The ever-alert Jon Baliles pointed me to this item in the RTD regarding the outcome of a city investigation into Richmond clothing magnate Stuart Siegel’s clear-cutting along the James River. The conclusion? The property owner, the Science Museum of Virginia Foundation, has to pay-up…not Siegel:

In a letter to the foundation, the city said the organization, as owner, was responsible for the clearing. The letter was dated Dec. 13 and released yesterday.

“We were able to conclude that unauthorized clearing had, indeed, been done” on about an acre in a legally protected buffer zone, said the letter from Stewart D. Platt, a city engineer.

Julia M. Carr, executive director of the foundation, said the group plans to comply with the city’s orders.

They have little choice. However, wouldn’t it make more sense for Siegel to pay for the replanting? Maybe (and one would assume) the SMVF’s development people have already thought of that, and Siegel will pay for the repair work, indirectly.