I live in a city. Like anywhere, there are pros and cons. Some firewood-related pros: 1) Yard trees are one of the few sources of hardwood in the PNW, and there is a diverse population of trees all around me. Most of my scrounging is from yard trees removal. 2) Not many people hoard/burn, so competition is low. Firewood-related cons: 1) You can’t remove items from the dump, so no scrounging there. 2) It’s not easy for tree services to find takers for wood, and the homeowners want it gone, so the system doesn’t make it easy to get wood from yard tree removal. I cruise FBM or CL, and listen or watch for tree people. An overall con for the city: EVERYTHING needs a permit. I understand that houses are close together so you don’t want to rely on your neighbor to wire or plumb his house properly, but it can be overbearing. (Do I get permits for any of the home work I do? No, I do not, thank you very much.) Yesterday, for the first time, I saw a public notice for a big tree (spruce) coming down in our neighborhood. I was vaguely aware of permitting for tree work, but never knew much about it or cared. It turns out that the city makes you provide public notice of tree removal (of trees of a certain size), even on private property. I’m sure I can think of a benefit or two if I tried, but overall I hate it. But it got me thinking…are these notices stored and posted online? They are! I can review the database for address, tree type and size, the outfit working on it, and earliest date of work. This could be a game changer for me. Here’s an example of a couple small Filberts coming down close to me. I could swing by, or even just call the tree people in advance and see if I can have the wood! I hate living in a nanny state, but at least in this one way that nanny is looking kinda hot!
Not a bad resource, all things considered. In my town the tree warden staples a public notice to individual trees, indicating the scheduled date of removal. Usually it's a 2-3 week notice. That also means that the city will remove the carcass of the tree, although IME that could mean the same day or the following month.
You should contact some tree services/arborist and let them know you'd takes trees. Have them check with you before dumping on your property.
The biggest issue is that I won’t take 90% of what they take down. My yard is so small I have to be picky. They don’t want to call some wood snob who’s going to reject them most of the time. But I figure if I show the initiative re: a specific project, and I show up at a specific time that works for them, then they’ll let me have it.
My friend lives in uptown Harrisburg PA. City mandated a problem tree (was the horse chestnut I posted about a few weeks ago)needed removed as it had already lost a large limb on a car. He went through all the hoops to get an approved business. He reached out to me 2 days prior to the removal, so they gave him a 2 day notice they were showing up. I agree in that cherry picking specific species will be a tough one. I would think small tokens of appreciation when you do score could be key. Hope it works out for you.
JiminyKicket If you have ever seen some of my posts, things that you are saying is the EXACT reason why I'm leaving the Communist Socialist Republic of NJ. The Insane laws and town ordinances are just out there. I'm lucky that I have a tree surgeon buddy who brings me wood, Because he makes money off the tree removal, he MUST dump it in the land fill at a premium charge $$$ or give it away, he can't resell it. Now, I'm in a smaller place then Seattle but sounds to me like a move/change is in order for you.
As hoarders we do what we have to to get wood. Nice that you discovered that and can pick and choose. I am no longer afraid to ask. Worse they can say is NO. What line of work are you in JK?
LOL I know. It’s just a starchy title for the municipal employee who is responsible for executive decisions involving trees growing on city property. I have yet to see the guy in person so I don’t know if he wears a sash like a hall monitor in school or a full uniform like a game warden
Wallingford has the same. I first heard of it a few years back when they posted a tree removal sign on a Norway maple in front of a friends house. Turns out the guy is head of the department of public works. You can see "tree warden" at the bottom.
Yeah living in a summer beach vacation town sounds especially horrible. I’m pretty familiar with how it undermines the local community/neighborhoods. I’d love to move somewhere rural. Our kids are happy in their schools, my wife has a great job that requires her to be close to town, so I’m here for the foreseeable future. That said, there are aspects of city life that I like so I don’t mind it. Seattle is pretty sleepy so it’s not like the big cities on the East Coast or even California. No state income tax softens the blow. I work in healthcare sales for a tiny company, so I work from home. I could work just about anywhere that’s private and has good wifi.
Just living in a breakfast community sucks bad enough. Then weekend lake lubers add to the mix… “hey let’s go to the lake to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life…” And now you have a RV camper version of your urban lifestyle…. Complete with their own HOA stupidity.
