’s tree removal process, visit its Tree Removal Permit webpage.