http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/04/28/news/state/17_14_364_27_06.txt
Executive to pay $50,000 fine killing trees at Lake Tahoe
By: Associated Press
STATELINE, Nev. -- A California business executive has agreed to pay a $50,000 fine for poisoning trees to enhance the view from his Lake Tahoe home.
John Fitzhenry apologized Wednesday to officials with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
"This has been the most foolish thing I've ever done," he said.
Agency staff discovered last summer that Fitzhenry poisoned three, 40-foot Jeffrey pines on his $2.4 million property in Dollar Point on Tahoe's north shore.
Inspectors noticed the trees were ailing while responding to the Silicon Valley executive's request for approval to cut them down.
Officials said Fitzhenry, vice president of human resources for San Jose, Calif.,-based computer chip maker Altera Corp., drilled holes in the base of the trees and applied a herbicide.
In February, agency staff proposed a $17,000 fine. But environmentalists and agency governors called that amount paltry, saying it would do little to deter wealthy Tahoe homeowners from similar actions to boost the value of their property.
At Wednesday's meeting, Fitzhenry's lawyer Drew Briner said his client hoped the fine would go toward future protection and restoration of Lake Tahoe. He said Fitzhenry also has agreed to a fully restore vegetation on his property.
"Staff takes no pleasure from discovering violations and assessing fines," agency attorney Joanne Marchetta said. "We would prefer that everyone understand the fragile ecosystem at Lake Tahoe so that harmful acts for the exclusive enjoyment of individuals do not destroy the resource that can be enjoyed by all."
http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=4804778&nav=9qrx
Man who poisoned trees at Lake Tahoe fights hefty fine
STATELINE, Nevada A property owner has apologized for poisoning three large pines to improve his view of Lake Tahoe, but is resisting a proposed hefty fine.
Tahoe Regional Planning Agency staffers say board members risk litigation if they approve a fifty-thousand-dollar fine against John Fitzhenry.
They say Fitzhenry apparently is unwilling to pay more than 34-thousand dollars for the violation at his Dollar Point home on the north shore.
In a letter of apology to board members in March, Fitzhenry acknowledged his actions were "selfish, impulsive and completely without justification."
The Sierra Club has noted some homeowners and developers include fines in the cost of doing business at Tahoe, and called for bigger fines.
Fitzhenry is scheduled to attend Wednesday's board meeting in Stateline.