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Resident urges Isanti to revise ordinance after emerald ash borer found in city-planted boulevard tree
Summary
A resident told the Isanti City Council that a city-planted boulevard ash tree has emerald ash borer and urged revision of Ordinance 2-6-4; council agreed to have the city attorney review the ordinance and follow up.
Keith Kohler, a resident of Isanti, told the Isanti City Council at its March 4 meeting that an ash tree planted by the city in the public boulevard near his house is infested with emerald ash borer and that he has received no satisfactory response from city staff after repeated requests.
The issue matters, Kohler said, because he believes the city ordinance (2-6-4) places responsibility for right-of-way trees on homeowners while state guidance and the League of Minnesota Cities indicate cities retain duties of care for trees in public easements. "I don't wanna be here tonight, but I've exhausted all other methods to resolve this issue," Kohler said. He told the council he contacted the League of Minnesota Cities and that the League's materials contradicted the city's ordinance text.
Kohler described a timeline of requests dating to June 2024 and a later response from Matt Sylvester, the city's public services director, that the city would not take care of the boulevard tree. Kohler also said Mayor Merrill told him city leaders had discussed the request and were unable to help because of the scale of the city's tree inventory. Kohler said the matter is a public-safety concern for neighbors who are elderly or disabled.
Mayor Merrill said he understood Kohler's concerns and offered to set up a time for Kohler to speak with city staff so the matter could be reviewed. A city staff member said the next step should be to have the city attorney review Ordinance 2-6-4 and related state guidance. "I definitely it sounds like we need to have this reviewed by the city attorney," the staff member said.
Council members discussed distinctions raised by Kohler between ordinary boulevard trees and diseased or pest-infested trees. City staff said the League of Minnesota Cities documents will be reviewed and the city attorney will be asked for a formal opinion on the scope of city responsibility under the existing ordinance. No formal motion or vote was taken; council directed staff to pursue legal review and to follow up with the resident.
The council did not set a date for the attorney review or a specific timetable for follow up during the meeting.
