RAYMOND – The shoreland zoning violation that occurred on Don and Vickie Matthews’ Sebago Lake property on Raymond Cape last summer is sending a strong message to arborists and landowners: Check with local officials before performing tree removal.

Chris Hanson, Raymond’s code enforcement officer, said the violation, which resulted in $42,000 worth of fines for the Matthews family and the company that performed the work, could have been a result of the couple’s ignorance of shoreland zoning rules. Despite that possibility, Hanson said Marston’s Tree Service, the licensed arborist, should have known better.

It is never the town’s goal to gain monetarily from issuing the fines, which the family paid in June, Hanson said. “The fines are to deter future actions like this,” he said. “The town wants to send a strong message that the shoreland zoning regulations are taken seriously and we will prosecute violators and there will be serious repercussions.”

Since the violation, Raymond residents have been more proactive about applying for tree-removal permits and asking questions, Hanson said.

The hope, he said, is that the violation on Raymond Cape will serve as a good example for what “not to do” during tree removal.

The violation was the first time the town of Raymond issued a fine to both a property owner and a contractor for violating the town’s shoreland zoning ordinance.

“In the last few years, many local towns have become diligent in policing shoreland-zone tree cutting,” said Robert Fogg, general manager of Q-Team Tree Service in Naples, who initially cleared the lot for the Matthews family to construct their home in 2011.

He said in 2012, the Matthewses had contacted Fogg for an estimate on pruning lower limbs on the property, but his company was passed over in favor of Marston’s.

“My guys pruned the trees roughly 10 to 15 feet too far,” said John Marston, owner of Marston’s Tree Service, also of Naples, of the lakefront work that eventually led to a better view and the significant fine.

“My guy misunderstood the rules. I own the business and I paid the fine. I have taken full responsibility from Day 1,” Marston said.

Hanson discovered the violation during a final inspection of the property after the new home was built, he said. He found that the trees the couple had contracted to trim were cut more than allowed by the ordinance.

More than one-third of the tree height was limbed on an estimated 75 trees within the 100-foot buffer zone, Hanson said, and the landowners had cleared out too much vegetation.

According to the ordinance, vegetation and ground cover less than 3 feet tall within the 100-foot buffer cannot be removed, killed or otherwise damaged, which the landowner and contractor failed to comply with.

“When they cut the limbs off, they blew the chips right into the woods, which buried the existing ground cover,” Hanson said.

As a result, the couple was fined a civil penalty of $10,000, and ordered to implement a $17,000 restoration plan for landscaping on the property by the end of October to help mitigate the damages caused by over-cutting and destroying the vegetation.

They also must ensure that at least 80 percent of the new plantings survive until June 1, 2016, Hanson said. The Matthews family could not be reached for comment.

Marston was fined $15,000 for the violation and paid it in full on June 1. On Wednesday, Marston said this is the first time his company has ever been fined for a shoreland violation.

According to Hanson, a landowner does not need a permit to prune trees on their property, “as long as it is done within legal limits” of the shoreland zoning ordinance.

“What made this case different is that the town decided to take action against not [only] the landowner, but the contractor, as well,” he said.

“It pays to work closely with your town code enforcement officer,” Fogg said. But in the end, the property owner is ultimately responsible if the tree service provider cuts too much, he added.

“They will be held liable even if they hired a licensed arborist. Some people think if they hire an arborist they are all set. That is obviously not the case; these people hired an arborist and still had to pay a fine,” Fogg said.

On Wednesday, Marston said the over-cutting was a misinterpretation of the rules. The employee in charge, he said, communicated poorly with the crew that day and was immediately fired from the company.

“It was done wrong,” Marston said. “It was the first violation I ever had, and we paid it [the fine].”

Marston’s has since changed its protocol and now double-checks with Hanson where work is being done, he said.

“We don’t practice that way; I don’t put up with that,” Marston said. “We apologize for what we did. It was a human error and we took care of it.”

Portland Water District photos show the significant change to the shoreline in front of 11 Bridges Lane on Raymond Cape, owned by Don and Vickie Matthews. The photo shows more trees and dense undergrowth prior to landscaping last summer.This photo is a newer photo of the area showing the result of tree removal work.