Alleged non-compliant trees in Burnside
The Local Government Association of South Australia (LGASA) has called for intervention from the state government and the Office of the Technical Regulator to prevent SA Power Networks (SAPN) from forcing Council to remove 625 trees allegedly 'non-compliant' with the Electricity Act 1996 and Electricity (Principles of Vegetation Clearance) Regulations 2021.
City of Burnside CEO is concerned about the accuracy of this data sourced from SAPN by the LGASA.
'Until Council has an opportunity to undertake an audit of these alleged 'non-compliant' trees under powerlines, we do not support any tree removals unless the removals are clearly justified', Ms Grant said.
'Council needs to understand whether the figure includes misidentified trees, trees growing on private land, or just vines on stobie poles', Ms Grant said.
Ms Grant said that as a Tree City of the World, the City of Burnside takes its responsibility for trees seriously.
'Council carefully manages of our community's urban forest inline with the Urban Greening Strategy for Metro Adelaide, SAPN's 'Powerline Friendly Tree List', state legislation and our own management plans', Ms Grant said.
'Our trees are critical for a variety of environmental, social and economic reasons', Ms Grant said. 'They add character to our landscape, preserve biodiversity, and provide shade, shelter and habitat for fauna'.
