Saugus heritage tree bylaw put on hold

SAUGUS – An article aimed at protecting the town’s heritage trees has been put on hold due to a dispute between neighbors over what would likely be deemed a heritage tree.Town Meeting members voted to refer an article designed to define and grant certain trees in town Heritage status back to the Tree Committee to be essentially sat on for awhile.Town Meeting member and Tree Committee chairman Timothy Hawkes said there was a cloud of controversy surrounding the article that caused him to rethink the timing.The genesis of the article is tied to a dispute between neighbors Rich and Kathy Baker who have a 140-year-old oak tree in their yard that extends into the neighbor’s yard as well.The neighbors, Nancy and Bill MacKenzie, would like to trim the tree.Hawkes said earlier the tree is about 44-inches in diameter and has several large limbs that spread out over the MacKenzies’ yard. The MacKenzies would like to trim the branches but the Bakers are worried that too much trimming might kill the tree.The issue also came before the Board of Selectmen earlier this year.Hawkes said the article was initially written with the feuding neighbors in mind, but was not necessarily aimed at resolving the issue.”This was not meant to be about a neighborhood dispute,” he told meeting members. “It’s supposed to be to protect the trees.”Trees specifically on private property.According to the proposed bylaw, to be deemed a heritage tree the fauna must be at least 100 years old and 32 inches in diameter and must be a rare species linked to an historic event or person. It must also be beautiful and have notable wildlife value.Hawkes asked that the article be referred back to the Tree Committee to be refiled after issues between the neighbors cool down and the meeting members readily complied.