In Our Opinion … Tree and shrub code penalty needs an increase

Hamtramck has long had a love/hate relationship with its code enforcement department.
As we have commented before, there are times when city officials and the public demand stricter enforcement, and then later complain about that enforcement being too aggressive – especially when they, or their friends, are issued violations and fines.
And we get it.
We have witnessed plenty of instances where enforcement and city-ordered corrections were over-the-top absurd.
But this also happens in other communities. In Hamtramck, owing to the nature of its small geographic size and close proximities of housing, the complaints are more amplified.
With this in mind, we applaud the city’s Community Economic Development Department’s recommendation for the city to increase the penalties for certain violations in the city’s tree and shrub ordinance. This is needed in order to crack down on residents who are cutting down trees or trimming them to the extreme.
Also, there are instances when residents insist on planting trees in the public spaces between the sidewalks and streets with trees that will eventually grow too large and uproot sidewalks.
Because a lot of people come and go in this community, folks are often not knowledgeable about city codes.
Worse, some of them don’t bother to do their research first on what’s allowed or regulated.
That’s where the city has to play hardball, and, in this case, we think it’s the appropriate move.
Posted Aug. 28, 2026