Builder Gets Off Scot-Free For Illegal Removal Of 112-Year-Old Tree

A developer will not have to pay Newtown Township a single dime after illegally cutting down a 112-year-old tree that was determined by experts to be worth $85,500, a Bucks County judge ruled Thursday.

The township had filed the lawsuit against McGrath Homes in August seeking restitution for the tree, which was cut down at the Villas at Newtown development despite its preservation being a condition of approval for the community's construction.

The township sought $85,500 in Bucks County Court. That figure was determined through an assessment completed by a professional arborist.

Judge Diane E. Gibbons issued her decision Thursday, ordering the suit filed by Newtown Township be stricken in its entirety.

Newtown Township Supervisor Jen Dix called it a "sad day for Newtown" and did not believe there would be support on the board for an appeal.

"No matter how our Board majority rationalizes this, it is yet another example of a builder behaving badly because they know they can in this town," Dix said.

Despite it being a condition of approval and articulated in a 2006 court order and development agreement, on April 13, 2015, the beech tree was cut down by McGrath contractors without advance approval by the township.

An examination of the stump and the main trunk determined that the tree was structurally sound at the time it was cut down, according to the report by arborist Russell Carlson of Tree Tech Consulting.

Carlson said the tree was in better health before the start of construction in 2007. The value of the tree at that time was more than $111,000, the arborist estimated.

“The difference represents the deterioration of the tree over the past eight years due to neglect,” a report by Carlson presented to officials in August said.

“From the beginning of the planning process and throughout the development project, this tree was disregarded despite its significance and a zoning approval requirement to preserve and protect the tree,” Carlson said in his report.

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