Linn County supervisors review draft tree-and-brush right-of-way policy OP-029, ask staff for revisions

Linn County supervisors on March 5 discussed a draft policy (OP-029) that spells out how the county will manage trees and brush within secondary road right-of-way, emphasizing safety and clearer procedures.

The draft, presented by Jared Kelly, operations superintendent for the road department, outlines how crews will treat vegetation that encroaches into what staff described as a "16 by 16 box" over the roadway and the county’s approach to working with property owners. "It's just, a way to better spell out how we exactly plan to manage our right of ways, with regards to trees," Kelly said.

The policy is intended to formalize existing practices and provide staff with a written standard to cite when discussing work with landowners. "The idea of the policies is to get something more formal, in writing as to our processes and procedures," said Brad, county engineer, who noted the policy tries to clarify ambiguous language in the Iowa code about obstructions in the right-of-way. Brad said staff aims to be "proactive about safety" by addressing issues such as sight-distance problems, road shading that causes ice and snow drifting, and limbs that could strike high vehicles.

Supervisor Brandy said she supports safety as the top priority but asked for more time to review the draft language and to gather information about how other counties handle billing and timeframes for private contractors. She raised concerns about a two-week deadline in the draft that would require property owners who choose to hire their own contractor to complete work within that span. "I don't think that any of those fell within the ability to sort of get a contractor in and get it done in 2 weeks," she said, and asked that language be reworked to better reflect department intent.

Kelly and Brad said invoicing property owners is not the department's primary goal and that county crews commonly perform work at no cost when they are already in the area. "We're definitely — like, nope. Too bad. That's outside that 2 week window. We're definitely our goal is always to work with property owners," Kelly said. Brad added that the county sometimes obtains encroachment agreements and clears vegetation "because it's a mutual benefit for the county and the property owner."

Supervisors did not take a formal vote on OP-029. They asked staff to revise the draft to clarify billing, the contractor timing provision, and other language so the policy more clearly reflects the county’s intent to work with landowners while keeping roadways safe. The item will return for further review at a later meeting.

The discussion included detailed safety examples and references to the Iowa code's general authority over right-of-way obstructions; staff characterized the draft as an attempt to reduce ambiguity in that state guidance.