CALAIS, Vt. (WCAX) – A Vermont farmer clashes with Calais officials over old maple trees.
The dispute is raising questions about what it takes to preserve a picturesque landscape while following local laws. On Lightning Ridge Road in Calais, six maple trees are shielded by hay bales.
The property owner says it’s a matter of tree preservation, but the town says he’s breaking the rules.
The maple trees and the land they border are Doug Lilley’s pride and joy.
“It’s part of the farm. It keeps it looking like Vermont,” said Lilley.
He estimates they’ve been there for at least 250 years through generations of his Lilley Hill farm. He was alarmed two years ago when he said Calais snow plows got too close and killed several trees.
“When they plow it away, the dirt away, that’s the cover for the roots to the tree. And when the traffic goes by, they’ll drive right to it, and they drive the frost right down in the ground. You know? That kills the trees,” he said.
To protect the trees still standing, he placed hay bales at their base in 2024. Calais pushed back, threatening to fine Lilley if he didn’t remove the bales.
Road commissioner Kari Bradley says the bales jut into the town’s right of way, violating a decades-old ordinance.
“Even though the property is owned, in this case, by Doug Lilly…The town’s always reserved the right-of-way so that they can maintain the roads and keep them safe,” said Bradley.
Lilley then removed those bales, but he put more up this winter, bent on protecting his trees his way.
Then, Lilley recently got this letter from the town. It says if he doesn’t remove these hay bales by January 25, he could be charged between $100 and $10,000 every day they stay up.
Reporter Sophia Thomas: Could you afford that?
Doug Lilley: No. No. Of course they could…If they charge me that kind of money, I can’t live here. I’ve got to go out of business.
For Lilley, who says past road commissioners personally marked off properties like his to protect them from traffic, the town’s pushback feels hostile.
However, Bradley says it’s town law. He says there’s a right way to install something in the town’s right of way.
“Either with a permit that’s approved by the select board, which Doug didn’t seek in this case, or there are certain exceptions to the ordinance,” said Bradley.
Lilley believes he shouldn’t have to jump through those hoops to please the town, but he’s up against the clock and a cost.
Reporter Sophia Thomas: Are you going to keep them there? Are you going to take them down?
Doug Lilley: I’ll have to do something. I can’t pay that kind of money. But I don’t like to.
With the deadline for removal just days away, Bradley says he hopes Lilley moves the bales.
If he doesn’t, it’ll be up to the selectboard to decide his fine.
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