Tree-cutting procedure leaves longtime LV resident stumped

Friday, Jan. 15, 1999 | 11:22 a.m.

Faye Whitman, a 32-year resident of a quaint Las Vegas mobile home park, has gone out on a limb.

Whitman, 69, is raising a fuss over how the management of Desert Winds Mobile Home Park, in the shadows of the Nellis Air Force Base water tower, had the old-growth trees in her yard and on other lots significantly cut back.

She called Clark County, the news media -- anyone who would listen. The seeds she planted blossomed into an investigation that has shaken the 107-unit park at 3815 N. Nellis Blvd.

Clark County Department of Business and Licensing Agent Bill Hart on Thursday shut down the tree-topping operation at the park after investigating Whitman's complaint that her elms and mulberries were, as she put it, butchered.

Hart issued the order of non-compliance against A.V. Tree Experts, a California-based company that this week applied for -- but had not yet received approval for -- a Clark County license.

However, the tree-cutting company's owner, who is a California minister, and the managers of the park say they believe they did nothing wrong because the firm was operating as a maintenance crew of the park, which is licensed to do business in the county.

Hart said that while A.V. Tree Experts is licensed in California and appears to have its insurance in order, the company also must have a Clark County license and cannot use the park's business license for that type of work.

"Tree topping is a regulated industry that requires insurance, surety bond and the payment of the proper fees," Hart said, after ordering the work stopped. "If approved for a license they will be able to finish the job."

Hart said it takes three to 45 days to complete the licensing process.

The park's husband-and-wife management team say the cutting was being done not to harm the trees but to save them, especially the old-growth elms that are dying of Dutch elm disease and beetle infestation.

"When we came here five years ago, we were losing four to five trees a year," said Duke Sanders, who with his wife Judy, manage Desert Winds. "If we don't do anything to stop it, that trend will continue until all of the trees are gone."

Desert Winds has more than 200 trees and, as part of the $220 monthly space rental fee, residents get unlimited use of water to keep the greenery alive. Residents own their homes but rent the land on which they sit.

"We did this for the sake of the residents and for the sake of the trees," Judy Sanders said. "We've had only three complaints. The majority of the residents want the trees cut back, especially for safety reasons."

Whitman, who has the reputation of being a crusader on park issues, said she doesn't object to the trees being cut back, but rather how it was done.

"They butchered my trees," said Whitman, a green-thumber who also grows daffodils, Algerian ivy, hyacinth and Easter lilies. "It will take a long time before they grow back and provide shade."

Whitman said she did not consider bringing attention to her fight until she read a story in Wednesday's Sun about the Clark County Health District paying Boulder City to plant trees at $100 a pop. She was struck by the irony, fearing that the heavy trimming could kill a number of the park's trees.

Park officials and A.V. Tree Experts say that won't happen and that the trees will grow back full and lush.

Several tenants agree.

"I love Faye, but I think the work that has been done so far is excellent, and I'm sorry to see it stopped," said Carol Cook who has lived in Desert Winds seven years. "There will be lots of shade by summertime."

Michelle Hubbard, a resident of the park for eight years, said: "By trimming them this way the trees will grow to be sturdier and safer. This is the best tree-cutting job we have had since I have been here."

Paul Kelley, owner of A.V. Tree Experts and a resident of Palmdale, Calif., said he was doing the job at the request of the California-based owners of Desert Winds, for whom his firm does a lot of work in that state.

"I hope this matter is resolved quickly, because it will cost me a lot of money to keep my crew here, when we could be finishing this job or doing other jobs in California," said Kelley, pastor of an Apostolic church in California.

Kelley said he felt his crew did a good job on the trees in Whitman's yard. He said that at her request he cut them a little higher than his employer had instructed him to do.

Although a large number of trees have been cut back in recent days, many others in the park are in serious need of a good topping, Kelley said.

"I live in a desert community too, and I can tell you that these 75-foot elm trees are a disaster waiting to happen when there are high winds," he said.

Judy Sanders said that last year at least three incidents of damage occurred to cars and other property when long tree limbs broke off and fell. That caused great concern for liability on the part of the park's owners, she said.

Kelley said this is the proper time of year to cut back not only elms but also mulberries, a fast-growing tree that can branch out eight-to-12 feet in a season. The diseased elms then can be saved by treating them with the chemicals cygon or diasanon, which the park management plans to do.

Neither Kelley nor Sanders would take a guess as to when the tree-topping operation would be allowed to resume. However, they said, despite Thursday's setback, the matter will be sorted out so the job can be completed.