Richard Gere faces $50,000 fine for ‘chopping down trees’
Richard Gere is facing a fine of up to $50,000 for allegedly chopping down 200 trees on his New York estate without having a permit.
The Pretty Woman star is said to have cleared the trees to create a paddock for his horses on the property in Pound Ridge in Westchester.
The fine for chopping without a permit is $250 for each tree, Bedford’s Record-Review newspaper reports.
“He rehabilitated an old, decaying piece of property and people were very happy about that,” Record-Review editor RJ Marx told a US newspaper. “He’s very popular in the community. His son plays Little League here.”
But he said his alleged tree-chopping had angered some residents.
“People are somewhat disappointed that he didn’t follow procedure. Rather than seeking the proper channels and permits, he hired someone to cut them down.
The Record-Review reports that Gere claims to have chopped only 150 trees, and that he and town officials are in discussions about replanting a number of them.
A representative for Gere was unavailable for comment.
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