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testified that she has seen some minor trimming and that the respondent actually admitted they were trimmed even though he didn't do it himself. Right now, our position is just to deal with the enforcement issue. If the ordinance needs to be changed and if thee is scientific evidence, then he felt we should do it, but if it is not, he felt we have to be consistent and not arbitrary in the enforcement. Commissioner Scurlock asked what burden of proof we are faced with here, and Attorney Vitunac advised that it is a civil penalty at this stage and would be a preponderance of evidence. He felt it would be proper to ask -Mrs. Branigan some questions. Christina Branigan, 1250 Little Harbour Lane, recalled that before they ever moved into their new home, you could see the damage on the mangroves. Jimmy's Tree Service came to them and said there was a lot of dead mangroves and it would be better to have them trimmed because they will come back better and it would be better for the environment. He obtained the permit, they paid for it, and he leveled all the dead mangroves in 1989. They moved into their home in 1990 and have been proud to see the healthy progress of the mangroves. Mrs. Branigan stressed that they are not people who are insensitive to the environment, they are people who collect signatures on petitions or write letters of support whenever an environmental issue comes up, such as saving Prang Island, the lagoon, the eagle, the dolphin, the manatee. They are the people who are out there working in support of the environment. They really resent being accused of this, because their names are on the citation, not the landscaper's. She did not want it to go on record that they have been cutting mangroves when they have not. If their landscaper inadvertently cut something, he did it on his own. If the County needs to fine every landscaper, then that is what they should do. Mrs. Branigan stressed that they did not authorize any cutting of the mangroves and that they were not aware of any cutting. As far as they are concerned, their conscience is clear, because they have not done any cutting. They have had their current landscaper for one and a half years, but because she and her husband both work, they cannot watch or supervise the yard work. She repeated that they did not authorize any cutting. The reason they took the pictures of the dead mangroves back in 1989 was so there would never be any question that they were cutting anything illegally. They play by the books and they have always done that. They have lived in this community for 15 years and they are straight arrows, which is why they took this personally. Mrs. Branigan stressed that it is the principle of the matter, which is why they hired Attorney Garris to represent them. They don't do things arbitrarily or capriciously. 53 POGK. P� 9 �, ,.