The city has appealed the Jan. 30, 2023 decision of a Peabody District Court assistant magistrate tossing out fines assessed by the Conservation Commission to Salem CC and Mayer Tree Service totaling nearly $140,000 for illegal tree removal.
In an email update to the City Council Thursday prior to a council meeting, Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt, Jr. confirmed that City Solicitor Don Conn “filed an appeal of the Salem Country Club/Peabody Conservation Commission decision.
“We believe there are meritorious claims to our appeal that need to be pursued,” Bettencourt said Thursday night. “The Conservation Commission has worked extremely hard in this matter and was disappointed in the magistrate’s decision. We look forward to our appeal being heard and a resolution in this case.”
The commission assessed fines against Salem CC and Mayer Tree Service in the amount of $69,900 each following commission findings that the club had illegally removed 233 trees in environmentally protected areas on the golf course.
Assistant Clerk Magistrate Daniel J. Toscano found that the commission failed to comply with a law that requires that the commission deliver an official Notice of Violation to offenders within fifteen days after determination of a violation.
Toscano found that a violation was determined on May 18, 2022, thereby requiring the commission to issue an official Notice of Violation to the SCC and/or Mayer Tree no later than 15 days from that date. Toscano’s decision stated that the commission did not issue a Notice of Violation until Nov. 18, 2022.
“Peabody Conservation Committee failed to comply with requirements for non-criminal dispositions as required pursuant to M.G.L. c.40, §21D,” Toscano concluded in the decision. “Additionally, the matter must be dismissed against Mayer Tree because the evidence is insufficient to establish that Mayer Tree knew or should have known of any alleged violation,” adding that whether the amount of the fine was accurately calculated is moot… I find that a fine of $69,900 is flawed.”
