Resident says county crews stripped hedge of red cedars without notice, damaging privacy

Steven Grau, a Miami County resident, told the Board of County Commissioners on Aug. 6 that county crews had cut through a row of red cedar trees planted along his driveway without prior notice, leaving the trees “decimated almost to not not being useful anymore.” Grau said the trees, planted in 1995 as a windbreak and privacy screen, now present an “ugly mess” both on the trunks and the ground.

Grau said his house sits about 300 feet from the road and that he and his wife, Kristin, planted approximately 100 red cedars when they moved there. He told commissioners the trees were planted roughly one foot inside his property line, outside the county right of way. “We were not notified in advance that anything was going to take place,” he said at the public-comment portion of the meeting.

The matter drew a brief response from the dais directing Grau to county staff: a meeting was offered after the session with Eric Sandberg to discuss the complaint. The county did not take a formal vote or direct staff to a timeline for remediation during the meeting.

Grau also said he believed there is “a precedent in the Kansas statutes” that protects trees not located within the proper public right of way; he did not cite a specific statute. He described the trees’ functions as windbreak, snow fence, dust control and privacy and said the loss of the screening had harmed his seclusion — he identified himself as a decorated, 100% disabled Vietnam veteran.

No county official provided an on-the-record explanation during the meeting for the grounds or legal authority for the trimming, and no written notice or permit was referenced on the record. After the comment period, the board moved on to other business.

The county staff member Eric Sandberg was identified by the chair as someone who could follow up with Grau after the meeting; the board did not place the matter on the agenda or set a public hearing date at the Aug. 6 meeting.

Ending: Residents who said they were affected were told staff would speak with them after the meeting; no formal county action or remedy was recorded on the public record that day.