Northwestsiders, IPL to battle over trees

Friday, August 29, 2008

A group of Traders Point residents are preparing to battle Indianapolis Power and Light over what they see as a violation of their property rights.

Mary Ann Stevens and Jerry Baker are two of the neighbors living near 86th Street and Moore Road who say they’ve been notified by IPL that the utility company intends to cut down or prune back trees that are growing within approximately 50 feet of its power lines sometime before the end of the year. Both say while the poles are in the agreed-upon right-of-way, the threatened trees are on their private property and shouldn’t be cut without their permission.
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Stevens estimated a large swath of trees along 86th Street from Lafayette Road to I-465 could be affected.

Neighbors say they faced a similar situation with IPL in 2005 that not only left them with fewer trees, but also feeling threatened and bullied by the utility’s emplyees.

When contacted late Thursday afternoon, IPL spokesperson Crystal Livers-Powers said she wasn’t aware of any specific tree-trimming plans for the Traders Point area.
Call Star reporter Robert Annis at (317) 444-5572.

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About Ross Reller

I am pleased you have expressed interest in learning more about the historic Traders Point area in Indianapolis, Indiana. From 1980 to 1982 I was employed in the PR department at Conner Prairie Museum in Hamilton County. There I learned about William Conner, an important figure in Indiana's pioneer days. A decade later I became interested in the history of the Traders Point area and was surprised to learn that William Conner had been the first land owner in the area. In 1823 he acquired, through the Federal land office in Brookville, a patent for an 80 acre tract carved by Eagle Creek and an Indian trail that was about to be named the first toll roadway through the township (Lafayette Road). Thirty years later a village took shape within this tract. A grain mill on the creek, houses, churches, stores, restaurants, and two gas stations would take shape here in the creek valley hamlet of Traders Point. By 1962 all improvements (except a farmer's co-op) had been removed by the Indianapolis Flood Control Board to make way for Interstate 65 and a new reservoir. This blog is dedicated to preserving evidence of this historic area but I will occasionally use it to discuss related topics. To activate this follow, simply click the confirm button below. If you don't want to follow, ignore this message and we'll never bother you again. I am also a member of the Old Pleasant Hill Cemetery, a non profit association still selling burial plots for those who would like to spend all eternity in Traders Point, and I am an officer in the Pike Township Historical Society and the Traders Point Association of Neighborhoods.
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