A man is facing a whopping £1.6million bill after he allegedly cut down 32 of his neighbour's trees so he could have a "better view".
Samih Shinway, of New Jersey, US, said he was furious when he discovered precious oak, birch and maple trees on his property in had been cut down. The 40-year-old accused his neighbour, Grant Haber, of violating local laws to fell the mature trees so he could get a better look of New York City's skyline from his million-dollar mansion.
Haber will be legally bound obliged to pay to £800 per tree to replace them - however, the top bill could be into the millions because of town council rules. Samih claims he got home on February 27 to the sound of chainsaws, before finding four men on his property with a tree shredder when investigating the noise, reports the Daily Star.
When he confronted the men, he claims Grant attempted to deny any wrongdoing. He said: "Haber tried to act like it was a big mix-up. The workers right away blamed him and he denied everything and told them all to leave.
"Haber came out and said 'Isn’t this a disaster? Who would do this?'. Ever since he cut the trees down there’s been lots of crows and Soil erosion."
According to a local town rules, the illegal removal of trees in Kinnelon is subjected to a minimum fine of $100 up to a maximum of $1,000 per tree. This means Grant is facing up to $32,000 in fines alone but the fines aren't the only financial repercussions Grant is facing though.
The rules also state: "Each person who removes or otherwise destroys a tree(s) in violation of the Borough ordinances will be required to replace the tree(s) with another of like or superior species."
But there's one big problem — the area where the trees were cut down is reportedly inaccessible by road. This means Grant would have to fork out costs to build a new road to the site, remove invasive species, add soil and clear the debris left behind so he could transport and plant 32 new large trees.
The ordinance also specifies each tree "must be guaranteed for two full growing seasons" so he would also be tasked with looking after them for two years. Samih claims all this is set to cost Grant an eye-watering sum.
"The fine is 32 grand but the estimates in damage are around $1.9 million," he said.
He said Grant has had little to say about his alleged actions, adding: "A letter was dropped in our mailbox that was typed and unsigned saying he’s not a bad neighbour and he moved here because he loves nature. Otherwise, he’s had nothing to say.
Grant is the CEO of American Innovations — a company offering tools to detect explosive devices on battlefields — and lives in his £1.4 New Jersey mansion with his wife and children.
The accused tree chopper was scheduled to attend a preliminary hearing in Kinnelon municipal court on Tuesday via Zoom call but it was rescheduled after his attorney, Matthew Mueller, said he needed more time to review the case.
He's now expected to appear for the rescheduled session on July 18.
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