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When trees fall, no one listens

Nathalie Majorek sits on the stump of a red maple that was cut down on what she says is her side of a right of way. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff

A week after taking ownership of 637 Hale St. in Beverly last August, David Hayes brought in a tree service to remove multiple trees on his property and 14 more on a right of way shared with a neighbor.

“I went out to Rockport and 4½ hours later, I returned to find 14 trees, including a 75-year-old maple, on my [side of the] right of way cut down,” said Nathalie Majorek, the abutter. “There was no warning, no permit, just devastation. I could not believe my eyes. I cried.”

According to Majorek, her story should be a warning to other homeowners that cities and towns across the region offer little protection for trees. To make the situation more frustrating, “The consequences for builders or developers that remove them without permits are so minimal, many just figure it as part of the cost of doing business,” Majorek said.

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Philip Klimowicz, Beverly’s forestry and grounds foreman, backed up Majorek’s perception.

“We rarely pursue fines because it is too expensive to take the builders to court,” he said.

Just who owns the gravel road that separates the two lots — where the majority of the trees were chain-sawed — will ultimately be decided in court.

It’s not state property. It doesn’t belong to the city of Beverly.

“The land in question became a private way that is shared by the neighbor and myself,” said Majorek, who bought her home at 629 Hale St. in 2003. “We each ‘own’ to the middle of the road on our respective sides. This is very common on the North Shore with private ways, or so I have learned.”

There is a state permitting procedure for removing trees in defined wetlands, and trees on state highways also are protected. Some communities, such as Boxford and Ipswich, have adopted the Scenic Roadways Act, which provides protection for trees along public roads that are not part of the state highway system. There also are exemptions allowing trees to be trimmed and removed by public utilities and public works departments.

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A few communities post fines on their websites for unauthorized public tree removal. But in towns like Wenham, where the fine is just $20 per tree, there is little incentive for developers to go through municipal protocol.

When the trees came down, Majorek complained to Beverly officials. Larry Demers, the city’s building inspector, came to the property the day after they were cut. Majorek also contacted Steve Frederickson, the city’s director of municipal inspection and building department, and met with him twice. Majorek said she was told since the trees were not on city property, the city had no recourse.

When the Globe contacted Klimowicz, the city’s forestry and grounds foreman, he indicated the right of way where the trees were cut down was state property. A spokesperson for the state Department of Conservation and Recreation said Klimowicz was mistaken, and concerns about the land in question should be directed to the city of Beverly.

When contacted by the Globe, Mayor Michael Cahill was sympathetic and went out to the site with his assistant city solicitor. He asked his staff to look into the ownership of the property. He noted there was a “murky history” on that right of way because it was adjacent to Route 127 and the state route had shifted over the years.

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An e-mail provided by Majorek shows that in April 2016, the previous owner, Ben Carson, wanted to subdivide the 637 Hale St. lot. According to Majorek, Carson contacted her seeking her willingness to support his proposal to put a new house on one parcel and keep the 1900 house on the other, but she declined.

Majorek said when it appeared Carson was not going to get city approval to subdivide, he sold the property to Hayes.

Cahill said Hayes had pulled permits to improve the old house on the lot, but had not applied for permission to cut down trees or a variance to subdivide.

After repeated inquiries about whether the right of way was public or private property, Kevin Hartunian, the mayor’s chief of staff, responded. “The road in question is not a city maintained street and it is our understanding that both property owners share the use of the road and maintain it,” he said.

“The courts would ultimately decide who owns the right of way,” Hartunian said.

Neither Hayes nor Majorek pay property tax on the dirt road, according to Cahill, and Majorek said the city uses at least a portion of it to access a sewer pumping station off Hale Street.

Majorek and her attorney, Mark Nestor of Gloucester, believe the right of way was discontinued by the city of Beverly in the 1940s.

Majorek has filed suit against Hayes in Essex County Superior Court. She hired certified arborist Allan Fenner of the SavATree Consulting Group to assess the damage. His report values the 14 downed trees at $80,077.

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“Yes, this is about trees, but it is also about land ownership,” said Len Femino, an attorney representing Dori and David Hayes. “My clients are good people and believed what they did was correct and legal.”

Majorek is concerned most people do not have the resources to pursue legal action and it is simply too costly for cities and towns to take builders to court.

When the Globe asked Mayor Cahill’s staff for an example of when a developer or builder has been fined for unauthorized tree removal, there was no response.

A self-admitted “tree lover,” Majorek hopes her story will increase awareness about the plight of trees and “how we need to advocate and protect them if we intend to leave our planet to future generations.”

Red flags marked where some of the 14 mature trees were cut down on what both the city of Beverly and the state say is not public land. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff/Globe Staff

Linda Greenstein can be reached at greensteinlm@gmail.com.