“He’s being made to look like a big bad developer that runs out at night to chop down trees.” — Hayes Wood, attorney for Esteban Calafell

By Tiffany Rainey

It was well after midnight on January 25 when the Miami Code Enforcement Board finally handed down its verdict to property owner Esteban Calafell in a case involving nine trees on Bayshore Drive. This past October, seven of the trees once standing on Bayshore were cut down illegally; the remaining two were heavily trimmed. Calafell’s alleged actions have angered Coconut Grove arbor activists, who packed the public hearing, demanding severe punishment.

The board’s decision — to fine Calafell’s family-owned company Contrada of Miami $250 per tree per day until Calafell complies— came after almost eight hours of intense questioning, witness testimony and sharp words exchanged by opposing attorneys. The fines, calculated at $81,000 during the hearing, will mount until Calafell goes in front of Miami’s Historic Preservation and Environmental Board and replaces each of the trees at his own expense.

What quickly snowballed into a rallying point for those seeking to protect the Grove’s canopy, especially after hurricanes swept through South Florida last fall, began when Santiago Villegas, a local real estate agent and husband of Coconut Grove’s Tree Watch co-chair Liliana Dones, spotted crews cutting down trees at 2341 South Bayshore Drive, while driving to work on October 7. He immediately placed a call to his wife. In turn Dones contacted code enforcement and citations were issued.

“They were just massacring these trees,” Villegas said in his testimony before the board. “It was horrendous. There was a crew of men and they all had chainsaws.”

According to city code, anyone wishing to remove a tree from his or her property must first gain a certificate of approval from the city. Approval is also needed when removing more than 25 percent of a tree’s canopy during trimming. Calafell obtained neither of these before having the trees trimmed and removed from his property, one of the few lots along South Bayshore Drive that has never been developed.

In his defense, Calafell argued his actions came in response to city pressure to clean up the lot, especially after damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.

“The trees that were cut were cut because they were damaged after the hurricane and I was completely convinced it could be done,” the native Spaniard told the board through a translator. “I was ordered to clean the lot.”

Despite the efforts of his attorney, Hayes Wood, board members weren’t buying Calafell’s story.

“It all goes back to the responsibility of the owner,” said board member Hugh Ryan. “He waited until after a hurricane when it was a case of tree trimmers gone wild to do this.”

Calafell, who claims to have spent $10,000 to have the trees removed, said he had no plans to develop the property as activists and some board members accused. If he had, Calafell said, he would have cleared the lot when prices and conditions were better, not during hurricane season.

“It was the worst time to clean the lot—the cost, the mud, everything,” Calafell said, “but the city was on me.”

But board member Stephen Beard replied, “[It] would be the best time to do it and use this excuse.”

This is the second time Calafell has appeared before the Code Enforcement Board to deal with this case. The original nine citations, one for each tree, were heard before the board on December 14 and drew an estimated 67 local activists but were ultimately thrown out after Wood revealed that the wrong company, New Elja, had been cited. Prior to the citations, Calafell had transferred the property’s ownership to Contrada, a limited liability corporation he owns, for what he claims were tax reasons.

“He doesn’t live here. He doesn’t care,” said Assistant City Attorney Elsa Jaramillo-Velez. “The neighbors do. How could you think all of them were wrong?”

Wood argued, referencing the occasional cheers that came from that audience throughout the hearing, that activists rather than actual facts were deciding Calafell’s case.

“He’s being made to look like a big bad developer that runs out at night to chop down trees,” Wood said of his client. “That’s not what happened. I feel that this process was engendered by this whole anti-tree-cutting fervor here in Miami.”

When asked if he planned to appeal the board’s decision, Wood replied, “Absolutely.” The appeal is being filed with Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, he said.