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Maplewood considers inspection-and-education approach after Oak Wilt cases impose large homeowner bills
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Summary
Public works director Steve Love said Maplewood recorded 131 Oak Wilt identifications across 47 properties and outlined four options for private‑property response; council members signaled support for a hybrid of inspection/education and broader public outreach after a homeowner faced about $11,000 in costs.
Maplewood officials spent a substantial portion of the Jan. 26 workshop on Oak Wilt, a fungal disease that disproportionately kills red oaks. Public works director Steve Love briefed the council on how the disease spreads, city incidence data and response options for private property.
“Oak Wilt is a fungal disease… red Oaks are primarily the ones that get, they generally can die like within weeks,” Love said. He told the council that from 2022 through 2025 the city identified 131 affected trees on 47 properties — roughly 2.7 trees per property — and that 21% of those properties required repeat response in multiple years.
Staff outlined four response options: (1) the current inspection‑and‑enforcement program (staff inspects, confirms Oak Wilt and issues a compliance timeline for removal/treatment); (2) inspection and resident education (inspect and notify, then provide treatment options); (3) general public education through the city newspaper and social media; or (4) no program. Love said underground control (trenching or vibratory plowing to sever root grafts to a depth of about 5 feet) is the most effective method in many situations, but that such measures can be costly and site‑dependent.
Council members raised the case of a South Maplewood homeowner who paid roughly $11,000 to remove several infected trees under the city’s enforcement approach. Mayor Abrams and council members said that history and equity concerns make a purely enforcement‑driven program problematic. Councilmember Cave and others said they preferred a hybrid strategy combining inspection/education with broad public outreach to help residents understand treatment, wood handling, and cost‑share options.
Staff committed to returning code‑revision language and updates to tree standards for council review and to include Oak Wilt guidance in the March issue of Maplewood Living. They also said they would research safe wood reuse, storage and burning rules and provide practical guidance for residents.
Next steps: staff will draft code amendments and outreach materials, refine recommended policy language (likely favoring inspection plus education), and return the proposals to council for formal consideration.
