Testaverde Cited For Wetlands Tree Removal

KEYSTONE - The Environmental Protection Commission has cited former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Vinny Testaverde for ripping out mature cypress trees from the shoreline of his Lake Keystone home.

The trees were in protected wetlands, the county said.

"Three or four weeks ago I was getting all these calls from people who saw the trees being ripped up right on the shoreline," said Keystone resident Jim Swain, president of the Lake Keystone Property Owners Association.

He said Testaverde removed between 40 and 50 trees altogether.

Testaverde has been ordered by the EPC to replace 20 of those trees, some as tall as 40 feet.

"We sent an inspector to the site and some of the trees were removed from wetlands," said Bob Owens, a supervisor with the EPC. He said complaints from neighbors began coming into the department April 22.

On April 24, Bill Inch, environmental scientist for the county, visited the property and cited Testaverde for violations of the wetlands division code.

By April 30, Testaverde called Inch and told him all tree removal had stopped. He asked if the already-cut debris could be removed from the property. Inch said it could.

A third visit on May 1 documented 19 cypress tress and one dahoon holly tree removed from protected wetlands on the shoreline.
No Fines Assessed

In a certified letter dated May 13, Testaverde was ordered to plant 40, 15-gallon palm cypress or bulb cypress trees in the wetland area within 30 days.

The letter also required "100-percent survival of the trees one year after planting."

Tallahassee-based attorney Clayton Studstill, representing Testaverde in the discussions, acknowledged receipt of the letter four days later and asked whether fewer trees could be planted if they were larger.

The EPC told them they could instead plant 20, 30-gallon trees (a gallon is the measured unit of soil and root ball in the container of a planted tree), along with "beneficial herbaceous planting on the shoreline."

Studstill said the replanting was finished two weeks ago.

"The site has been replanted at the same density of trees and the site condition has been returned to its native state," he said.
Studstill would not say which tree-removal service worked on the property, but said he was certain Testaverde had hired someone to do the work.

"He was not aware of the EPC rules," he said. "You've got to rely on the advice of these people. Whoever cut down the trees didn't do a very good job of informing him."

No fines will be assessed to Testaverde as long as he continues to comply with the citation, said Debbie Sinko, general manager with the county's wetlands division.

Resident Isn't Happy
Swain isn't completely satisfied with the outcome.

"It doesn't replace what was there," he said. "The damage is done. We're talking about a massive cutting."

Testaverde, who could not be reached for comment, made the county's most expensive home purchase of the year for 2007 when he bought the 7,090-square-foot, 3-acre lakeside estate in August for $4.5 million.

The gated home at 17120 Gunn Highway features seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, an eight-car garage and a three-story elevator.

(tbo.com)