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Emmaus resident urges borough to act after leaning tree, burning and alleged nuisance at 446 South Seventh Street
Summary
At the May 5 Emmaus Borough Council meeting a resident at 446 South Seventh Street asked the borough to remove a leaning tree and address alleged burning and public-health hazards; borough officials said their authority is limited unless the tree is determined to be an imminent hazard and pledged a codes follow-up.
A resident at 446 South Seventh Street told the Emmaus Borough Council on May 5 that a neighbor’s tree is leaning toward her house and that ongoing burning and other nuisance behavior at the adjacent property have created a health and safety concern for her grandchildren.
The resident said the tree is “about to fall” and that if it falls “it’s gonna fall on in my bedroom,” and she asked the borough to remove the tree so she can repair her roof and install a fence. She added she has paid for dumpsters and spent years trying to resolve the problem, saying, “I have $25,000 to my name, and I just want to safely secure my home.”
The borough’s solicitor and staff responded that the borough’s options are limited unless codes officials find an imminent danger. The solicitor told the resident that “the borough has very limited abilities with respect to other people’s properties” and advised consulting an attorney; codes staff said “the only the only grounds that we have is it has to be an imminent health risk.” Borough Manager Pepe told the resident, “Our codes department will give you a call,” and encouraged filing a written complaint so there is a record for enforcement.
Council members and staff also advised calling police for burning or immediate threats. A council member noted the fire department had previously visited the property because of heavy soot and health concerns for the resident’s grandson. The solicitor and a council member both suggested that, for written legal remedies, the resident consult the Lehigh County lawyer referral service.
The council voted to extend the resident’s public-appeal time by five minutes to allow her to finish. No formal council motion was made to remove the tree during the meeting, and no enforcement action was recorded on the record; staff said the codes office would investigate and determine whether the tree presents an imminent hazard that would permit borough action.
Why this matters: If the tree is an imminent danger, borough codes officials can order corrective action; otherwise removal is typically a dispute between private property owners and may require civil remedies or a written code complaint to trigger enforcement. The resident’s account also raised alleged open-burning and repeated police/fire calls that borough staff said should be reported to police or the fire department so those incidents can be cited and documented.
Council members present urged the resident to submit contact information so codes staff could follow up; the resident provided a phone number.
Ending: The resident’s written complaint and the codes office follow-up will determine whether Emmaus proceeds with enforcement; the council did not take further action at the May 5 meeting.
