After uproar, Kentucky Utilities modifies tree cutting policy. Here are the details

Kentucky Utilities has agreed to make some changes to its tree cutting policy under power lines that KU officials say could save as many as 50% of trees that were once slated to be axed or clear cut.

The prior policy required all trees under 15 feet under major transmission lines to be cut or axed. Under the new rules, KU will do an analysis of those lines to determine the movement and sag of that line. A safety zone around the line will then be determined, Kyle Burns, director of engineering and construction for KU, said.

Lines that are taller in height will likely allow for trees and other vegetation over 15 feet, depending on the calculation, Burns told the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council during a Tuesday work session.

KU encourages any new trees or shrubs planted under major transmission lines to be no higher than 15 feet, Burns said.

KU will also no longer cut trees under distribution lines, or smaller lines that typically deliver power to homes.

“We will be trimming those trees,” Burns said.

A reduction in trees cut

Those two modifications to the plan will likely result in a 50% reduction in the number of trees clear cut or axed. Burns said the majority of the trees to be saved will be under distribution lines.

Burns said the reason why trees under transmission lines can’t be trimmed is due to safety concerns about the lines and how they are constructed.

Burns’ presentation before the Lexington council on Tuesday came after nearly seven months of negotiations between the city and the utility giant. Lexington city officials sued KU in court over its tree cutting policies after residents and many city officials said the rules were too extreme. Many healthy trees that posed no threat to power lines were being cut, city officials said.

The city agreed to hit pause on the lawsuit while negotiations continued.

City officials and KU have been at odds over its tree cutting policy since 2020.

Burns said Tuesday the modifications to the tree cutting policy will be statewide.

“There has been no tree cutting since December,” Mayor Linda Gorton said Tuesday. “We have worked diligently for seven months on this.”

Increasing compensation for trees cut

Other changes KU has agreed to as part of the negotiations with the city include:

• Increasing the amount landowners will receive to replant trees to $300 per tree or a maximum of $1,800 per owner. That’s up from $250 per tree and a maximum of $1,500 per owner.

• Increased communication from KU to landowners, city officials and neighborhood associations about when tree cutting will occur.

• Posting its new tree cutting policy on its website.

Burns said KU has also gone back to areas such as Southpoint near Nicholasville Road to do more robust replanting. It has also made some modifications in other areas including the Fairway neighborhood.

An environmental study of an area between Lansdowne Merrick and Richmond Road that looked at sinkholes, stormwater runoff and a host of other issues has been completed, Burns said. However, the final draft of that study will not be available until next week.

Residents in that area have raised repeated concerns that removing trees in that area will lead to more stormwater runoff and flooding.

Councilwoman Susan Lamb, who represents areas such as Wilson Downing Road that have already had trees removed, asked if KU was going to return to landowners whose trees have already been axed to offer the increased compensation of $300 per tree.

Burns said KU has not agreed to do that.

“That’s really hard for my constituents,” Lamb said.

Councilwoman Liz Sheehan said the maximum $1,800 per landowner may not be enough.

“I know landowners that will lose more than six trees,” Sheehan said.

The cutting of trees in the Lansdowne median on Landsdowne Drive caused in uproar and a protest in late November, which ultimately led to KU and the city agreeing to a temporary moratorium.

Councilman Richard Moloney asked if the new policy would save more trees on Lansdowne Drive.

Burns said it’s not yet known how many trees on Lansdowne will be saved under the new power line analysis.

It’s not clear when KU will resume tree cutting.