Tree services in Butler: what's local
A suburb from 2003
The Butler-Ridgewood Structure Plan was approved in 2002, building began in 2003, and Satterley's Brighton Estate now covers the whole suburb. Most garden and verge trees are still young.
Tight lots, little shade
The City of Wanneroo's Urban Forest Strategy 2022 puts Butler's canopy at about 1.71% and notes lots of 400m2 or less. Butler is on the City's list for lifting cover above 5% by 2040, with street trees first.
Inside the Containment Zone
The City places Butler, with Yanchep, Two Rocks and Alkimos, in the shot-hole borer's Containment Zone. Unseasoned wood, mulch or green waste over 2.5 cm, and live plants with woody stems over 2 cm, mustn't be brought in from the Management Zone, which includes Wanneroo and Clarkson.
Questions to ask an arborist in Butler
- How the tree comes out if there's no side access, and what protects your fence and the house next door.
- Whether the stump is ground out, and who lodges the Before You Dig Australia enquiry beforehand.
- Private pipes and cables, like irrigation or power to a shed, which Before You Dig plans won't show.
- Where the wood and chips go, and that the chipper was cleaned before it came into the Containment Zone.
- The clean-up, including leaves and chips on the verge and footpath.
- Public liability insurance and the arborist's qualifications, such as the Certificate III in Arboriculture (AHC30824).
Tree pruning and lopping in Butler
Verge trees belong to the City. Residents aren't permitted to prune them, and the City prunes the ones under power lines every year. Anything else goes in as a request through the City's online service.
If your verge is bare, you can ask the City to plant a street tree. Requests close on 30 April each year for planting the following winter, and the City waters young trees for two years after they go in.
Tree services in Butler: good to know
City of Wanneroo firebreak rules run from 1 November to 30 April. A property under 1,000 m² generally complies, the City says, once dead leaves and twigs are cleared and trees and shrubs are pruned. Below 4,047 m², owners either keep grass and flammable material to 50 mm or less, or put in a firebreak.
The fine starts at $250, with penalties of up to $5,000 for continued non-compliance, and the City can do the work and charge the owner.
Storm damage and fallen trees in Butler
If a tree or branch is on a power line, keep at least 8 metres away and call Western Power. If someone is hurt, call 000. For storm damage to the house that you can't make safe yourself, the SES takes calls.
Hiring an arborist in Butler
On a small Butler block we'd think twice before taking out a healthy young tree: shade is scarce here, and a good prune often solves the complaint. If it does have to go, we'd want the quote to cover the stump, a services check before grinding, and where the chips are headed under the Containment Zone rules.