Emerald ash borer suspends Project T.R.I.M. suspended for summer season

The emerald ash borer is a pest, and it's already wreaking havoc on Sioux Falls since being discovered here earlier this year.

But its arrival to Sioux Falls also means property owners won't be pestered by city code enforcers for not keeping boulevard trees primped — at least during the summer months.

For years the city has used Project T.R.I.M., which stands for "tree raising improvement methods," to keep tree branches from blocking traffic signage and street lighting by alerting property owners when their tree branches hang lower than 10 feet above a sidewalk. 

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For streets that see heavier traffic, the standard is 16 feet.

The program has drawn ire from citizens over the years as each summer dozens get notices from the city that their trees are out of compliance.

Getting a notice triggers a timeline for getting those trees groomed, and if they don't, the city will do it for them and send them the bill.

But because there's a ban on cutting down ash trees, of which there are more than 80,000 in the city, and transporting ash lumber between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the Sioux Falls Parks Office is suspending enforcement of Project T.R.I.M. this summer.

"There will be no fines, no trimming, nothing coming down on the citizens," Councilor Theresa Stehly said this week during the council's weekly meeting. "I think we need to find a better way to trim our boulevard trees ... but do not fear Project T.R.I.M. coming down on your head this year because it is gone." 

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But that's not exactly true.

While Parks Director Don Kearney confirmed the program has been suspended — a shift since May when parks officials said Project T.R.I.M. wouldn't be effected by the ash borer — it will be reinstated in the fall after Labor Day passes and ash trees can again be trimmed or cut down without the possibility of further spreading the ash borer.

"We are just suspending (the program) during that window because you can’t transport ash wood waste during that time," Kearney said. "We plan to start it back up this fall. (But) we have not decided on next year yet."

The possibility of exempting ash trees from Project T.R.I.M. while continuing to enforce it for other tree species was considered, but T.J. Nelson, deputy chief of staff in the mayor's office, said that would burden property owners with the task of identifying what tree species are in their boulevards. That's beyond a reasonable request, he said.

"Most homeowners don't know what is an ash tree and what isn't," he said. "That can be really tricky so we're trying to keep it simple for the homeowner."