Trees and power lines in Dunedin
If anyone is in danger, call 111. For a fallen line, Aurora says to stay at least 10 metres away and call 111. If a branch has broken off onto a line, ring Aurora's fault line at any hour. Keep people out from under hanging limbs until an arborist has made them safe.
Council tree rules in Dunedin
Dunedin protects individual trees by listing them in the district plan. The 2006 plan's schedule held over 1200 individual trees and over 100 groups, mostly in the Dunedin and Mosgiel residential areas. Trees were assessed for the new list with STEM (the Standard Tree Evaluation Method), and the 2015 report set a pass mark of 145.
The council's 2015 report on the proposed 2GP said a scheduled tree would need consent to remove, to prune with anything but hand-operated shears or secateurs, or for building or earthworks within its drip-line. A 2016 hearing report described a setback of the dripline or half the tree's height, whichever is greater. Those are proposed-stage papers, so confirm the operative wording.
The Dunedin permit page explains how to check, and the district plan team can help.
Tree removal in Dunedin: what's local
The Town Belt
A 2015 assessment for the council called the Town Belt an important network of vegetation across the city, with habitat for native plants and corridors for native animals. If your section backs onto it, ask council before touching any tree on the Belt side of the boundary.
Hills and slips
Otago Regional Council's landslide records include the 1979 Abbotsford landslide and slips above Aramoana Road after the July 2017 storm. Steep sections, retaining walls and narrow access make many Dunedin removals a lift or piece-by-piece job.
Wind
NIWA says Dunedin is windier than most of Otago, with gusts over 61 km/hr on about 65 days a year. The region's strongest recorded gust, 140.8 km/hr, was a westerly in Dunedin on 18 November 1984.
Damp ground
The Botanic Gardens station logs about 178 rain days a year. Soft, wet soil on a slope is worth an arborist's eye when a big tree starts to lean.
Aurora and trees near the lines
Aurora Energy runs the lines across Dunedin, Central Otago, Wānaka and Queenstown, and says trees cause at least 20% of its unplanned outages. Property owners are responsible for keeping their trees clear of overhead lines and underground cables.
By regulation only approved utility arborists may trim within 4 metres of a power line. Aurora's growth limit zone is 0.5m for ordinary 230 to 400 V lines and 1.6m for 11kV lines, and if a tree qualifies for its first trim under the regulations, Aurora pays for it. The power lines guide covers notices.
Common tree jobs in Dunedin
On hill sections the usual request is for light: thinning or reducing a tree that shades the house, or removing a big exotic that has outgrown a small site. Tree pruning in Dunedin goes into the scheduled tree limits and Aurora's clearances.
If a neighbour's tree is the problem, the Property Law Act 2007 lets you apply to the District Court for an order, but talking first is always the better start. See neighbours' trees.
Hiring an arborist in Dunedin
Check the 2GP maps or ring the district plan team before any big tree is touched, and get the answer in writing. On a slope, ask the arborist how the tree comes down, where the pieces land and how they get out to the street. And if lines are anywhere close, call Aurora before anyone else.