Ad Nauseam: At 1877 Dundas West, Pattison Outdoor Butchers A Mature Tree
IllegalSigns.ca is pressing charges against Pattison Outdoor for violating the City of Toronto’s tree protection by-law by injuring a mature tree with a diameter of greater than 30 centimeters at 1577 Dundas Street West without a permit.
In early June, a Pattison Outdoor employee informed us that Pattison had plans to seriously harm a tree that had been obstructing its billboard at 1877 Dundas West, in Councillor Gord Perks’ ward. As a result of this information, we took a photo of the sign and published it on our web site. On Monday August 13, 2007 we published this photo of a Siberian Elm tree, in good health, obstructing Pattison’s sign:
That photo was taken on June 22, 2007. Our information was correct. This is what that the sign looked like on Friday September 28:
Here are some close ups of what Pattison did. The tree has two trunks.
This is a smaller tree, not protect by the tree protection by-law. It is located beside the large one. Look carefully and you can see that it was beheaded:
UPDATE: We have had these signs removed!
October 1st, 2007 at 8:22 am
Disgusting
October 1st, 2007 at 10:24 am
Nice work Rami.
The sign could really use a prune of its own.
Will Perks push hard to have this one revoked and removed /permanently/ along with having some serious fines imposed? Hope so.
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:43 am
Can you actually press charges for allegedly violating a municipal by-law? I thought that was the jurisdiction of by-law enforcement?
Also, you’ll be required to pay for an arborist to review to case and give testimony.
Do you know that Pattison a) didn’t have an arborist and b) didn’t have permission from the city to do the work? (given corporate history, it can be assumed they didn’t… but that isn’t enough to take legal action)
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:22 am
how long before the chainsaws come out at Dundas West?
October 2nd, 2007 at 2:14 pm
I can try to press charges.
October 2nd, 2007 at 2:43 pm
It would be by-law enforcement that would have to press charges, with a good push from the forestry folks.
Even if this was a totally legit and approved pruning, which it doesn’t appear to be, the optics are really bad for the city and Pattison. Particularly given the epidemic of dead and dying street trees.
The former should be doing everything possible to protect our canopy, the latter should be notified by their advertising clients that this isn’t good for /their/ brands.
If you’re concerned or just really annoyed, contact the city’s Urban Forestry Services and ask what they are doing about it.
http://www.toronto.ca/trees/
416-338-TREE (8733)
If you’re tired of the Out-of-Home advertisers running roughshod on our city, start contacting their umbrella org and tell them to stop.
OMAC, (Out of Home Marketing Association of Canada)
Rosanne Caron
President
(416) 968-3435 #108
rcaron {at} omaccanada(.)ca
Don’t forget to let Pattison know too. They will deflect by blaming underpaid sub-contractors. Don’t let that slide; Pattison reaps the profits and should own the liability.
Pattison Outdoor
(905) 465-0114 or 1-800-363-1675
info {at} pattisonoutdoor(.)com
Randy Otto, President
rotto {at} pattisonoutdoor(.)com
Mary Falbo, Vice-President, Business Development, Marketing and Research
mfalbo {at} pattisonoutdoor(.)com
Bob Leroux, Vice-President/General Manager, Central Region
bleroux {at} pattisonoutdoor(.)com
Marilyn King, Vice-President Production Services
mking {at} pattisonoutdoor(.)com
Any monkey with a chainsaw can hack at a tree. It takes a special sort of simian to do so for the sake of selling chocolate.