TREES (DISPUTES BETWEEN NEIGHBOURS) — zoning of land — Pt 2 applications — two applications concerning the same neighbouring tree — one application concerns a second tree — whether the trees are likely to cause damage or injury — consideration of relevant matters — both applications refused
Quick Take
1Under the TRAQ tree risk assessment methodology as applied within the s 10(2) framework of the Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 (NSW), the overall risk rating for a tree is no greater than the highest risk rating found for any single assessed feature; aggregating all defects to produce a cumulative risk rating higher than any individual feature rating is a flawed application of the methodology.
2Where the only branch assessed as posing a moderate risk of failure would, on the evidence, fall onto the tree owner's own property rather than the applicant's property, the jurisdictional threshold at s 10(2)(a) — that the tree is likely in the near future to cause damage to the applicant's property — is not met.
3Even where a tree feature is likely to cause injury to persons on the tree owner's own land, the Court may decline to make orders under s 12(j) where the tree owner accepts the risk and opposes intervention.
