CALAIS, Vt. (WCAX) – A Vermont farmer clashes with Calais officials over old maple trees. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
The property owner says it\u2019s a matter of tree preservation, but the town says he\u2019s breaking the rules. <\/p>\n
The maple trees and the land they border are Doug Lilley\u2019s pride and joy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s part of the farm. It keeps it looking like Vermont,\u201d said Lilley.<\/p>\n
He estimates they\u2019ve 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. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they plow it away, the dirt away, that\u2019s the cover for the roots to the tree. And when the traffic goes by, they\u2019ll drive right to it, and they drive the frost right down in the ground. You know? That kills the trees,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t remove the bales. <\/p>\n
Road commissioner Kari Bradley says the bales jut into the town\u2019s right of way, violating a decades-old ordinance.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though the property is owned, in this case, by Doug Lilly…The town\u2019s always reserved the right-of-way so that they can maintain the roads and keep them safe,\u201d said Bradley. <\/p>\n
Lilley then removed those bales, but he put more up this winter, bent on protecting his trees his way. <\/p>\n
Then, Lilley recently got this letter from the town. It says if he doesn\u2019t remove these hay bales by January 25, he could be charged between $100 and $10,000 every day they stay up. <\/p>\n
Reporter Sophia Thomas: Could you afford that?<\/p>\n
Doug Lilley: No. No. Of course they could…If they charge me that kind of money, I can\u2019t live here. I\u2019ve got to go out of business.<\/p>\n
For Lilley, who says past road commissioners personally marked off properties like his to protect them from traffic, the town\u2019s pushback feels hostile. <\/p>\n
However, Bradley says it\u2019s town law. He says there\u2019s a right way to install something in the town\u2019s right of way. <\/p>\n
\u201cEither with a permit that\u2019s approved by the select board, which Doug didn\u2019t seek in this case, or there are certain exceptions to the ordinance,\u201d said Bradley.<\/p>\n
Lilley believes he shouldn\u2019t have to jump through those hoops to please the town, but he\u2019s up against the clock and a cost. <\/p>\n
Reporter Sophia Thomas: Are you going to keep them there? Are you going to take them down?<\/p>\n
Doug Lilley: I\u2019ll have to do something. I can\u2019t pay that kind of money. But I don\u2019t like to.<\/p>\n
With the deadline for removal just days away, Bradley says he hopes Lilley moves the bales. <\/p>\n
If he doesn\u2019t, it\u2019ll be up to the selectboard to decide his fine. <\/p>\n
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