Arborists in Johnsonville: what's local
It started as a clearing
Frank Johnson settled here in 1841, called the place Johnson's clearing, and cut much of the forest for timber to help build Wellington. Johnsonville School on Morgan Street opened in 1867, so the streets around the old centre have had a long time to grow big garden trees.
Mount Kaukau behind the houses
Housing runs to the base of Mount Kaukau on the western side, and the hill rises to 445 m with the city's main TV mast on top. Khandallah Park covers more than 60 hectares of native forest regenerating on its slopes. If your back fence meets bush, find out whose land the trees stand on before anyone cuts, because trees on public land are usually the council's to deal with.
Wind that follows the valleys
NIWA says the steep hills around Wellington steer the wind along the line of the valleys, and Johnsonville sits at the top of the Ngauranga Gorge on the route to Porirua. In the June 2013 storm, Mt Kaukau logged a 202 km/hr gust.
Postcode and ward
Johnsonville is 6037, in Wellington City Council's Takapū/Northern General Ward. Porirua's plan stops at its own boundary and doesn't reach here.
Council tree rules in Johnsonville
That's the right first question, and the council is the only one who can answer it for your address. Its tree pages wouldn't open for us when we checked, so this page doesn't claim to know which Johnsonville trees the District Plan lists or what work it controls.
Here's the national part we can stand behind. Since 1 January 2012, a plan rule protects a tree on an urban section only when the plan schedules that tree, and the existing district plans still apply while the new planning law comes in. Our Wellington permit page lists the questions to put to the council.
Trees and power lines in Johnsonville
For a fallen line, stay at least 10 metres away and call 111. A tree growing into a network line is Wellington Electricity's call: ring them for an assessment. If you, the tree or a tool could come within 4 metres of a line, leave the job alone.
Common tree jobs in Johnsonville
On the slopes, it's usually a removal or reduction of a tree that's got too big for a sloping site, with the wood carried out to the street. Ask each arborist how the pieces will come down and where they'll land. Our tree removal page covers what a good written quote includes.
Lighter work comes next: pruning in Wellington to let wind and sun through, then hedges and stumps. If someone offers to top the tree, ask for a proper reduction instead. Stubs regrow as weak, crowded shoots, and those are the first to tear in a gale.
Hiring an arborist in Johnsonville
Before winter, look up at anything big on the uphill side of the house and ring the council about it with the address and a photo. If it's clear to go ahead, get two arborists to look in person, and pick the one whose quote says exactly how the tree comes down on your slope and how the wood gets out.