The North Carolina Department of Transportation has confirmed that the clearing of trees behind Elizabeth Alls’ Charlotte home was legal, even though no one told her it was coming. NCDOT pointed to a 2024 state law, passed over Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto, that widened the zone around billboards where vegetation can be removed to 500 feet. The agency also confirmed that billboard companies do not have to notify neighbors before they cut, according to WSOC-TV’s Oct. 30 report.
The law is Session Law 2024-15, and its billboard rules took effect on July 1, 2024. The text on the General Assembly’s site shows what the 500-foot figure covers and what it leaves out.
Crews Behind the House Near Interstate 85
Alls lives near Interstate 85 and chose the house partly for its dense trees, garden space and wildlife, WSOC reported. Crews recently cleared the wooded area behind the home to improve highway visibility for a billboard. Only a small strip of trees remains along her property edge, and that strip is what buffers noise and pollution from the interstate.
She learned of the work only when crews appeared behind her house earlier this month. She had not been notified, so she called the state transportation department. Alls told the station it is hard that the trees are being removed with no way for residents to stop it…